Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Chapter 1: Conspiracy theory by Hal Jordan: All the bird themed Gotham vigilantes(and crime lord) are Bat's kids!?

Contrary to popular belief, Hal Jordan was not afraid of Batman. He might be a little cautious and might sometimes get startled by him when the man deemed it appropriate to spawn out of fucking nowhere, but he was not afraid. Hal Jordan was not a man of fear, and he was nothing if not determined. And he was fucking determined to not be intimidated by a man who dressed up as a bat and acted like a broody, controlling, paranoid asshole most of the time. 

As time passed and Justice League spent more time together, Hal had come to acknowledge the man’s competence. His plans, leadership, knowledge,  was unquestionably useful and Hal, as cocky as he might act, gave respect where it was due. He had come to respect Batman more than he’d ever act like or admit(though he doubted the other man felt the same) but that didn’t mean the other man was not some-if not most-times a broody, controlling, paranoid asshole.

Whatever, all this to say, Hal didn’t necessarily hate Batman. Rather he trusted the man, he had trusted him countless times to watch his back in many deadly battles. But he didn’t trust the man to act like a decent human being. Selective trust, ya know? And it was very clearly a mutual thing– Batman would not trust him anything other than fight–Hal’s sure Batman didn’t trust him in battles most of the days either–and space. And that was okay.

Nightwing joined the League. As always, the League threw a welcome party. Cool, right?

Then, then, there came the unexplainable.

The League had just encountered an invasion, all the members tired from the long, tiring battle, running on pure adrenaline and coffee. They were all scattered around the break room, slouched on the couches, sofas and chairs. 

Barry was helping himself with snacks to keep up his blood sugar. Oliver was beside him, sometimes stealing from Barry. Hal was on Barry's other side, head resting on the backrest, half-sitting, half-laying. Clark and Diana were on individual sofas, tiredness clearly written all over their forms.

Batman, surprisingly, was not in an individual sofa, but in a two person one and with Nightwing beside him. Batman was typing in his laptop, probably putting together points to go over in the debrief in ten–twenty if they're lucky–minutes like the workaholic he was. 

Nightwing was also tired, Hal could see the young hero fighting sleep when he assessed the room. His head would tip off once in a while and he'd wake up and he'd shake his head trying to shoo away the sleep. 

After several of that, Nightwing fell asleep a bit more deeply. His head tipped and his body shifted to Batman, Hal felt like time itself had slowed down as he saw Nightwing's head gradually falling till it was resting against Batman's shoulder.

Batman didn't move, didn't react, didn't even twitch. He just!??? Draped his cape over Nightwing!??? Like a blanket!??????? and rested his head against the younger hero's head!?!?!?? Like it's normal!?!????????

Hal blinked several times– the scene was still there and no, he was not hallucinating, the ring would've told him. Hal looked around– no one else seemed to have caught the soft moment. Hal let his head fall against the backrest.

Screw this, he shut his eyes off, he doesn't get paid to think about this. Since Nightwing–Bat's possible kid–was asleep, Bat would probably let them rest a while more, he might as well make the best of it.

Despite the fact Hal did not get paid to think about it– he found the picture of Nightwing and Batman resting together was burned in his mind. 

Hal Jordan was not dumb. You can’t look him in the eye and tell him the big bad Bat did not soften whenever Nightwing was around. He saw the way Batman’s frown softened, scowl lessened, glare defused, presence became lighter around the young man. He could swear, he even caught Batman’s lips twitching upwards the slightest bit when Nightwing made a joke or pun. 

It was soft, not in a romantic way–Hal doubted Bat could ever in his life be romantic–it wasn't just friendship either. It was familial, parental.

Hell, he once was passing the conference room in which Batman was sitting(early for the meeting in half an hour) and brooding(preparing for it) with a mug of coffee in one hand and working with the other. And Nightwing just casually walked over, took the mug and sipped the coffee?? like it was just normal???? Batman just sighed tiredly like a parent who's done with their kid's antics??

Batman, a parent? Unbelievable. But who was he kidding? All the proof was laid bare in front of him as he started noticing them more. 

Hal wasn't sure how to feel or what to think about it. He had a lot of mixed feelings. Like– wow. Like– what the fuck!? Like how did the broody, nighty, vengeancy Batman raise a sweet, nice, smiley young man like Nightwing!? Like how did Mr. I-work-alone end up with a kid anyway? 

It made zero sense, yet they fit so perfectly in sync with each other every team fight or practice– Hal just had to accept that yeah, bad, ol’, broody Batman was a parent(like 90% sure, could be mentor, but hey, who was he kidding here?)

_

So, yeah, Batman was (probably) a parent. Nightwing was his (probable) kid. Hal's brain could explode from that realization alone, but the universe decided it was not done screwing with him.

It had been two weeks since Nightwing napping on Batman's shoulder and half a week since coffee stealing, Hal was passing the Zeta tubes when he heard someone had arrived. He waited a second longer in the corridor to see who it was. To his surprise, a random kid, definitely not more than eleven, dressed in traffic light colors walked out.

“Hey,” Hal addressed the kid, frowning, “Who're you?” 

The kid gave him an unimpressed look, “Jordan.”

Okay, the random kid knew his identity. Calm down, Jordan.

“How do you know my name?” he asked. 

“Tt, not like you made any effort to conceal it.” he said with a disapproving look. Hal couldn’t help noticing how familiar to Batman it was.

“Okay, kid,” Hal took a deep breath, “Do you have permission to be here?” 

“Not a kid,” the kid said, promptly ignoring his question.

“And?” Hal danced an eyebrow, crossing his arms, “Do you have permission to be here?”

“Why else would I have access to the Zeta tube?” the kid asked back stubbornly.

“Where's Gray–,” the kid stopped abruptly, then asked, “Where's Nightwing?”

So, Nightwing's name started with ‘Gray’? Okay. Cool. Not that he cared.

“Uh, he's somewhere?” Hal tilted his head, “But hey, you have access to a Zeta tube?”

The kid clearly rolled his eyes behind his domino mask and started walking toward the control room.

“Wait, kiddo, I'll need to authenticate–" Hal started towards him but came to an abrupt halt as something flew straight to his face. He instinctively blocked it with a construct. 

“Not polite,” Hal said in a disapproving tone, catching the weapon in his hand–it looked similar to batarang–and tossing it back to the kid. 

Wait a second… it looked similar to batarang. The fuck?

Before Hal could have another glance at the whatever-version-of-batarang, it was already tucked away somewhere in the kid's suit. 

The kid started walking again. 

“Okay, ki–” Hal stopped as the kid gave him a glare, “–man, how do you have access to the Zeta tube?” he asked, though he had a lingering feeling he knew the answer.

The kid gave him a look of disbelief.

“You haven't told me your name,” Hal pointed out with a smile. 

The kid, very slightly, relaxed. Anyone not paying full attention would miss it. But Hal had years of experience of working beside Batman, of course he wasn't about to miss it. 

“Robin,” the kid said. 

“Okay, Robin,” Hal smiled, noting the fact it was another bird name, “Whose Zeta tube did you come through? The Bat?”

“Hmp.” it was hardly an answer, but hey, he was responding!

“Does Batman know?” 

Robin's posture stiffened ever so slightly. However, he shook off the tension just as subtly. He also reacts in micro-expression, Hal noted.  

“He doesn't need to.” Robin said, sounding–trying to sound–apathetic, “Where's Nightwing?” 

Something's wrong, but whatever it is, Nightwing would probably be more suited to solve it for his brother….

Oh fuck, Hal cursed at his thought, if  Nightwing has a brother, Batman has two kids. Fucking great. Marvelous. Batman's going to kill him if he found out Hal knew they were related. 

Hal helped Robin find Nightwing and as Nightwing started asking for Robin's reason for arrival and if Batman knew, Hal left them alone knowing the kid would not feel comfortable sharing his presence.

Another Batkid, huh?

_

Hal walked in the watch room, he was supposed to be on monitoring duty. He stopped abruptly as he saw an hero teen sitting on the main computer. Activating his ring, Hal addressed the new presence, “Hey.”

The teen didn’t move, clearly absorbed in whatever he was doing. Hal cautiously approached closer, assessing the teen and the too many windows open on the screen. There were too many disposable coffee cups stacked on one corner of the table. 

“What are you doing?” Hal asked again, a bit more sternly. 

“Huh?” the teen almost jumped up and blinked rapidly at him. 

“I– uh– was doing maintenance,” the young hero said quickly.

“You?” Hal raised an eyebrow, looking up and down at the boy. A kid doing Watchtower maintenance?

“Uh– yeah, there were some updates I wanted to implement myself this time,” the teen vaguely waved at the monitor.

Okay… wait! ‘This time’??

“You work on Watchtower security!?”

“Yeah? It’s probably written somewhere in the paperwork– I don’t blame you if you missed…” the teen trailed off, “Red Robin.”

Oh, he had heard that name before– wait the fuck up! Red Robin!?? 

Red Robin seemed to have caught the surprise on his face and tilted his head questioningly.

“Are you related to Robin?” Hal asked with furrowed eyebrows.

“Uh-uh,” Red Robin seemed hesitant to answer, “We’re both from Gotham?”

Awesome, Hal has met three possible kids of Batman now.

“Gotham, eh? You work with Bat?”

“Yeah, Batman.” Red Robin nodded, “He’s my… mentor.”

Oh? Okay. Not another kid, but mentee. Fine. 

“I see,” Hal inhaled, “Don’t mind me, I’ll just cross-check.” he said as he pulled out his phone.

“Yeah, of course,” Red Robin nodded, “No problem.”

So Hal sent Batman a text.

Oi, Spooky

Is Red Robin supposed to be in Watchtower, doing maintenance?

Yes

Why?

Just making sure someone hasn’t broken into the Watchtower.

*eyeroll gif*

“Okay, we’re good,” Hal claimed another chair. Red Robin nodded silently before turning back to his work.

Minutes stretched to hours, Hal found Red Robin’s presence quite nice. At one point, he noticed the teen had dodged off, his forehead on the table. Hal eyed the stack of coffee cups again, the kid was probably too tired– running on caffeine. Is Spooky overworking his mentee??

Honestly, that sounded much like Spooky, but he surely wouldn’t be that hard on his kids too? Especially after seeing how soft he was to Nightwing. Batman didn’t look like someone who’d discriminate. 

Hal put that thought back in his mind. Grabbing a blanket from Watchtower stacks, he draped it lightly over the tired teen’s figure, careful not to wake him up. He also cleared up the stack of empty cups before returning to his seat and keeping watch.

Half an hour later, Batman stormed into the room. Welp, not really ‘stormed’ that ever quiet bastard.

“Red Robin?” Batman called as soon as he entered. Hal turned to the man to see Batman almost running over to the teen, worry written all over his face despite the cowl.

“He’s just sleeping,” Hal said as Batman was about to check on the teen. Batman sent a strange look his way. 

Hal shrugged, “He seemed quite tired, there was a stack of coffee cups there.” he vaguely gestured at the corner he had cleaned earlier.

Batman glanced back to Red Robin, then sighed. A bit tired, a bit relieved. His right hand lightly cradled Red Robin’s cheek… it was not a conscious action– but something instinctive, something he had done countless times before. Just like how he had draped his cape over a sleeping Nightwing. And at this point? Hal wasn't even surprised. 

“I'll take him back,” Batman said before carefully picking up the sleeping hero, wrapped in the blanket. 

“Okay,” Hal peeked a glance at the duo. 

Red Robin was snuggled in Batman's arms like a kid, his head resting against the crook of Batman's neck. The teen shifted ever so slightly, leaning into the older man. Batman tilted his head, his cheek lightly touching the teen's hair. Hal could swear there was a soft peck of Batman's lips.

A small gesture, warm and domestic. Hal tore his eyes away from the sight and set his eyes on the monitors. It felt like he was overstepping some unspoken boundary if he stared at such an intimate moment. Mentor, his ass. That was a full-fetched dad right there. 

Batman walked away without another word. 

_

Batman had three sons. Probably. That's… as unexpected as it was, acceptable. But why the fuck was the local crime lord of Gotham also Batman's kid?

But here he was, watching– Red Hood, tied up in a chair because he broke into the Watchtower. The crime lord had demanded Batman right away. And Hal's first instinct, defying all logic, was ‘another batling’. He wasn't about to miss the big red Bat symbol plastered over the man's chest. 

Hal was positive his instinct was right cause why else was Batman giving the infamous crime lord the most tired dad look Hal had ever seen? Like– look at him! A hand on his hip, another pinching the bridge of his nose as he tried to reason with Red Hood.

“So you broke into the Watchtower because Spoiler dared you to?” 

Hal didn't know who ‘Spoiler’ was but he just put the name in his mental list of ‘Might be kids of Spooky’. 

“I wasn't supposed to get caught! Spoiler played dirty, getting Oracle to alert the security!” Red Hood replied. 

Batman let out a long, wary sigh, “Great, just great.” 

“Uh… I probably should go on, since you know, you deal with Gotham rogues." Hal said, having a feeling his presence was long forgotten by the two men.

Two of them looked at him at the same time. Despite the helmet and the cowl, Hal had a distinct feeling of similarity in those two's gaze. 

“Hn,” Batman said, excusing him with a nod. 

As Hal slipped away, the two started arguing again, not serious, but uh like a parent with a child caught in the middle of a prank. Hal sighed, Batman has a local crime lord kid. Ain't that so fucking amazing?

_

It had been months since Hal had come to realize Batman was most probably a dad with three heroes and one crime lord being his probable sons. He walked into the Watchtower kitchen, humming to himself. He made himself a nice cup of coffee. Putting it on the counter, he grabbed some snacks from the cabinets. And, ah, that’s when he noticed a silent black figure sitting on a tool on the other side of the counter.

Hal was not a man of fear, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t get startled. 

“Spooky!?” Hal exclaimed, cause only one person Hal knew would dress like that, “Did you get hit with magic!? Genderbend or something??”

The giggle the figure let out told Hal it was not in fact the Bat.

“Black Bat,” the girl said with a smile once her laughter subdued.

“O-oh,” Hal inhaled sharply, “I guess you’ve come with Batman?”

Black Bat nodded.

“I see, he’s bringing lots of you over these days,” Hal commented before sitting on the tool across the girl. 

“I’m Green Lantern, Hal Jordan though I’m sure you already know,” Hal added.

Black Bat nodded, “Lantern.”

“You want some?” Hal offered the chips he had retrieved from the cabinet.

Black Bat tilted her head, as if assessing him, then she reached out and took a handful of chips, “Thanks.”

Hal left the packet in between them if Black Bat wanted more and sipped his coffee.

“Where’s Spooky?” Hal questioned a few moments later.

“He’s checking something, he’ll be here in a few minutes,” Black Bat replied. 

Hal nodded, “I see.”

“What are you talking about?” Batman chose that exact moment to spawn on the kitchen door, shooting Hal an odd look as he approached Black Bat.

“Just wondering why there’s a Bat junior chilling in the kitchen,” Hal replied. Batman, ignoring him, glanced back at Black Bat. Black Bat nodded, supporting his claim.

“Come on,” Batman rested a hand gently and protectively on her shoulder. Black Bat relaxed into the touch and nodded before glancing at Hal and giving him a nod with a small smile. Hal found himself smiling back, ignoring another odd look from Batman and watched as the two Bats walked out of the kitchen.

Soooooo Batman, a probable girl-dad? Hal grinned, this is so fun.

_

Hal descended on the roof of one of the dark buildings of Gotham. He checked his phone, he wasn't late and this was the right location too. He looked around, searching for Batman who was supposed to meet him here. 

He was trailing a lead on a case which led him to Gotham of all places. Hal walked over to the side of the roof, looking over the city. This whole city was broody, just like Batman himself. He would prefer to get out of here as soon as possible. 

Hal looked around the roof again– still no signs of the Bat. Did he ditch Hal? No, he wouldn't let a man with a power ring operate in Gotham outside of his watch. Hal checked his phone, no text either. 

He pocketed it back and suddenly there was a black figure standing right beside him.

“Fuck,” Hal jumped sideways before holding up his ring to attack or defend whichever needed. Once ready, he took in the figure. It was Black Bat. 

“Black Bat?” Hal said exasperatedly.

There was a giggle, not from Black Bat but another girl who just dropped on the roof. Black Bat nodded at Hal with a small smile.

“Sorry,” she said. 

“Uh– it's okay,” Hal lowered his hand with his ring. He turned to the other girl who was dressed in a purple hero outfit, her face hidden behind a mask and hood. Her blond hair was peeking slightly from under the hood. 

“Spoiler,” Black Bat gestured at the purple girl.

“So, you're Spoiler,” Hal remembered the name from Red Hood. 

“Green lantern,” he offered the girl a hand.

“Oh, I'm famous?” Spoiler's eyes sparkled as she stepped forward and gave him a solid handshake.

“After betting Red Hood to break into the Watchtower?” Hal smirked, “Yes, you are, especially with how much Hood was complaining that you played him dirty and he wasn't supposed to get caught.”

Spoiler gave him a wide grin. Hal turned to Black Bat again.

“I gotta say, you're good at this, even more than the big Bat,” He said, “I didn't even think it was possible!” 

Both the girls laughed.

“So, where's Batman? I thought he was supposed to be my guide?” Hal asked once the laughter subdued. 

“Batman got caught in some work… Black Bat offered to come instead and I'm just tagging along,” Spoiler replied. Black Bat nodded, supporting her words. 

“Alright, girls let's get to work then.” 

“You know what? I'll prefer to work with you girls any day over Spooky,” Hal said, munching on his batburger. 

They had managed to get quite a good amount of info and Hal offered to treat the girls to celebrate their success and also to thank them for helping out. Of course, if it was the big Bat, they'd already be on their way back– but it wasn't the Spooky, it was his kids who were surprisingly nicer than the man.

They were sitting on a rooftop, batburgers in hand, Spoiler and Black Bat on either side of him as they talked and ate.

“I'm sure B would pick us over you any day too,” Spoiler commented. 

Hal snorted, “Well, we know the feeling's mutual.”

“He trusts,” Black Bat said, looking at him with a serious but soft expression. Hal had learned she talked little, but when she did, it seemed to be important to her. 

“Welp, he does, with some matters,” Hal replied, “Don’t get me wrong. I trust him too, with my life an’ all but I do not trust him to act like a normal human being, if you know what I mean.” 

Spoiler laughed, “Yeah, I know exactly what you mean.”

“You're not one of the Bats?” Hal asked.

“One of the Bats?” Spoiler raised an eyebrow.

“I mean, you’re not bird themed, are you?” Hal observed, “Like Nightwing, Robin, Red Robin, Batman, Black Bat.” 

“Oh,” Spoiler nodded, “No, I'm not. But I do work with them closely.”

“I see, everyone around here seems bat or bird themed.” 

“Red Hood?” Spoiler asked.

“He has a big red bat on his chest, clearly not bird themed,” Hal deadpanned. The girls laughed lightly. Hal smiled at the sight.

“Good point, he's still in denial though,” Spoiler said.

“Though I can't speak for Oracle, I haven't met them yet,” Hal added. 

“Oracle isn't one of the Bats either, she's close though,” Spoiler told him, “She works with information, not on field.”

“Guy in the chair, huh?” Hal said, “I see. I guess that means I've met all of Gotham's protectors, huh?” 

“Signal,” Black Bat said. Hal looked at her questioningly.

“You haven't met Signal,” Black Bat explained. 

“Oh,” Hal tilted his head, “He's not bird themed either?” 

“He does have a bat on his chest too,” Spoiler replied, “But he patrols in daytime.”

“I guess that means I have met all of Gotham's shadow protectors?” Hal smirked. He took pride in himself as the girls giggled. 

“Hn,” a grunt came from behind him. 

“Oh hey, Spooks,” Hal glanced back at the ever brooding figure of Batman with a smirk, “I don’t think your spawn-out-of-nowhere scare tactic is going to work anymore, Black Bat here has made me practically resistant.” his hand easily resting on Black Bat’s shoulder.

Batman’s eyes thinned. He took in the easy and calm form of all of them and looked at Black Bat who offered him a small smile. That faltered Batman’s stern expression in some micro fashion. But the sternness returned as he glanced back at Hal.

“Lantern.”

“Yep, Spooks.”

“I take it your work here is done?”

Translation: why are you still here?

“Yes, your ki–*cough*–associates helped a lot,” Hal replied, ignoring the unspoken question. 

Batman’s eyes thinned slightly, “And what are you doing?”

“Just treating the girls for their help,” Hal shrugged casually, “I’m not tryna poison them or something.” 

“You wouldn’t survive the attempt,” Batman said dryly.

“I have no doubt about that,” he added with a glance at the two girls. “Black Bat and Spoiler are amazing, nice and friendly, unlike a certain someone,” Hal smirked. Spoiler joined him.

“Hn.” 

Translation: Shut up, Jordan.

“You should learn from them,” Hal had no intention of shutting up.

Batman grunted in response.

“Yeah, B, you should learn somethings from Lantern too,” Spoiler joined him, “Look, he’s treating us for a job done good. And it’s not with lectures!”

Hal snorted, knowing exactly that was how the big Bat was.

“Leave when you’re done,” Batman said grumpily before grappling away.

Translation: fuck off as soon as you can.

Spoiler and Hal shared a grin. Black Bat also seemed amused.

“Don’t mind him,” Spoiler said, “He’s being grumpy.”

“He’s always grumpy,” Hal said.

“He’s feeling it a bit more today,” Black Bat added.

“Well, then I should probably go away soon, don’t wanna mysteriously disappear,” Hal joked.

“Don’t worry, we’ll find you,” Spoiler said and Black Bat nodded. Hal grinned at them.

_

Hal had run into several of the probable Batfamily and he’s positive he left a good impression on most of them. He and Nightwing could work together just fine. They both would fill their joint monitoring duty with rambling and the other would listen. Black Bat and Spoiler seemed to enjoy his company. Red Robin would give him an acknowledging nod on the rare occasions they’d run into each other. Even Red Hood once came broke into Hal’s apartment when he chased a trail to Coast city and proudly claimed Hal’s coffee and snacks(Hal had a lingering feeling it was to screw with Batman).

However, if there was one probable batfamily member Hal wasn’t sure what they thought of him– it was Robin. So, cut him some slack for being concerned when the kid sought him out in the Watchtower.

Hal was on monitoring duty that day–not that there’s day and night in space–when Robin walked in the room with a bag slung on his shoulder.

“Hey, ki–little man,” Hal greeted the kid, “What brought you here?”

“I’m not little.”

“Sure, man, I don’t think Nightwing or any of the Bats are here today?” Hal said.

“Tt, I know,” Robin looked offended with the implication he might not have known.

“Oh,” Hal tilted his head, “What made you grace the Watchtower with your presence then?” he asked in a lighter tone.

Robin didn’t reply, he huffed and walked towards Hal. Hal watched him with curious eyes as he dragged a chair beside Hal and climbed onto it. 

“I require your assistance,” Robin stated. It didn't sound like a request, but rather a command. Guess who else makes requests that end up sounding like commands?

Shoving that in a box of his mind to think about later, Hal raised an eyebrow.

“...with?”

Robin's lips pressed on a thin line. He opened his mouth but then pressed his lips shut again. 

“Homework,” Robin gritted the word out of himself as if it was something nasty. Right, Robin was just a kid, of course he had homework… wait the fuck up Jordan! 

“You need my help with your homework?” Hal gave him a genuinely bewildered look.

Robin gave him an unimpressed look as if he was being immature, making a big deal out of nothing. 

Was it really not a big deal!? Batman's (probable) kid seeking Hal Jordan's help for homework!? Any other, Hal might've understood, but Robin!? 

“Yes, why else would I tell you so?” Robin clearly rolled his eyes behind his domino mask.

Okay, Jordan, calm down. You can be a good uncle. You're a great uncle. You have uncled Wally and your niece and nephew. You can be the cool uncle to Robin. Imagine how pissed off Batman would be–  but the problem was they didn't throw a batarang–robarang? birdarang? at his face when they first met!???

“Uh, what about your…” 

What is he gonna say? He can't possibly casually drop that he knew Batman and Robin were probably related. 

“...family?” Hal settled for that, “Uh ya know? Dad? Brothers?”

“While father is knowledgeable in many areas, including planes, it is not his exclusive expertise,” Robin replied. 

Okay, why is the kid calling his dad ‘father’? He shoved that thought in the same box as before.

“Your homework is plane related?” Hal asked softly, happy to be sought out for his interest. 

“It's an essay about planes,” Robin opened his bag and pulled out some papers and pen, setting them neatly on the table before.

“Oh, okay, one last question,” Hal continued as Robin looked at him, “Does uh– Batman know you're here?”

“I informed him, yes,” Robin replied.

Hal raised an eyebrow, “He agreed?” 

“Not relevant,” Robin looked away.

“Listen, buddy, I do like my life, I'd like to keep it, so it's pretty important,” Hal smiled.

Robin huffed, “You're not dangerous or something.”

“I'm not?” Hal danced an eyebrow.

“Black Bat trusts you,” he stated it like a fact. As if that was supposed to make everyone trust him too.

“Hmm… okay,” Hal admitted, that's a bit nice, “Let's see what we can do?”

He sent a text to Bat just to be safe saying Robin's with him. 

Hal rambled away about planes, Robin didn't quite look intrigued, but he didn't interrupt. When he did interrupt though, it was to ask Hal related questions which told Hal the kid had been listening pretty closely even if he didn't show it. Once again, it reminded him starkly of Batman who'd look like he's ignoring you but could probably recite every word you said.

They were almost done when Batman stormed in, “Robin!?”

Both Hal and Robin turned to face him.

“He’s right here, Spooky,” Hal said, “He didn't get kidnapped or something.”

Batman was over them in a second. 

“Why did you come here?” Batman demanded from Robin.

“I required Jordan's assistance, Fa–Batman.” Robin replied.

Batman was Robin's father. Hal wished he hadn't picked that up. Though that made him move Robin to ‘Kid of Bat’ from ‘Probable kids of Bat’.

“With?”

Wow, Robin really didn't tell him, did he?

“An essay about planes,” Robin replied.

Batman took a deep breath, “Alright, but you could've let me know!” 

“I left a note.”

Informed him, his ass. He needed to be more direct with questioning next time.

“Robin, you can't just leave a note and disappear,” Batman said sternly.

“Watchtower is safe,” Robin argued.

“That doesn’t mean you can come here without permission. Also, you can't just use Zeta tubes whenever you like,” Batman added. Robin scowled. 

“Just because it’s in the cave and you have access to the cave doesn't mean you have permission to use it.”

Nice, Batman has a cave. Thanks for the confirmation. 

“Hey, he just wanted to ask an expert,” Hal said lightly. Batman gave him a glare.

“Okay, he should’ve told you directly, you’ll do that next time, won’t you?” Hal turned to Robin, speaking softly. Robin looked away.

“Won’t you?” Hal emphasized.

Robin let out a sigh and turned to Batman, “I apologize for the inconvenience. I’ll speak directly with you next time.”

Before Batman could ruin it, Hal smiled, “Good.”

Hal then turned to Batman, fixing him with a look, trying to silently tell him not to ruin it. 

Batman sighed, “Alright, Robin, I’ll take your words.”

“Are you done yet?” Batman asked.

“Almost,” Hal replied.

Batman turned to Robin who nodded. Okay, for once it’d be nice for him to take Hal’s word to it too. 

“I'll see you back at the cave,” Batman told Robin before walking away grumpily.

“Why didn’t you tell him?” Hal asked lightly.

“He was busy,” Hal didn’t miss the slight disheartened tone. Broody is messing up his parenting, huh?

“Oh… Let’s finish this up, eh?” Hal gestured at the essay. Robin nodded and started writing again.

Batman cared about Nightwing and Red Robin pretty obviously. Given how Nightwing is, Bat didn’t look like a bad parent. Then why was Robin like this? Why did the kid call him ‘father’? And why did the kid act so formally? Did Bat’s parenting change from Nightwing to Robin? So much that caused this stark difference between the two?

Hal felt a bit bad for Robin, he’s just a kid. And he’s sincere where it matters from what Hal can see from his writing. Maybe he’ll ask Batman what’s wrong? Hal winced at the thought. Hal Jordan advising Batman on parenting? That line alone spoke volume about how weird Hal’s life had become.

Once Robin finished the essay, Hal gave it a read, offering some advice here and there, Robin listened carefully and took some as well. 

“Great job, man,” Hal smiled at him, “Do you want some ice cream?”

Robin gave him an odd look, “Why?”

“Because we finished your essay and you did it well?” 

“It’s just an essay,” Robin said as if he wasn’t supposed to be praised for something so simple. Bat is seriously messing up, Hal thought.

“That doesn’t mean we can’t appreciate hard work.” Hal said seriously. Yeah, he might just ask Batman about it later.

“It wasn’t hard,” Robin argued.

“I didn’t mean it was hard for you, it’s… you did a good job and we could celebrate that.” Hal said quickly.

“That’s… childish.”

“Being childish isn’t wrong,” Robin didn’t look like he agreed but he didn’t argue either.

“So, do you want some?” Hal raised an eyebrow.

“Aren't you on duty?” Robin asked.

“Right, I am. But if you grab the ice cream and spoons from the kitchen, we can finish that here.”

Tilting his head, Robin got down from his chair and padded away to the door. Despite his almost-permanent scowling expression, Hal had to admit he was rather adorable. 

Robin got back pretty quickly, Hal didn't even bother to ask how Robin knew his way around the Watchtower. He was Bat's kid, of course he knew his way around the Watchtower.

They ate ice cream while Hal, again, rambled away. Robin sure had way more patience with him than Batman. 

In the end, Hal accompanied Robin to the Zeta tube. Before going through, Robin turned him.

“I appreciate your help, Jordan. Thank you for today,” he said in a formal tone.

Well, at least the kid knew to voice his appreciation.

“Always happy to help,” Hal lightly patted Robin's shoulder with a smile. With a nod Robin was gone. 

_

“Batman?” Hal called after the shadow of a man with a rather serious tone for Hal Jordan. 

"What, Lantern?” Batman turned to him with a frown. 

“I'd like to have a word,” Hal kept his face and tone even, “Privately.” 

Batman's frown deepened, he had already gotten this was serious from the fact alone that Hal called him ‘Batman’ and not some random nicknames.

Batman nodded and led the way to a confidential meeting room. Hal saw Superman eyeing them worriedly when they passed him in the corridors. Well, same, Big Blue, Hal thought mentally. He was worried as fuck as well.

A few days had passed since Robin sought his help and Hal had been thinking what he should be doing.

Hal was curious about the Batfamily before, but Robin had left him a bit worried for the kid. And Hal is Hal, of course he's ready on his feet to put Batman in his place. 

However, Hal didn't really know Batman. 

He knew how the man fought, he knew how the man led, he knew how the man was capable, strong, trust-worthy and all that. 

He also knew how the man could be overbearing and paranoid, he knew how the man could mess up his words so bad it would sound like he was trying to ragebait when he was just trying to compliment or something. 

But hey, Hal Jordan didn't know Batman. At least nowhere near in the way Superman and Wonder Woman did. Definitely not in the way Nightwing and other Gotham vigilantes did. 

So what right did he have to ask about the man's parenting? 

Welp, screw the thoughts cause he's already in the process of doing it.

“What is it, Lantern?” Batman said as the door closed behind them and he claimed a chair on the table. 

“It's about Robin,” Hal said, standing by the chair across from Batman, feeling too fidgety to sit. 

Batman clearly didn't look happy with that. But he stayed quiet, waiting for Hal to continue. 

“You see when the other day he asked for my help… I asked him why he didn't ask his family like his dad or siblings or someone, ya know?” Hal started, opting to not look at Batman as he continued, “He said his father was knowledgeable in many areas… and when you came in, he cut himself in the middle of calling you ‘father’.”

“Which is to say you're Robin's father,” Hal stated, finally glancing at Batman. Batman's face was perfectly blank. Forcefully blank.

“Great job figuring that out,” Batman said uninterestedly.

“Oh, shut up,” Hal rolled his eyes, “The thing is I'm a bit worried about him.”

Batman raised an eyebrow questioningly. 

“You see, when I asked him why he didn't tell you about coming to Watchtower, he said you were busy…”

“I do have a day job,” Batman supplied dryly.

“I'm not saying you don't– of course you get busy, you workaholic,” Hal rolled his eyes, then stared straight at Batman, “But you care about Robin.”

“No shit, Sherlock.”

“Which is to say, you should probably say that to him.”

Frown took over Batman's face.

“You see, if the kid thinks he cannot reach out to you for a few minutes to tell you where he's going– that's a problem,” Hal pointed out.

Unexplainable silence followed. Hal couldn't get a read on Batman. 

“You don't know Robin,” Batman finally said.

“I know that,” Hal admitted though he didn't like Batman's tone.

“Then mind your own business, Lantern,” Batman said, rising from his seat, indicating it's the end of the discussion. 

“Robin sounded upset.”

“He's fine.”

“Really? You're gonna deny it now?” Hal said with disbelief.

“You don't get to lecture me about it, Lantern,” Batman said sternly.

“Oh? That's how it is?” Hal said angrily, “You won't listen to a sound advice just because it's from me!?”

“You don't get to question my parenting!” Batman barked.

“Shut the fuck up, Batman,” Hal slammed his hand on the table, startling the man into quiet, “I'm not berating you about you parenting or whatever you think is going on! I know, I don't have the right or enough fucking context! Cause, surprise! I actually have a functioning brain! But Robin needs to know he can reach out to you anytime!!”

“Well, he should know it by now!” 

“He ‘should know’,  ‘does know’ and ‘feels it know’ are very fucking different things, you–” Hal goes on a string of intergalactic curses in one breath, “–idiot!”

Batman's posture was rigid and upright, but he seemed stunned– not in a good way. His jaw was clenched so hard, he might be chipping his teeth. His nose flared as he breathed.

For a lingering moment Hal thought Batman might attack him. Well, he wasn't scared of that. Rather, he'd very much like an opportunity to beat his ass right now. 

Batman's lips did the thing when he was failing to control his words. His lips pressed on hard in a thin line, twitched and smoothed. The cycle repeated several times before he finally spoke.

“Stay away from my family, Jordan.” 

Hal rolled his eyes extravagantly, “That's what you go for, huh?”

Batman turned on his heels and walked out.

“Fuck,” Hal muttered, genuinely pissed off, “‘World's greatest detective’, my ass. He's an overgrown asshole.