20346/No Sapphires in the Sky

No Sapphires in the Sky
Date of Scene:	30 March 2025
Location:	Carol and Hal's Apartment
Synopsis:	Sometimes, Carol Ferris just needs a break from being Star Sapphire, and it's made all the better when her true love surprises her anyway.
Cast of Characters:	Carol Ferris, Hal Jordan

---

Carol Ferris has posed:
While it's true that Star Sapphire could make the trip between the Ferris Aircraft Innovation Center and Carol Ferris's penthouse in a couple of minutes, being a violet streak in the sky comes with some number of disadvantages.

For one, it's not always easy to sneak around. Even though most people don't look up, some people do. Though some part of her has wondered if it's even necessary for her to maintain a 'secret' identity at all, it always came down to losing control of Ferris Aircraft. If the board lost confidence in her, if the stockholders lost confidence in her, if the lot of them thought she was more interested in the rest of the galaxy than she was her father's company -- her company -- it could ruin everything she's worked so hard to build.

Second, putting on the ring comes with its own share of responsibilities. It isn't as simple as just wearing it around like a magic suit of armor ala Tony Stark. The ring calls to her. She can feel love throughout the galaxy when she's wearing it. She can feel it decaying, feel the strings of it tugging at her from across the galaxy. For a while, making the conscious decision not to wear the ring weighed on her. She felt an obligation to be 'on call' 24/7. But some nights, even she needs a break.

That's why tonight, she drove her car home from the office through rush hour traffic instead of flying. That's why she carried her purse and her laptop satchel into the lobby and waited on the elevator.

And that's why, when she finally unlocked and stepped through the door of the apartment she shares with Hal Jordan, she let out a heavy sigh of relief.

The day was finally done.

The moon is bright through the big, floor-to-ceiling windows. The stars twinkle in the clear sky, and the lights of Metropolis are beautiful.

Her heels click-click against the floor as she makes her way over to the bench near the entrance, setting her purse and her laptop down, rolling her neck to relieve some tension before reaching up to rub it.

Hal is...

Well, she doesn't know, specifically.

There's Galactus, the Sinsetro Corps, the little blue trolls who like to boss him around without explanation, any number of things that could demand his attention.

It's easier, having her ring close by, knowing she could reach out to him through it if she needed to.

But she doesn't abuse that privilege. They both come home when they can. They both do their best to make their relationship as important as the rest of their responsibilities.

Same nights -- most nights -- that means they're apart.

It's the nature of it.

Hal Jordan has posed:
For the longest time Hal Jordan avoided even the slightest semblance of responsibility.

Even as a Captain in the United States Air Force he somehow managed to give off an air of casual rebellion, of careless disregard that really shouldn't have past muster, especially in that organization. But as has often been the case in his life, his phenomenal gifts bought him more indulgence then he perhaps deserved.

So there is irony in the fact that it took a dying alien and a magical ring that makes it possible for him to do virtually anything to finally teach him the value of a little responsibility in his life. That sometimes it pays to do the right thing, even when it's not convenient.

All of which is to say that Hal is much less likely to tuck the ring away. To refuse to put it on. Maybe it's because he likes that sense of responsibility that it has instilled in him after too many wild years. Or maybe he lacks the discipline of Carol.

The one exception he makes is when he's flying.

Which, given the way he flies -- given the way that his father died -- might be a tad reckless. He has been involved in more then a few misses when in aircraft. Some of them have been self inflicted. Some have been design flaws. Some have been maintenance issues. All of which would have meant nothing to Hal if he'd wear the damn ring when he was in the cockpit.

But he doesn't believe in fear, and he doesn't believe in flying with a safety net. Doesn't want to forsake the heightened awareness, the heightened reflexes he is convinced that gives him.

So yes, more often then not that ring is there -- even when it's masked. It's only since he has found his way back to Carol that he has made the concession to sometimes shed it when not in the cockpit. That simply having the chance to spend some time with her simply as Carol and Hal instead of Green Lantern and Star Sapphire made it worthwhile to lay aside for a time.

Not on every date night that they get, of course. He is not only on call from the Green Lantern Corps -- his fellow Lanterns who deserve his loyalty as well as the little blue trolls that command it -- but also from the Justice League as well.

But now and then he'll make an exception.

Just like now and then he'll show up where he isn't supposed to be. By rights he should be trying to do something about Galactus. He should be meeting with Sinestro and his new legion of followers, securing their aid despite the questionableness of their power. He should be trying to learn more about the Yellow power of Fear.

Instead he steps out of the bedroom, letting out a low wolf-whistle.

"Looking good Ferris. I mean, it looks like you've had a long day, but somehow you do just make business attire work for you. Of course, I am a little biased," he says, a low laugh coloring his words as he starts walking over towards her.

Carol Ferris has posed:
There is nothing -- no power in the entire universe -- that reaches down inside Carol Ferris and squeezes her heart quite like the sound of Hal Jordan's voice.

If there is one thing better than just hearing him, though, it's lifting her head and seeing him walking towards her.

"Hal.."

His name is a sigh, a gush of reverence, a song of her love. It has barely left her lips before she's rushing for him, abandoning her purse to topple onto the floor as she meets him halfway and throws herself into his arms.

She's smiling, but the surprise and sudden relief is so palpable it's almost enough to bring tears. She squeezes him like she hasn't seen him in months, even if it's only been a few days. But they never know. They can never be sure if it will be hours, days, or weeks before they see each other again.

'When will you be back?'
'When the job is done.'

That's how Hal would answer her so many years ago. She hated it back then. And when she first took over as the Queen of the Zamarons, that's how she'd answered him -- a bittersweet moment when her own responsibilities to Zamaron and the Star Sapphires had pulled her away from both Hal and her responsibilities on Earth.

The work is never done, but it has gotten more routine.

Carol has learned more about balance. Zamaron, the Star Sapphire Corps, Ferris Air, Hal... and to a lesser extent, the Justice League and so many other groups she allies with to help as much as she can.

But even a queen has her limits.

Talking to Hal is such a rare treat, and getting to hold him in her arms is sweeter still.

"You're here! When did you get back?!"

She doesn't miss the compliments, of course. She never does. It takes several seconds to peel herself off of his chest, to lean back enough to look up at him, and when she does, her eyes are sparkling with that warm, loving mischief.

"And that's funny. It seems to me that you're usually trying to get me out of them..."

Her hand lifts to settle on his cheek, on that strong jaw line. That face. His face. The face she fell in love with so many years before.

They've been through so much together.

Hal Jordan has posed:
Turnabout is fair play afterall.

Truthfully it never really caught Hal offguard, just how easily Carol took to her responsibilities with the Zamarons and the Star Sapphires. Afterall, she practically seems to be made for it.

It didn't take her very long at all to submerge herself in the world of responsibilities. Maybe that was always part and parcel of being heir to a struggling aerospace company. If hundreds of people weren't going to lose their jobs, if she wasn't going to see an end to her family's legacy, she had to embrace responsibility far earlier then anyone should have to.

Certainly it was one of the things that came between them when they were younger, when Hal didn't want to be tied down, when he didn't want to let responsibilities get in the way of what he wanted to go. No matter how much he might have cared about it.

Ironically, now that she has even more, now that she might be the one who simply can't escape her obligations to the Sapphires, to the Ferris, to any of a dozen other commitments she holds near and dear to her heart, he understands so much better.

Maybe that's why they just work better this time around. He grew up. He learned to compromise. And every now and then she will let down her hair and remind Hal of the girl he fell in love with.

They both have responsibilities. Responsibilities that can leave them unavailable for days at a time. Sometimes longer. Once that was too much to deal with. Too much to overcome. Now they've learned to deal with it. They've learned that it isn't always about the sheer amount of time that they get to spend together. Sometimes it is about the quality of the time that they get together.

So he meets her half way, his arms going around her, enfolding her and drawing her close. Like her, he greets her in the same way, like he hasn't seen her for weeks, lips finding her own, pressing a lingering kiss there before finally drawing back, flashing that broad grin her way.

"Only about half an hour. I was going to try and do up the place a little, maybe put out a few candles but I called the office and they said you were already on the way so unfortunately you had to suffice with just me as a surprise," he says lightly.

Then he laughs lowly once more, the corners of that roguish expression curving upward a little more. "What can I say. I said you look pretty amazing in them. I didn't say that they didn't look even better on the floor while you're in nothing at all," he points out glibly, winking her way before laughing quietly once more.

"I hope you didn't bring that much work home from the office," he says warmly. "Because if you did I'll have to feel just a little bit bad about spending the rest of the evening trying to distract you from whatever pressing project you're working on now."

Carol Ferris has posed:
They've both grown a lot from those younger days.

Carol may have felt like she was carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders -- that she was single-handedly responsible for not only her father's legacy, but for the lives and livelihoods of thousands of people who were depending on her to make the right decisions.

She was stressed and exhausted at the end of each day. She worked herself sometimes to the point of neglecting her health -- and certainly her emotional health.

All she wanted was one selfish thing: to have the man she loved to curl up with at the end of the night.

And, yes, she hadn't exactly been pleased when that man suddenly developed a sense of his own responsibility... to literally everyone else in the galaxy except for her. Which wasn't at all a fair statement, much less a clear picture of everything that was going on.

Hal might have been irresponsible, but Carol could easily have been accused of being unreasonable and selfish -- at least where it came to Hal Jordan.

They've both matured. They've both learned that things aren't so simple. They've decided to take the time to listen, to understand, and to trust each other.

And now, though they each have responsibilities that take them to opposite ends of the galaxy from each other, they come back together far more than they ever did when they were breaking up and getting back together. They share a home together. They share a life together.

Once Carol's lips have parted from Hal's, that smile spreads back across them, her eyes practically glowing with the excitement that still lingers there in her face.

"You are all the surprise I ever want or need," she assures -- and she means it. She's never wanted anything from him but him. And that's still true.

Laughter spills out at the mention of her clothes looking better on the floor, and her eyes roll playfully towards the ceiling.

"Keep it up, Highball, and we might get there before the night's through," she teases, her voice low and suggestive. Playful.

But the question about work draws her gaze briefly back over her shoulder towards her purse -- its spilled contents -- and her satchel, shaking her head dismissively before looking back to him.

"I'm all yours," she promises. "I stayed a little late so I could finish reviewing the last of the performance reports on the XT-27. I was planning to pour myself a glass of wine and curl up with a book, but I would much rather curl up with you."

Hal Jordan has posed:
It's that understanding of one another that has made this go around so much smoother then so many of their previous attempts.

Attraction, desire, even love has never been the issue for Hal Jordan and Carol Ferris. It's just everything else that gets in the way.

When she was forced to take on the mantle of responsibility for the first time it was still completely foreign to him.

By the time he was gaining some small shards of it, she was in a place to resent the fact that he would prioritize anything about them.

And then the Zamarons. And then. And then. And then.

At times that seems to be the story of their lives. There is always something out there, just waiting to come along and throw roadblocks up in the way of their happiness. And truthfully it isn't all that different this time. Ferris still needs her attention. The Green Lantern Corps is having their difficulties. And, of course there is the fact that their homeworld is endangered by a supremely powerful alien entity to occupy both of their attention on some level.

But where that would have been enough to overwhelm them a few years ago, to throw up one too many barricade for them to deal with, it doesn't have quite the same effect these days.

Some of it is just commitment. Making that decision to show up, no matter what. Some of it, again, is accepting that for them, it is the quality of the time that they spend together that counts more then the amount.

And some of it is finding those spots where their duties and responsibilities overlap so that they can pursue them together. It might not exactly be date night, but even those quiet moments stolen on the Interceptor, or in the heat of some mission matter to Hal.

So would he really keep her from getting work done if it was urgent? If there was a major project that she simply had to oversee to completion to continue Ferris' revived fortunes?

Probably not. He has too many friends at Ferris Aircrafts too. He knows the stakes. He knows what the company means to her. What it means to him for that matter. If it was important he would hug her, kiss her forehead and give her the time and space she needs.

But he also trusts she would let him know if she really need to do that. And when she dismisses that notion, Hal is only too ready to take her at her word.

"Well then," he says before he stoops and rather casually hefts her over one of his shoulders with a grin. "I'm not a doctor but I could probably play one of tv. And I'm prescribing to you one big heaping dose of Hal-time. Maybe... maybe... it will involve a movie. Maybe... maybe... I'll let you keep your clothes on."

"But there definitely won't be any reading of books," he says, already turning to carry her bodily deeper into the apartment that they share.

Carol Ferris has posed:
I'm not a doctor but I could probably play one of tv.

A grin was already spreading across Carol's lips when Hal suddenly hoisted her up over his shoulder like she weighed nothing at all, and suddenly the apartment was filled with the sound of her indignant squealing.

And then laughter.

So much laughter. So deep and rich that it's clearly coming from all the way down in her belly.

However she thought this night was going to go, she was so wrong. And there's no mistaking the sound of how happy she is to have been wrong.

"You'll _let_ me?!"

The words spill out through the laughter as she playfully swats at Hal's back with her open hands, her feet kicking uselessly in the air.

"I'm a _queen_!"

Which is not at all how it usually sounds when she has to remind someone of that. Carol can actually be pretty scary, when she needs to be. This is not one of those times.

"And your _boss_!"

In the end, throwing rank around probably isn't going to persuade him to 'let her' do anything at all, and from the way her fingers suddenly slip through his hair -- threading through in a tender, affectionate caress -- she doesn't really mind.

"...And I love you," she adds.