It took a while, but I finally got this chapter done. I wanted to address a few things in this fic and divided it into two parts.
"That is out of the question." Ranakar denied.
Hal wasn't in the best of moods when he entered the guardians' chamber. Anger settled in, as a result of his initial summoning and the trauma Kyle had concealed. After pleading his case to take Kyle home to address his attack, the refusal only irked him more.
Thankfully, Kyle had not stirred once during the initial request and remained unconscious. How he managed to stay that way given how loud everyone was being was astounding, but a relief. Kyle was calmly breathing as he limply hanged in Hal's arm.
"Why?" Hal growled.
"The reason you are here is because we need you to take care of an anomaly elsewhere." Ranakar relayed.
"Well, this is more important. I can't just pushed it aside and I will take care of it."
"Absolutely not."
Hal's whole body twitched in anger.
"Look, I don't know how you handle this kind of situation, but from where I'm form, we don't just let a crime like this fly. If not treated, there's no telling what will happen."
"That may be, but there are more important things that need your attention."
That only fueled Hal's disdain. If he wasn't already regretting coming to them with this, he definitely was now. He started regretting not leaving Oa to handle this.
"You are not going to turn a blind eye on this." Hal argued, tightening his hold on Kyle. "I won't let you. Trauma like this can't be ignored or else it'll get worse. And depending on how long he's been suppressing this, who knows when he'll explode."
Annoyance creased the lines on Ranakar's face. Hal's stubbornness was always an issue, though flattering at times.
"It will have to wait. You have a whole sector to defend. Let this go until you've finished your mission."
If Hal didn't have Kyle with him, he would fly up there and deck Ranakar. The fact that he wanted Hal to just let this go was infuriating. What was worse was that no one else seemed to disagree with him. Not even Ganthat, who thought of Kyle as a son to him, spoke up.
"If you don't let me take care of this, you will have a Red Lantern on your hands, or worse, another pawn for Sinestro." Hal threatened. "You know they can smell an opportunity. And let's not forget, he is the most emotionally spontaneous out of us and he's bottled this up for who knows how long. He could explode at any moment. Is it really worth the risk?"
His argument stirred murmurs between several Guardians. Clearly this statement got through to them. Whether it was a good thing or not could be debated, but at least they opened a dialogue.
"He has a point." Ganthet finally defended. "We cannot let this go unattended. Let us not forget that Lantern Kyle is our Torch Bearer. Our last hope. We cannot risk losing him."
"Finally, someone with an ounce of reason." Hal applauded.
"But Ganthet, we need Lantern Jordan and Rayner to investigate the recent activity of the Sinestro Corps." Ranakar lectured. "That was the whole reason we had them report here in the first place."
"But we can't risk losing Lantern Rayner because of his mental health either. Lantern Jordan is right, he needs to be treated. Sending him out in there in his current, elusive state could lead to certain disaster."
Ranakar scoffed in annoyance. With someone now agreeing with Hal, convincing the Lantern otherwise was nearly impossible.
"Fine." Ranakar submitted. "You may take Lantern Rayner back to Earth to help him recuperate."
"Thank you." Hal responded, turning his attention to the door.
Hal made his way for the door. He was glad that he got the results he wanted. Now, he focus on what was important, helping Kyle.
"But know this," Ranakar warned, stopping Hal, "if anything happens to Lantern Rayner, you will be held accountable."
Hal didn't respond, seeing no reason to. He continued to walk, not once looking back.
Twitching eyes began to stir, signifying that Kyle was waking up. His body subconsciously sat up as he rubbed his eyes and the comforter fell into his lap. The first thing that he noticed was that he was in his regular clothes rather than his Green Lantern uniform. Kyle anxiously jolted before he realized that his ring was on the nightstand beside him.
With that out of the way, Kyle began observing his surroundings. He didn't quite know where he was. Something about the room felt familiar, but he couldn't quite place his finger on it.
"Good morning." A voice greeted.
Kyle jumped, looking to the side. Hal was sitting in a chair beside him. He seemed relieved as a small smile on his face. Seeing him narrowed down Kyle's potential locations. He was at Hal's, which thankfully meant that he was safe. It was a relief.
It was in that moment that Kyle's last memory hit him, causing him to scoot back. He remembered Hal grabbing him before he passed out. Kyle was haunted by what had transpired and what Hal wanted to help him with. The urge to run surfaced as he tried to move farther away from Hal.
He made out of the bed when Hal's hand grabbed his wrist. Kyle began pulling, hoping to get his arm free. He panicked slightly when Hal's grip, not only tightened, but pulled him closer.
"You're not going to run away from this." Hal sternly admitted. "We have to talk about this."
Kyle's footing faltered, causing him to fall on the bed. He used his knees and free hand as support, not wanting to lie back down Kyle gave his arm one last yank before Hal's unchanged stare stopped him. Knowing that Hal wasn't going to let up, Kyle finally complied. He slowly dragged himself to the side of the bed Hal was by.
Once Kyle slung his feet over the side of the bed, Hal released him. Kyle's attention sat on his lap as he remained silent. His fingers anxiously grabbed a wad of the sheets.
"What is there to tell?" Kyle questioned. "You already heard what happened."
"I heard what Guy told me." Hal corrected. "Who was told by John, who was notified by Batman. I may have heard about what happened, but through a chain of people. I want to hear the authentic story. I want to hear it from you."
Kyle took a deep breath. His grip on the sheets tightened. Hal took note of it, knowing that it wasn't going to be easy. Kyle had to do it on his own, Hal knew he couldn't force it out of him. All he could do was patiently wait.
"Take your time." Hal calmly suggested.
"I don't remember much of the actual incident." Kyle began. "It was just meant to be a night out with the guys. Jason and Roy wanted to meet up at their regular bar and invited me along. It was fun." Kyle grimly smirked recalling the moment. "However, I went to get a drink while Jason and Roy played a quick round of pool. That's when everything went south." Kyle nervously bit his lip. "I step away for a moment to break up a potential fight between Jason and some drunk guy." Kyle's breathe hitched. "When I broke it up, I went back for my drink." Kyle trembled. Just recalling what happened next sent a chill down his spine. "I started feeling dizzy… light headed. I thought I was feeling a little claustrophobic and thought I needed some fresh air, so I went outside. It only got worse. My sight started to blur and I felt dizzy. The next thing I knew something, or I guess I should say someone, guided me towards an alley. I blacked out shortly after, hearing the word 'bueno' over and over before I lost consciousness. I woke up in the hospital, alone, only with the satisfaction of being stared at nurses with sympathy."
Kyle went silent after that. Embarrassment flooded his body and the fear of being judged plagued his mind. He knew Gotham was known for its crime, something that not only Hal, but Batman as well, always warned about, but he still went. It was intended to be a night out with friends and nothing more.
A hand carefully landed on Kyle's shoulder. Kyle looked up at Hal, who was sympathetic. He wasn't angry, not even slightly. Kyle wasn't sure if he was comfortable with it since he was expecting Hal to react differently.
"I'm so sorry." Hal attempted to comfort. "This shouldn't have happened." Hal took a puzzled breath. "How long have you been hiding this?"
"Two weeks." Kyle admitted.
Hal was stunned, mentally. The fact that he was hiding it for that long was shocking. Whatever happen in Gotham to cause him to admit it while with the League must have really affected him.
"You must be ashamed of me." Kyle accepted returning his gaze to his lap.
Hal jolted in distress. His grip stiffened on Kyle's shoulder.
"Why would I be ashamed?" Hal asked.
"Because this happened."
Hal's free hand gently rested on the side of Kyle's face. A nudge tried to get Kyle to look at him but failed.
"Look at me."
He nudged Kyle again this time successfully. Kyle looked up, making eye contact with Hal.
"I would never be ashamed of you for something you didn't deserve."
"I am." Kyle began trembling. "I'm ashamed. Embarrassed. Afraid. I hide this from everyone because I didn't want anyone to know."
Hal brought Kyle closer, wrapped his arms around his shoulders. Kyle shuttered, not refusing the gesture. He didn't even flinch when one of Hal's hands rested on the back of his head.
"It's okay. It was traumatic Kyle and I don't blame you for your reaction. I would have liked to know sooner, sure, but I understand why you responded the way you did. But that's all behind us now. I know now, and I'm here to help you."
"I don't deserve your help."
"You can say that all you want, but you're getting it and deep down I know you want it. The fact that you mentioned, to Batman nonetheless, it tells me that you wanted help. You may not see it, but by saying what you did, you were asking for help. Crying for it. And that's exactly what I'm here for."
Hal's words seemed to resonate with Kyle, telling him that it was okay. Kyle's eyes started to water as he buried his face in Hal's shoulder. Hal smirked, glad that Kyle was finally starting to open up. It was going to be a process, but at least it started.
Taking it a little slow with the build up. I don't know how long this fic will be, but it's a start. Who knows, I may want to write more Green Lantern fics (in general) later on.