A/N: Alright everyone, this is my first smut-fic so please be nice. I'm in unfamiliar turf and painfully aware that this is a cliched premise. Thanks to xkyoxdiex, who looked it over for me and gave me some encouraging feedback.

Collateral Damage

"What, you're not afraid, are you?"

Hal was still seething at the words, almost a full week after the taunt. Sure it was childish and petty, but that didn't make it less effective. He'd been handpicked by an advanced alien race for the duty of wielding the galaxy's most powerful weapon specifically because of his fearlessness, so no, he wasn't afraid. This was totally…something else.

Something kind of like fear, admittedly…okay, he was hesitant. But it was the result of a natural sense of caution, not fear.

Of course, he'd tried explaining that to Ollie. At that point they'd been on the road together for over a week. In between adventures and near death experiences, there'd been lots of time for chit chat. At first Ollie had mostly preached, then when Hal got a chance he'd told stories of his exploits, and Ollie had preached some more and cut in with a few of his own exploits…and eventually they'd run out of shit to talk about. Which meant eventually they'd started talking about shit they hadn't told anyone else. Hal was now privy to some of Ollie's secrets, but Ollie was also privy to his. Including a biggie.

"You're in love with the Flash?"

"I said I think I might be, and will you keep it down?"

"We're in the middle of nowhere Hal, no one's gonna hear my whimsical cries of shock. Now you're not messing with me, are you? You, ladies-man Hal Jordan, think you're in love with your best friend?"

He shrugged and looked out the window. "It's just…what I've been doing with the girls feels kind of, I don't know, hollow. I have real conversations with Barry, that's all. I haven't said anything to him because I don't even understand how I feel, and I'm not used to that."

"Yeah, plus he's a conservative Missouri boy. I hear they're not particularly friendly towards the gays in his neck of the woods," Ollie pointed out, as though Hal hadn't thought that over several hundred times already.

"And then there's his female fiancée…I don't know Ollie. Do you think I'm just screwed up over what happened between me and Carol, or…"

"Hey man, I can't tell you if you're gay or not. Only you can figure that out."

"So how do I figure it out? You're Mr. Liberal. Explain it to me."

Ollie tapped his fingers against the steering wheel, thinking for a moment. "I don't suppose you had to go to college to become a test pilot?"

"Not a standard university or anything, but I did have to take some classes-"

"Right, so you didn't have a bicurious experience with a roommate, is what I'm getting at."

Hal snorted, as though it were obvious. "Well I've always thought I was straight, so I didn't see the need to experiment."

"Well you're feeling it now, aren't you? Just find a guy who's interested and check. You're pretty good at charming the ladies. Bet you can find a guy easy enough. Every major city's got a gay neighborhood."

Hal frowned. "I really don't think-I mean, it's just…it's just Barry."

"Fine then. Sit on it and get progressively more and more uncomfortable whenever he talks to you about his fiancée. Should be wife any week now though, huh?"

Hal glared at him. "So if I do…check…with some guy…and I'm straight, like I'm pretty sure I am, how do I keep it from getting out? That's the kinda thing that could come back to haunt a guy. Any bright ideas?"

"Sure." Ollie looked at Hal out of the corner of his eye. "Pay the guy to keep his mouth shut."

Hal laughed, then realized Ollie was serious. "Wait, you're not joking? Are you really advising me to pick up a male prostitute? Are those even real?"

"Plenty real. There are a few neighborhoods in Star just swarming with them. I've been trying to fund some projects to get the guys off the streets and hooked up with jobs, but it's kinda hard. The public would rather pretend they don't exist. You think people put on their blinders about lady streetwalkers, it's actually worse with the guys. But they're there and I'm sure one of them wouldn't mind helping you figure yourself out. It'd probably be an easy night's work considering what they're used to."

"Ollie, that's just…"

"Then forget I said anything."

Which was much easier said than done. Hal's musings about his sexuality were shifting into consuming thoughts, even a sort of paranoia. He needed to figure out if a guy could do it for him, and if the answer was no, then his friendship with Barry could go back to exactly what it had been before. Just a normal friendship between two attractive guys of about the same age. He wanted that desperately, and all he needed to do was prove to himself that he was straight.

By paying a guy for sex.

By the time he and Ollie were passing through Star City, Hal had devised himself a plan. Ollie was taking off for a couple days to check up on his girlfriend and his civilian life, leaving Hal to get acquainted with Ollie's home turf on his own. He'd find one of those neighborhoods Ollie was talking about, see if he was attracted to any of the prostitutes, overpay them to make up for what they were doing, and as soon as he'd confirmed his heterosexuality he'd leave and never think about it again.

It sounded like a plan, anyway. Kind of…

The neighborhood Hal ended up taking his stroll through looked like any other decrepit, crime infested place he'd seen. There were a few different pay by the hour hotels, along with twenty four hour convenience stores, a few bars and clubs, and plenty of shadowy corners for people to slink off to do god knows what in. Hal considered using his power ring to alter his appearance, but on thinking it over he decided to leave his power ring entirely out of the night's activities.

He walked down a grimy street, glancing at the men he passed out of the corner of his eye, wondering how he was supposed to tell who was a prostitute or not. Beyond that, he wondered what kind of prostitute he should pick. Maybe someone who looked like Barry? Was that creepy? That was kinda creepy.

"Hey there, are you lost?" A young man asked, grinning at Hal with an amused gleam in his green eyes. Hal found himself smiling back.

"What makes you say that?"

"I've been standing on this corner for like a half hour now, and I've seen you walk by at least four times. If you're lost I can give you directions," He offered. The guy really was young, probably still a teen. He was an attractive kid, with dark auburn hair, broad shoulders, and a muscular build, accentuated by his tight ripped jeans and a baggy but thin t-shirt. His stubby fingernails were painted black and he wore dark eyeliner, which contrasted sharply with his pale skin.

"Why have you been standing on a corner for a half hour?" Hal asked.

The kid grinned again. "I'll be sure to tell you if you're not lost."

"I don't think I am."

"I thought so." He nodded at Hal, sizing him up. "Looking for company, but you've never picked up a hooker before, right?"

"Possibly." Hal didn't want to commit himself, although this was much more comfortable than staring at strangers trying to figure out who was selling themselves and who wasn't. "You're a little young to be doing this, aren't you?"

"Look, since it's your first time I'll indulge you and give you an answer. I'm nineteen, and all the guys doing this are pretty young. We don't really have a lot of options. But it's a courtesy not to rub our noses in it by pointing shit like that out, okay?"

"Okay, I'm sorry."

"Wow, that was cute. So do you wanna get acquainted somewhere or do you need directions? If you got a type, I can help you find him for a finder's fee."

His type was older, a little more slender, with spiky blond hair and a strong jaw, but there was something about this kid…

"What do you offer?" Hal asked.

"What's your price range?" The kid returned. Hal frowned, unsure how to answer that. He had no idea what reasonable rates for prostitution were and was sure he'd say something ridiculous. The teen picked up on that, and let out an exasperated sigh. "What do you want? Do you want a blow job, a hand job, something kinky, something traditional? Do you wanna have a quickie in an alley or do you wanna get a room or do it in a car or something? I'm telling you right now though, if you wanna take me anywhere it's gonna cost you. Security risk and all that."

Hal nodded. "I think…I'd like to get a room. Alleys don't exactly strike my fancy."

The room looked clean, but then Hal was also glad he wasn't using his ring, because he couldn't have stopped himself from doing a sweep of the place and seeing how many traces of bodily fluids he could find.

Suddenly feeling much more awkward now that there was a bed present, he hovered uncertainly by the door, making a big production of removing his jacket. The hooker toed his shows off and collapsed onto the bed, stretching across the mattress with much more abandon than Hal would have without doing a quick power ring sterilization.

The teen sat up and stripped off his shirt in a fluid motion. Hal wondered if it was normal for teenage prostitutes to put in hours at the gym. The kid's body was perfect; toned biceps, flat abs, just the right amount of chest hair and a ginger happy trail disappearing into his jeans. He was staring, and that's when it occurred to Hal maybe it wasn't just Barry. Maybe he was a little bicurious.

"Hey, are you joining me or do I just gotta put on a show?" The kid asked playfully, raking a hand over his concave stomach before sliding his calloused fingers under the hem of his jeans. Hal finally removed his shoes and coat and joined him on the bed.

"No show, I'm here to participate."

"Cool. It'd be all kinds of bitter irony if my first hot John was the hands off type."

Before Hal could process the bizarre bit of flattery, the teen was kissing him, and kissing him well. Of course, it was technically his job to be good at this, but Hal could still appreciate the skill. He caressed the boy's jaw line with one hand, taking dominance in the kiss with strong strokes of his tongue and gentle nibbles on the boy's lips.

His eyes drifted shut and he let out a delicious moan. "You're good at that," The teen said dreamily when they broke for air. Hal grinned, even though he realized the kid probably said that multiple times a night. He kissed the boy again, rougher, with some desperation behind it. The boy climbed onto Hal's lap, straddling him and grinding down. Hal kissed and sucked along the teen's neck as he continued grinding on his lap. He was breathing heavy, getting a full dose of the boy's intoxicating musk with every pant. This was already driving him crazy, and they'd barely started.

Definitely not just Barry then.

"Nnn…w-wait, wait a sec…lemme…here…mmm…keep doing that…" The boy whined, and Hal complied by sucking at a spot he'd just raked with his teeth. The kid stopped grinding and pulled his hips back a little, so he could get his hands between them. He had his hand down Hal's pants before he really knew what was happening, and it was his turn for a surprised moan. Those calloused fingers around his cock had him babbling incoherently.

The kid pushed him back against the mattress and leisurely pulled Hal's pants and underpants down to his knees. He sat up on his elbows so he could watch the kid play with him. The kid had a strong grip, with wonderful texture and friction. He started thinking that a hand job alone might be worth what he'd been intending to pay for the full night.

Then the teen locked eyes with him, a smile spreading across his face as he watched Hal watch him. "So what do you want…do you want me to…hm?" He let his mouth hang open, pink tongue darting out to swipe at the air. Hal moaned involuntarily, eyes fluttering shut again. He nodded. The kid grinned. "Alright, I think I can do that."

"F-fuck!" Hal's head hit the mattress as the teen swallowed him down. He'd been expecting a little tongue teasing, maybe some licks across the head with some more stroking at the base of his cock, but no, a full deep throat. The beautiful, talented hooker sucked and pumped and stroked and Hal was coming harder than he'd ever come in his entire life. When his vision cleared it was to see the pretty, pretty teen licking cum off his fingers.

"That was…" Hal didn't have words for what that was.

"Fun." The kid flopped down next to Hal, throwing an arm over his chest. He placed an affectionate kiss on Hal's cheek. "You done, or do you just need a breather before the next act?"

"What's the next act?" Hal asked, wondering how his body would feel about another orgasm of that intensity (not that it mattered, he'd put his body through much worse).

"Whatever you want it to be, but I was kind of assuming you'd want to fuck me." He reached into his jeans pocket and extracted a bottle of lube and a condom. "Kinda hoping you'd want to, actually."

"You don't need to flatter me. You're getting paid."

"Yeah, but it's not every night I get to enjoy my work." He kissed Hal, and guided a hand down to his groin to give it a squeeze. Even through the restrictive jeans, he could tell the kid was excited.

"Alright, you convinced me," Hal croaked. He took off his shirt and finished kicking his pants and boxers off while the teen whipped off his own jeans and…ah, no undergarments. Well that was convenient. Hal couldn't help but stare at the boy's cock. He'd never seen another man's erect penis before.

The kid wiggled his hips. "You can touch it if you want."

"Sorry. This is a little new to me."

"This is your first time with a guy? Like, at all?" The surprise seemed genuine, which was kind of nice.

"Yes…I'd figured that'd be obvious."

"Not with the way you kiss. Alright, I'll be gentle," He teased. And then they were kissing again, rubbing up against each other with no clothing between them, just skin on skin. It was even better than before. Every panted inhalation had the boy's intoxicating scent washing over him, his moans and gasps filled Hal's ears, and the slide of their bodies against each other was heavenly.

Then the teen pressed something into his hand. Hal looked uncomprehendingly at the lube. "You've really never done this before?" The kid gasped against his ear. "Alright, before anything interesting happens I gotta get stretched. If you don't wanna finger me, I can do it myself but you're definitely slicking yourself before we do anything. No one pays me enough for tearing."

"I won't hurt you," Hal promised. "I don't get off on that kind of shit."

"Good." His voice was firm with determination, but there was something haunted in his eyes. Momentarily, Hal had to wonder what kind of circumstances had led this beautiful young creature to having sex with strangers in alleyways and dirty motels. But considering he was taking full advantage of the situation, he couldn't dwell on it too long. He pressed a tender kiss to the boy's lips and then asked to be guided through the process of stretching him.

Hal guided the teen down onto the bed, so that his back was on the mattress with his hips raised just enough for Hal's hand to comfortably do its work. While his lubed fingers were exploring the boy's backside, he decided to make the most of his opportunity to explore another bit of male anatomy. The teen gasped in surprise when Hal's other hand felt its way along his cock. He could feel the rumble of the boy's laughter vibrating up his palm.

"Feeling adventurous are we?"

"A bit," Hal answered with his own wicked grin. Then he leaned down and licked the head of the hooker's cock. He couldn't say he cared for the taste or the smell, but the texture was interesting. Velvety and sticky, and the more he gently lapped at the slit the less he minded the taste. The sounds coming out of his companion were plenty encouraging, at any rate. Hal took more of the erection into his mouth and gave it a long, hard suck.

"F-fuck! Fuck! Oh…oh man, you've gotta cut the shit and fuck me or I'm gonna cum!" The kid babbled. Reluctantly, Hal let the cock slip from his mouth. That was a lot more fun than he'd thought it would be.

"Are you really ready?" He asked.

"Yes. God, yes, please. Fuck me," He panted.

"Happy to." Hal rolled on the condom, slicked himself up, and then slowly pushed his way into his young lover. For a long moment they both panted against each other, adjusting to the sensation, which was like nothing Hal had ever felt before. Even a virgin wasn't this tight.

"Move," The boy whispered. Hal was happy to comply. He started off with gentle thrusts, mindful of his promise and what the hooker had said about his limits, but a combination of impatient whines and raised hips meeting his thrusts encouraged him to push harder, and harder. The teen jerked himself in time to Hal's thrusts, letting out the most erotic moan Hal had ever heard when he finally orgasmed. Hal didn't outlast him by much.

They slowly regained their breath, sprawled in a sweaty tangle of limbs. Hal carefully pulled out of his young lover, kissing his brow as he did so. The boy made a whining sound, then curled against Hal while he tied off the condom and chucked it away. He pushed back the boy's sweaty auburn bangs and placed a kiss on his forehead. "That was fantastic. I can't believe I've never tried that before."

"I can't believe you thought you'd have to be desperate enough to pay," The boy purred. "I probably should have mentioned this earlier, but you could have just gone down to a club and picked someone up. Seriously, guys do the vanilla stuff for free," He teased.

"I don't want it getting around that I'm…"

"Ah. You're a closet case. That's fine, I won't tell anyone."

"Thanks." Hal returned the teen's embrace, and the kid pillowed his head on Hal's chest. He looked relaxed, like he was really experiencing the afterglow instead of just business. Hal knew he shouldn't read too much into this, that the kid was probably just one hell of an actor, but it was still a nice little ego boost to think he'd rocked his prostitute's world the first time he'd slept with a man. Oh yeah, Hal Jordan was just that fucking good. "So what's my tab?" He asked, while raking his fingers through the soft hair.

"Blow, anal, and a room?" He thought about it for a second and rattled off a rate.

Hal frowned. "That's not really that expensive."

"It's a competitive business in these parts. You can pay more if you want. I won't stop you."

Hal's pants were in a crumpled pile on the floor by the bed. He hooked his toe into a belt loop and bent his knee until he could reach his wallet with the hand that wasn't caressing the prostitute. The boy laughed. "Wow, you shoulda told me you were that flexible."

Hal took out his wallet and pressed some crumpled bills into the boy's hand. He allowed himself one more kiss, then started to dress.

"Hey, I think you counted wrong." The boy caught his arm as he was leaving. Hal turned to face him and frowned, noticing for the first time how incredibly young the hooker was. There was no way he was nineteen. Hal hoped he was at least seventeen. He could have been much younger, the way he looked standing in front of the bed holding a sheet around his waist.

"No, I counted right. Take the rest of the night off if you can. You earned it."

He counted out the bills again. "That's my rent for the next two months. Are you sure? I might be a hooker, but I'm not a thief. I'm only letting myself sink so far."

"Same here," Hal said solemnly. "I don't normally take advantage of people like this, and if I can make it up in some way I'd like to. Take as many nights off as my money will let you, okay?"

He nodded. "I will. Th-thank you."

Hal left him to get dressed and tried to pretend the money made a difference.

He was still thinking about the prostitute a couple days later when he met up with Ollie again. Ever since they'd parted ways, Hal found himself unconsciously scanning crowds, looking for a familiar head of auburn hair, and hoping the kid was okay. It was definitely good for his sanity that Ollie had called for a team up, something about a drug ring. It sounded like an easy case. Something distracting and relatively mindless.

The mindless distraction led them to a squalid room inhabited by some teenage boys, regular customers of their drug lord. Ollie burst in on them, and two of the boys started fighting them with paranoid desperation while the third went still, staring at them in shock.

It was the hooker. For a moment, Hal thought the look of terrified recognition was reserved for him, even though he was in full Lantern getup with his mask. But the beautiful green eyes were fixed on Green Arrow.

"Speedy?" Ollie blurted out, and Hal felt his stomach drop to his knees.

Shit.