Batlantern/Batfamily thoughts but it's the kids finally prompting Hal to start exploring his gender expression
Listen, Hal is well aware that he's not a man.
The answer to the question of "is Hal Jordan a man" is buried beneath a fogged childhood full of sexist propaganda and traumatic experiences with having his body inhibited by cruel forces that made him do awful things
And Hal has always thought that it shouldn't matter anymore. He was old. Yes, his little kerfuffle with the powers of the universe made him appear ageless, but he's an aged mortal
The world has moved as well since, and while Hal is definitely happy that conversations about gender and sexuality are easier to have in the last decade, he must admit that the labelling and discourse has effectively intimidated him into putting off the question until it was "too late"
But that all changed when he moved into the manor to live with Bruce, his partner ("-because I'm not calling you my boyfriend at this grown ass age, Jordan") and Hal had become acquainted with his children
The Waynes have apparently always been known to have queer customs, and this generation does not disappoint with that
Hal has witnessed the kids wearing make-up or putting it on each other.
Hal once walked in on Jason with a full cake of an experimentative style because Steph had Cass pin him down; and the boy was not screaming for the honor of his masculinity, but rather because "STEPH YOU KNOW THAT PURPLE ISNT MY COLOR, STOP IT! I LOOK LIKE I HAVE A BLACK EYE!"
It's also heart aching to have seen Tim, the boy, be the one teaching Cass, the girl, how to put on make-up
He's also seen the boys wear feminine leaning clothes, or at least deviates from the monotony on male fashion
Dick has, on more than one occasion, came to a gala with an outlandishly decorated suit and bejeweled in the family heirlooms; like the performer that he was born as.
Tim has a drag alter-ego, for god's sake (and sometimes, he wears the cute tops and skirts on random outings, and "just because" was always an accepted answer)
Damian was most surprising, given what Hal pieced off his childhood before coming to Gotham. He'd wear the cultural garbs of his maternal ancestry; but when he shifts to Western fashion, it's not always just boyish fashion. It's rompers and skirts and dresses (mirroring his older brother's "just because" justification)
And if they are admonished for their choices, it's never about the fact they're wearing girl clothes; rather they are told to "COVER UP!! (whore is added, usually if said by Steph or Jason)"
.
And Bruce, the head of the house, the patriarch, has always treated it as normal
A wordless consent to letting the kids use his forearm as color swabs while shopping.
Smiling and letting the kids twirl around to show off their new clothes.
Helping the boys secure their jewelry and fit the girls into their dapper suits
Hal feels a little bitter, if not a little hurt because the jealousy that has been a barrier between him and his partner's children boils in him whenever he sees Bruce be such a good father to them
Because Martin Jordan would not extend that kindness
And Martin Jordan, in fact, did not extend any kindness at all
Martin Jordan had punished his 9-year-old middle son for looking at a dress in a department store for too long or snapped at him for even drawing on his skin with colorful paints, had threatened Hal with worser fates
Martin Jordan has done more for lesser reasons
"He's not here anymore," Bruce would tell him every time he brings it up, in the comfort of their bed, in the sanctuary of his partner's embrace "And even if he was, he's not your family anymore. We are."
And then there was Parallax, then Suneater, then Spectre, and god know what else is out there to possess Hal's body, and the addiction that looms on Hal whenever he smells anything remotely misty
The fact that Hal had been ripped from his body a thousand and ten times over, and it has only started to belong to him again, but the threat looms still
"You are you again," Bruce reminds him, in that same setting, between kisses and tender caresses, teetering the line between lust and worship, "This body is yours. You need not punish it for things it did not ask to be used for."
.
The longer Hal lived with the family, the warmer they got with each other
And through exposure, Hal tries to be a little daring and goes ahead with their example
He decides to do it slow and lets his hair grow out
Enough to fall into a cute short length, and he did it during a rather long off-planet mission so as to explain the lack of a barber's visit
And Hal's not sure if Bruce had said anything, or if it could be owed to the acuteness characteristic of a family of detectives
But when he came home with that long hair, he is immediately hauled by Bruce's gaggle of children, who have all decided to be Hal's stylists "to make the most of the opportunity!"
Steph and Jason raided the closets for anything that would dignify Hal's apparently androgynous frame
Dick ("they won't let me help with your closet team :((" — "thank god" — "...EXCUSE ME??") and Cass had groomed his hair, and Hal is a little impressed they were soothing enough that he nearly fell asleep
Tim and Damian's usual brotherly strife is held at a truce as they colored Hal's skin with lines and blushes
In the end, they have turned Hal from a lithe warrior of the mind, into an elegant picture of new money class
A simple black evening dress with white gloves, a face colored in simple pinks and tans, and jewelry in green
When they first showed Hal to the mirror, he was a little stunned
He looked beautiful
He felt his body, really felt it, and became awfully conscious that he owns it
"So, what do you think?" Tim asked, actually excited
They were all standing next to the mirror in front of Hal, each their own version of giddy and appreciative
"I think you're gonna have to teach me how to do all of this on my own because god damn," Hal replied boyishly with a laugh.
And the kids realize how fond and familiar they've become with Hal because they understood what he actually meant.
It's perfect. You're perfect. Thank you.
Bruce comes home and sees Hal in that get up, promptly passes out. Hal is the only one concerned, no one else tries to help him, Alfred actually steps over the unconscious man
