The Justice League had always felt like home, but tonight the Watchtower felt smaller—charged.

You and Hal had joined within months of each other, two stubborn guys with impossible odds and a shared belief that the world was worth saving. From day one, you’d been inseparable. Bros. Wingmen in battle. The kind of friends people joked about never breaking apart.

You sat on the sparring deck, nursing a bruise while Hal hovered nearby, green light fading from his ring. “You took that hit for me,” he mused. “Again.”

“Part of the job,” you replied with a grin. “You’d do the same.”

Hal snorted. “Yeah. Without thinking.”

That was the problem, wasn’t it? Neither of you ever thought when it came to the other.

The room was quiet except for the low hum of the station. Hal didn’t move away. He never did. Too close for comfort—except it always was comfortable. Familiar. Safe. And lately… something else.

“You ever notice,” Hal drawled slowly, “how people assume stuff about us?”

You raised a brow. “Like what?”

“Like we’re glued together.” He glanced at you, searching your face. “Doesn’t bother me. Just—makes me wonder why it doesn’t.”

Your chest tightened. “Because we’re friends.”

“Yeah,” he said, but the word sounded unsure.

The tension snapped into focus then, crackling between you like wildfire. Hal reached out without thinking, fingers brushing your wrist. Neither of you pulled away.

“I don’t cross lines,” he murmured. “You know that.”

“I know.”

His thumb traced a small, unconscious circle against your skin. “But I don’t think this is just… friend stuff anymore.”

Before you could respond, Hal leaned in. It wasn’t rushed or reckless—just honest. His lips met yours, warm and tentative, like he was bracing for impact.

For a heartbeat, the universe held still.

Then he pulled back, eyes wide, breath unsteady, he whispered, “I’m sorry—”

You caught his sleeve. “Don’t.”

Silence again, but this time it felt full instead of empty. Two lifelong friends standing at the edge of something undeniable, realizing the line they’d sworn never to cross had always been drawn in the wrong place.