Hal's not sure how or when it happened, but he's glad that it did. She was like a goddess reborn, and he's met Wonder Woman. Every move she made was carefully calculated and thought out.
Maybe it was the way she embodied the emotions of the rings, yet that still didn't seem right. Maybe it was when he saw her choke Sinestro out with her thighs or flip Kilowag onto his back. Maybe it was a random moment when she gave him a barely there smile and said, "I'll see you around, Lantern Jordan." Honestly, it didn't matter. Carol became a star sapphire because of how strongly Hal loved her, but he was sure that he never loved anyone as much as he loved Talia.
They kept running into each other whenever he was planet side. She was beautiful and deadly. He was sure he fell a little bit more in love with each passing day. It had taken him a few months before he worked up the courage to ask her out on a date.
And by that, he meant that whenever he saw the flash of knife in his peripheral, he got vivid flashbacks of Kyle's knockoff Martha Stewart boyfriend. Hal doesn't feel fear but he sure as hell came close when waking up tied to a chair in only his boxers in an abandoned half sunken ship with knives pointed at his everything while the Red Hood sat casually in front of him. The boy then went on to list every bone he would break and what motor functions he would lose once his bone heals and what he would break again if he dared to even think of hurting Talia.
Oh, and the killing part about it all wasn't because the Red Hood would be doing the damage. Nor would the littlest bird either. Apparently, Ubu was tired of costumed freaks walking all over the Mistress' feelings as if they were somehow worthy of it in the first place.
And Bizarro also like Red Him's mother.
Crazily enough though, Hal hadn't wasted any time in planning and asking her out on a date. It wasn't as upscale as she was used to, but it had a heartfelt touch that he could that she was missing. He had taken her on a picnic in the sky. His ring served as the blanket for them and they sat above Central City (which with Barry and Wally running around easily served as the nicest city in the JL) and they just talked. They didn't speak about their other lives. He was content with not knowing who was on the other end of her sword, but they talked about the people they collected around them.
They spent like an hour ranting about the dumb shit Jason and Kyle got up to. Jason apparently regularly cooks, but when he does, he forgets to do laundry. Whereas Kyle would remember laundry, but the most nutrients he got when he was by himself was drinking his paint water.
They spoke about their families and how estranged they felt. It was nice to know that even world class assassins had daddy issues also. It made her seem more human in a way.
It was good.
He had a really good time.
So, he asked her out.
Again, and again and again.
Until she ended up having her people help with the rebuilding of Coast City. Until he would come back from space just to wrap her in his arms as they looked over the city.
Coast City would become the headquarters for Head Industries.
They would have a condo in the building directly across from the office building. He would watch as Bats and Birds sneak around so sure that she was up to no good. But even if she hadn't laid down her sword, Hal knew that she didn't bring it home with her.
And wasn't that surreal.
She considered Coast City her home.
He was a part of that.
When the Outlaws moved in and became the city's protectors, Hal didn't even protest. They mainly spent their time having family dinners where Talia was able to relax. Hal could almost cry because it was a sense of normalcy that he longed and craved for ever since he received his ring.
And he didn't have to worry about her. She could take care of herself. Atrocious realized that when she made him swallow a bomb the size of a pearl and blew him up from the inside out.
That wasn't even to mention her pint-sized niece, Jamila, who seemed to fall in love with every deadly poison she could get her hands on [which Kyle and Guy happily supplies] and finding new ways to hide weapons on her. Hal had almost died of shock when she twisted her snake bites into buugeeng bostaff. She was very fond of them and had demanded that he brings worthy opponents from space to face her on many occasions.
The day the Justice League had found out had been simultaneously the worst and best day of his life. It had been their three-year anniversary and Hal knew he didn't want to spend another day without her in his life. He was sure he would break worse than he did when he lost Coast City.
He had planned on proposing. He searched every planet he could think of to find the perfect ring. [Which he managed to find with the help of the other Lanterns. He didn't know what he would do without their support.]
But another one of Superman's little alien enemies decided that a single day of peace was too much to ask for. And they had the nerve to attack HIS city.
He hadn't wanted to suit up. It was a rare day off from the corps. He had planned to spend the day with the love of his life, but Supes' friend brought more friends.
Hal suited up and Talia followed right behind him.
They fought side by side for as long as they could surrounded by the Outlaws and the other Lanterns. The only time they were separated was when she needed to hit the shadows, or he had to fly higher in the atmosphere.
She fought as beautiful as ever. She looked like perfection itself as she led civilians to the underground bunkers and fought off any aliens that got in her way.
When it was all said and done, Hal didn't even listen to Spooky's post battle debrief. He turned and headed directly for her. He slid one hand through her hair and another around her waist before kissing the life out of her.
When he pulled away, she smiled so brightly at him that Hal felt his heart skip a beat. He didn't pay any attention to the looks he was receiving from everyone else. He just dropped to one knee and pulled out the ring. A blinding mixture of alteanan metal and magic with a soft green light that match her eyes that flickered alongside his heartbeat.
"From the day that I met you, I knew that I would never be able to love another. When I saw you, it was like my soul went, 'oh, there you are. I've been looking for you'. These last three years between us has been everything to me. You gave me a family. I had been drifting and never staying some place for too long, but you gave me a home. I've never feared anything. But you terrify me, Talia. You scare the living hell out me because I know you could crush my heart so easily and I know there is no reason for you not to. People claim that you can't love someone unless you love yourself first. That's bullshit. I don't love myself, but you? Oh gods, I love you so much I forgot what hating myself felt like. You are owed the love that you so freely give to other people, so Talia Al Ghul, will you please marry me?"
A pin could have dropped with how quiet everyone was, but Hal only had eyes for her.
She was not an overly emotional woman so when the first tears dropped Hal almost panicked. But she dropped to her knees in front of him with constant whispers of yes, yes, yes tumbling out of her mouth before she drew him in for another kiss. He only pulled away long enough to slip the ring on her finger while the cheers of the Outlaws, Lanterns, and Shadows erupted around them. He could hear the exclamations of shocks coming from the other Justice League members. Demon Robin's screeching and threats of death. Barry and Wally's shouts of "THREE YEARS?!" And even though a part of him wanted to see Spooky's reaction.
None of it was more important than the woman in his arms.