“Rayner is slacking off,” Wally said.
Hal looked over his shoulder to where Kyle was talking to Diana, Kendra and Mari. “Why?”
“Because he’s a single guy standing under the mistletoe with three gorgeous women and he hasn’t tried to kiss even one of them.”
Not so single, Hal thought, but that was something they had decided to keep quiet for a while. It wasn’t that they didn’t want anyone to know — their friends in the Corps all knew — but they had decided to settle into their new relationship before coming out and dealing with the inevitable shock (and juvenile commentary) from their colleagues on Earth.
“I dare you to go kiss one of them,” Wally said, nudging Hal with his elbow.
Hal snorted. “You really think I should kiss one of them?”
Wally laughed. “Hell, yeah! If only so I can laugh at you getting slapped.”
“And you don’t think Kyle would get slapped?”
“Nah.” Wally shook his head. “Kyle’s adorable, he can get away with it.”
Hal looked over at the group. Well, now was as good as time as any. He handed Wally his beer and went over to the them. “Excuse me, but you all seem to be standing under the mistletoe.”
They all looked up. All three of the women took a step back, then got identical looks on their faces when they looked back at Hal: Don’t even try it.
He grinned. They had nothing to worry about. “So I guess that means I get a kiss.” He grabbed Kyle around the waist and before he could say anything Hal kissed him.
There were gasps of surprise and Wally’s “What the Hell?!” but Hal ignored them all as he slowly bent Kyle back in a kiss that he felt down to his toes. He hoped Kyle wouldn’t be mad at him for deciding to reveal their secret at the JLA Christmas Party, but his fears disappeared when Kyle threaded his fingers into Hal’s hair and shoved his tongue into his mouth.
When they came up for air, Kyle was smiling at him. “Wow.”
“Merry Christmas,” Hal said. He glanced over Kyle’s shoulder. The party had come to a halt while everyone stared at them. Well, he and Kyle could either stick around and explain themselves the rest of the night, or he could just let them gossip about it while he took Kyle home and finished what he started.
Hal took Kyle’s hand and pulled him towards the door.