Hal slipped through the half open door of the old warehouse. The ring had detected a space-time anomaly in this area, and Hal’s first thought had been a ‘visitor’ from Qward. He scanned the warehouse. It was filled with dusty crates, some broken open and their contents looted. But there didn’t seem to be anyone, or anything, here.
<LIFEFORM DETECTED>, the ring said. <HUMAN. 20 YARDS SOUTHWEST.>
Hal lifted his fist, ring at the ready, and tread softly in the direction the ring had indicated. He should call for back-up, but John was working his day job and the ring said it was only one human, so he should be able to handle it.
He stepped around a row of boxes, shining his ring ahead of him and casting a green glow in the darkness. Whoever was here had to know he was here. So why didn’t he show himself?
He turned the corner at the end of the row and stepped back in surprise, heart pounding, as a figure stepped out of the shadows. His mind couldn’t quite grasp what he was seeing. “What the—?”
“You?” the figure said. “Must be my lucky day!” It gave a roguish grin, and the last thing Hal saw was a flash of green before everything went black.
Kyle entered Earth’s atmosphere and smiled as the familiar spot on California’s coast came into view. He liked being on Oa, but it was good to be home, even though he no longer had an actual home here. Hal had offered him a place to stay for a short vacation, and Kyle decided to take him up on it.
He landed in a wooded park in Coast City to walk the rest of the way to Hal’s apartment building. He was both looking forward to and dreading this week. Looking forward to it because Hal had taken time off from work so they could take a “male bonding” road trip, driving cross-country to anywhere that looks interesting to eventually meet up with John next weekend in Detroit. He was dreading it because he was going to have Hal to himself for a week, and he regularly fantasized about doing a lot more than friendly male bonding with Hal. He had thought being on Oa for months, far away from the object of his affection, would have taken care of his crush, but it seemed to only make it worse. He didn’t think his heart was pounding this hard from the short walk to Hal’s apartment.
He stared at the door for a moment before ringing the bell. Okay, you can do this. Maybe you’ll annoy the hell out of each other for the week, and you’ll be glad to go back to Oa and—
The door opened. Kyle looked into brown eyes and swallowed back a whimper. He was in so much trouble.
“Kyle!” Hal looked surprised to see him. And what was with the goatee?
“I did get the date right, right?” Kyle asked. “For our vacation.”
“Oh. Yeah. Sorry.” Hal stepped back so Kyle could come into the apartment. “I’ve just been … busy with work. I think I lost track of the day of the week.”
“Is this a bad time? I can go stay somewhere else,” Kyle asked, half hoping Hal would say yes.
Instead, Hal gave him a big smile. “No! I’m really glad you’re here.” He turned and headed for the kitchen. “Want some dinner. I can call for takeout.”
“Sure.” Kyle frowned. He swore the way Hal said ‘really’ sounded kind of … seductive. He shook his head and wiped a hand over his face. You need to get over this, Kyle. Now you’re starting to hear things that aren’t there.
He followed Hal into the kitchen. Hal was searching through a drawer, pulling out menus and tossing them on the counter. “So what’s with the goatee?” Kyle asked.
Hal smiled at him and smoothed his hand over the hair on his chin. “You like it?” He winked at Kyle.
“Uh…” Did Hal just wink at him? “I suppose I could get used to it.” Time for a subject change. “So, any idea where you want to go on the road trip?” Kyle asked.
“Road trip?” Hal looked confused.
Okay, that was weird. They’d been talking about this for weeks. “Our vacation? The road trip to Detroit to visit John and stop wherever looks interesting on the way?”
“Oh, right!” Hal shook his head. “Sorry, I had a rough day chasing after an anomaly. Hit my head pretty hard.”
“Are you all right? If you’re having memory loss, then you should go to the hospital and get checked out.”
“The ring said I was fine.” Hal grinned. “But if it will make you feel better, you can check me out.”
Kyle swallowed. Hal was still looking at him with that cocky grin, and it was making him quite warm and tingly. He could not mean that in the way Kyle thought it sounded. “Um. You should really have a doctor look at you.”
“I’m fine! Really.” Hal picked up the stack of menus. “What do you want to eat?”
“But what about the anomaly? Did you figure out what caused it?”
“Turned out to be nothing. Must have been a glitch in the ring.”
Kyle frowned. Their rings didn’t have ‘glitches’. “But, Hal—”
Hal shoved the menus at Kyle. “Here. Pick something.”
Kyle took the menus. He didn’t mistake that tone of voice, the tone that said the subject should be dropped. Fine, when Mr. Tough Fighter Jock needed to be dragged to the hospital when yet another concussion made his brain explode, Kyle would be able to say “I told you so.”
“ … And then Guy tells him to stick it up his ass. And of course I need to step in to calm things down before he beats Guy to a pulp.” Kyle shook his head at the memory. He’d nearly gotten his own ass kicked. What was it with Guy and picking fights with aliens twice his size?
“Shoulda let him do it,” Hal said. “Gardner would’ve deserved it.”
“Come on, Hal. I don’t think Soranik would have been able to put the pieces back together if I’d let Guy get into that fight.”
“He doesn’t deserve you as a partner,” Hal said. He turned sideways to look at Kyle, arm slung over the back of the couch. “You’re too nice to put up with that shit.”
Kyle frowned and set his beer down next to the remains of the Italian takeout. “Jeez, Hal. I thought you and Guy were friends again. Where did this come from? Did you … uh … Hal?” Kyle froze as Hal’s fingers brushed through his hair, around his ear and down his neck, then back up again, sending tingly warmth through Kyle’s body. Hal’s eyes were on him, a smile on his face that was more than friendly. “What are you doing?” He couldn’t catch his breath, and it came out barely a whisper.
“This.” Hal leaned forward and kissed Kyle.
It took a moment for Kyle to register what was happening, to fully grasp that the mouth pressed to his belonged to Hal. Because Hal was kissing him. Hal. Kissing him. What the fuck? He shoved Hal away from him. “Hal! What are you—?”
Hal’s hand clamped over Kyle’s mouth. He leaned close so his breath was warm against Kyle’s cheek, and his brown eyes were staring at Kyle intently and invitingly. “Do you really want me to stop, Kyle?”
Yes, would be the right answer, because there really did seem to be something wrong with Hal. But the taste of his salty skin against his lips, the smell of the beer on his breath mixed with leather, and the fact that Hal’s fingers were slowly creeping up his thigh made Kyle’s brain go to places where reason no longer mattered. He shook his head.
“Good boy,” Hal said, smiling at him. He bent over to brush his lips just below Kyle’s ear “You’re a very good boy, aren’t you?” he mumbled against his neck.
Kyle just shuddered and sighed as the tingle from the mouth sucking on his neck collided somewhere around his stomach with the jolt from insistent fingers pulling open his fly. I’m dreaming. I have to be dreaming. “Hal—?”
“Shh!” Hal put a finger on Kyle’s lips. “No talking. I think we can find something better to do with that gorgeous mouth of yours.” Hal replaced his finger with his lips, plunging his tongue into Kyle’s mouth.
Kyle reluctantly turned his head away, and Hal moved his mouth to Kyle’s neck, the short hairs of his goatee tickling Kyle’s skin and raising goosebumps. “Hal, are you sure you’re okay?” He gasped when Hal’s hand plunged inside pants, grasping his growing erection. “Con…concussions can really mess with your head.”
Hal pulled back to look at him. “I told you, my head is perfectly fine.” He got a predatory gleam in his eyes. “It’s yours I’m more concerned about.”
“What—ahhh!” Kyle moaned when Hal slid down and swallowed him. “Hal!” He looked down, mesmerized by Hal enthusiastically sucking his cock. All thoughts of concussions fled, overwhelmed by that hot mouth licking and sucking his shaft, Hal using his tongue in ways that drove Kyle right to the edge. It was a dream come true, he’d dreamed this so many times, aching to feel Hal’s mouth on him and now… now … now …
Kyle gasped. He fisted Hal’s hair as he came, and Hal took him deeper, right to the hilt. Hal swallowed the cum, tightening his throat around Kyle’s cock. Kyle collapsed, head tilted back, breathing hard. “That … was amazing.”
Hal gave him one final lick, then stood up. “Oh, we’ve only gotten started.” He took Kyle’s hand to pull him to his feet. “How about we move to the bed.”
Kyle let Hal lead the way, his head still buzzing and his knees wobbly from the orgasm. Hal led him to the king-size bed that dominated the bedroom. Kyle had been in Hal’s room before, to change clothes after their fight with the Sinestro Corps, and had wondered what it would be like to be in that bed. And apparently he was about to find out.
“Take your clothes off,” Hal ordered. He had already pulled his jacket off and was working on his shirt.
Kyle was shaking so much he was surprised he didn’t fall over while he undressed, but then he was standing there naked with an equally naked Hal gazing at him with hungry eyes.
“Get on the bed.”
Kyle did as he was told, heart pounding from Hal ordering him around. Yes, sir, Captain Jordan…
As soon as Kyle lay back on the bed Hal was on top of him, pushing his knees between Kyle’s thighs while he devoured Kyle’s mouth. There wasn’t anything romantic about it, this was pure lust. Hal pinned Kyle’s hands down as he ground against him, his hard cock pressing into Kyle’s belly. “Do you like it like this, Kyle?”
“Yeah.” Kyle breathed. He lifted his knees and tilted his hips up, grinding back against Hal.
“Do you want me, Kyle? Tell me you want me.”
“Oh God, Hal, yes, yes … wanted you … for so long …” Hal’s hands were digging painfully into his wrists, but it was a delicious contrast to the warm mouth against his ear.
“How long have you wanted me, Kyle,” Hal demanded. “Tell me.”
“Since … we first met … when you were Parallax and … we had the fight.” He closed his eyes. He remembered the day clearly, rolling around with Hal on the dead world of Oa, Hal pressing him into the ground, his hands gripping him roughly, just like this—
“You like it rough, huh?” Hal chuckled and nipped at his ear, making Kyle jump. “I’d like to take you and—”
“What the hell is going on?”
Kyle’s eyes snapped open and he looked over the shoulder of the man pinning him to the bed towards the familiar voice, looking right into the shocked face of … Hal Jordan. What the fuck?
Hal — the man he had thought was Hal — looked over at his twin. “You have great timing, Jordan,” he sneered. He pushed himself upright. “You couldn’t take another couple hours to break free? The poor kid’s been starving for a good fuck, since you obviously haven’t been giving it to him.” He glanced at Kyle and winked.
Kyle pushed the man away, squirming out from under him, then looked from the Hal next to him, to the Hal in the doorway, and then back at the Hal in the bed. “Wha… who …?”
“I’d like to know the same thing,” Hal in the doorway said. He stomped into the room, grabbed the other Hal by the arm and dragged him off the bed. “Who the hell are you?” he shouted. “A shapeshifter? Magic user?”
“I’m all you, Hal,” naked Hal said. “No magic. Just from another universe.”
Kyle sighed in relief that at least it was actually Hal —well, a Hal—rather than some shapeshifting supervillain.
“And what the hell are you doing in this universe? In my bed? With Kyle?” Hal looked over at Kyle, his face shocked.
Kyle felt his whole body blush red hot. “Uh…”
The Hal from the other universe snorted. “I think it’s pretty obvious what we were doing—ow!” He cringed as Hal tightened his grip on his arm. “Okay, so I was having a stroll around the multi-verse and saw your universe and thought I’d check it out. And finding you in that warehouse just made it easy to knock you out and take your place for a while.” He nodded towards the dresser. “Your ring is over there, by the way.”
Hal grabbed the ring and put it on. “What was your purpose in taking my place?”
“I don’t know. It seemed like a good idea at the time?” The other Hal shrugged and rubbed his hand over his goatee. “In my universe, the rings allow us to travel to parallel universes. I haven’t been to this one before, and I thought it would be fun to check it out for a while. And then Kyle showed up and …” He looked at Kyle and grinned. “I couldn’t resist. My Kyle is nothing like yours. Well, not usually. When he was possessed by Parallax, he was sweet and kind and … well, like yours. Now that was a turn on. ” He sighed. “But don’t tell my Kyle that. He’d find some inventive way to punish me if he knew I preferred him that way.” Then he thought for a moment and gave a crooked grin. “On second thought, maybe I should tell him.” He wagged his eyebrows.
“So in your universe, Kyle and me…you, are lovers?” Hal asked.
“It’s a universal constant,” the other Hal said. “We’re lovers in every universe I’ve come across, even the universe where we’re both chicks. Which, I must add, is exquisitely hot.”
“But not here,” Kyle said, finally finding his voice. The fact hit him suddenly that it had been a dream after all, in a way, that it wasn’t his Hal who had wanted him. “We’re not lovers here.”
The other Hal looked his counterpart up and down, then snorted and picked up his clothes to dress. “That’s still me kid, even if we’re from different universes. And I can tell, he just needs to conquer that fear of what he really wants.” He looked at Hal, leaning close to gaze into identical brown eyes. “Am I right?”
Hal opened his mouth to say something, then shut it again. He glanced at Kyle, then dropped his gaze to the floor, flushing red.
“Exactly.” The other Hal laughed and clapped Hal on the shoulder. “Well, he’s all yours now. I need to get back before my Kyle finds out I’m skipping around the multi-verse again. He usually keeps me on a short leash. Literally.” He glanced between Hal and Kyle, a lascivious grin on his face. “Unless you’d like me to stay…”
An image popped into Kyle’s head, of being fucked by two Hals. Guh… He swallowed hard and, a little reluctantly, shook his head. “No. You better go.”
The other Hal shrugged. “Well, boys, it’s been fun.” He grinned again. “Enjoy yourselves.” Light flared from his ring, and he disappeared in a swirl of green.
Kyle looked over at Hal. Hal was still staring at the spot his counterpart had disappeared from, his jaw set. Kyle sighed. Great, talk about the ultimate in awkward moments. Kyle realized he was still naked, sitting in the middle of Hal’s rumpled bed. Kyle leaned over the side of the bed to find his clothes. He wondered what Hal was thinking, whether he had just killed their friendship. Kyle yanked his underwear on and stood up. “I’m sorry about this, Hal. I understand if you want to cancel the trip.”
“No, it’s … it’s okay.” Hal kept his eyes averted while Kyle pulled on his jeans, the room heavy with awkward silence. As Kyle reached for his shirt, Hal broke the silence: “He’s right. About me. And you.”
Kyle’s head snapped up to look at Hal. Hal’s eyes were on him now, and though his voice betrayed some uncertainty, his gaze didn’t waver. It sent a shiver up Kyle’s spine.
“I …” Hal tightened his jaw and rubbed his hand through his hair. “This is kind of hard for me …” He sighed, then crossed his arms and gave Kyle his familiar cocky grin. “Really? Since we first met?”
The shirt slipped from Kyle’s hand. His mind was spinning as he finally processed what was happening. “Yeah.” Hal wanted him? He couldn’t help the wide grin that suddenly spread on his face. Hal wanted him!
Hal walked over to Kyle. He was so close, Kyle could feel the heat from his body, and he inhaled the scent of leather and Hal. Hal picked up the shirt from the floor and handed it to Kyle. “I think we have a lot to talk about.”