Bat lantern is and will forever be one of my favourite dynamics but not romantically.
I love Bruce and Hal because th way I see it, Hal is the person Bruce can always rely on weather Hal knows it or not. He is the person who makes Bruce remember smile and laugh during meetings and who keeps him in check when he's being paranoid. He's also a human and he can understand Bruce's stress about intergalactic planet relations and other nerdy shit like that. And while Bruce was never in the military people he grew up being friends with people in military families. He knows he can trust Hal and he does.
Especially with his kids. If he ever needed someone to keep at temporary eye on his kids while he's dealing with a crisis or going on a date or going to a gala or really just anything I guarantee you Hal is the person he goes to.
the way I see it it would take Hal a while to realise this but one he does he makes no effort to acknowledge it. He just accepts it like the complement it is. Like sure, I'm flattered that you trust me bro but I'm still gonna annoy the shit out of you just a bit more lovingly than before.
