A/N: Once again I want to sincerely thank everyone for the kind and helpful reviews! Please continue to leave feedback! Thank you!

Warning: Lemony goodness ahead.

Talia stood beneath the rush of water, savoring its mild warmth. She washed her hair and spread a bit of sesame oil through her curly hair to condition it. While it soaked in, she scrubbed her body with goat's milk soap and a natural sponge.

The few times Talia had been beyond the walls of the League's headquarters since escaping the Pit, she had noticed some strange things about that world. Women wore elaborate clothes, washed their hair with creams from plastic bottles, and piddled about upon spindly-heeled shoes. It had all seemed bizarre and foreign to Talia, but her father had told her that someday she would need to learn how to behave like those women… so that she could blend into the world on missions. She wasn't sure when Ra's al Ghul would finally send her on a mission, but she was seventeen years old and felt that, at least from a fighting standpoint, she was ready.

Talia rinsed the oil from her hair and shut off the shower. She wrapped a thin towel around her body and used another to blot dry her hair. As she stood before the little mirror on the wall, combing through her locks, she stared at herself and tried to see the child that she had been – the child that Bane had known. She had no pictures of herself from that time, and there had been no mirrors in the Pit. Her only memories of what she'd looked like stemmed from random glances she'd caught of herself in puddles on the prison floor.

But she remembered Bane. Oh, yes. She remembered the way his voice had sounded then; she could hear it clear as a bell inside of her head. He'd been leaner then – still a powerful fighter, but not as thick and built as he was now. In some ways, he'd been more kind, more gentle then. In other ways, he had frightened her with the way he brawled the other prisoners. Fights over food, in particular, were common, and Talia had been accustomed to seeing Bane in combat for scraps that he always gave directly to her.

Talia brushed her teeth and spat out the minty toothpaste into the sink, watching the white foam swirl down the drain. She went from the tiny bathroom into her bedroom and pulled on a mellifluous kimono. Her father had brought back this kimono for her after a trip to Japan. It was crafted of the finest silk, jade in color with the design of a cherry blossom tree. It reached her ankles, and once she cinched the tie around her waist, it was not at all evident that Talia had nothing on beneath it.

She tied her damp hair back and rubbed rose oil onto her pulse points. Now, she thought, she was ready to seek out Bane. She would take no light with her in order to more surreptitiously sneak through the cold stone hallways of the League's headquarters. She opened the door from her room to the hallway and looked in both directions. There was no one. She quickly skirted down the wall in the direction of the men's dormitory. She would have to pass through a common area, and she could only pray that no one was still up and about.

She was not that lucky.

"Talia!"

She whirled around, clutching her kimono more tightly around her body. Before her stood Aashir, a male initiate who'd arrived in the League perhaps two months earlier. He was young, only twenty years of age, and he had a thin, chiseled form that reflected his expertise in swordsmanship and speed.

"Hello, Aashir," Talia mumbled meekly, cursing the fact that the young man had caught her sneaking. Aashir grinned broadly at her.

"All dressed up and nowhere to go?" he asked coyly, eyeing her kimono in a manner that made Talia the slightest bit uncomfortable. He took a few steps toward Talia and lowered his voice a bit. "Has your father told you that you're to train with me tomorrow?"

Talia stared at him, befuddled. She shook her head in confusion and insisted, "I spar with Bane now."

Aashir tipped his head to the side and smiled again. "Your father got word that you were especially skillful with the shinai. It just so happens that weapon is a particular area of proficiency for me. Your father would like you to practice the shinai with a more… skilled… partner for a few days."

Talia felt her heart sink. This decision by Ra's al Ghul had nothing to do with wanting Talia to get more skilled with the bamboo sword. No. He wanted her to be away from Bane for a while. He'd always tried to keep distance between them, and the way he'd glared at Bane today had told Talia he would do it again.

"I'll speak to my father in the morning," Talia said finally, and she began to walk past Aashir.

"What's the matter, Talia? You don't want to train with me?" Aashir teased, and Talia turned around to face him and make a snarky rebuttal. But then she saw him, standing perhaps ten yards down the hallway behind Aashir.

"Bane," Talia whispered to herself, staring beyond Aashir. The young man had to have known Bane had been there, but for how long had her Protector been listening to the conversation? And why was he headed this way in the first place?

Aashir nodded and turned to go back to the men's dormitory. "You go ahead and talk to your father," he said nonchalantly over his shoulder. "I'll be waiting for you with your sword." Talia watched, wide-eyed, as Aashir reached the statue-like Bane. His eyes tracked Aashir as the younger man brushed wordlessly past him, and Talia saw his fists clench at his sides.

She stood still where she was and stared as Bane approached her silently. He wore no shirt, only his thick back brace and a pair of loose, drawstring black linen trousers. Talia gulped and put her hands on her waist.

"Good evening, Talia," Bane said quietly when he reached her, his voice dangerously singsong and terse. He crossed his hands in front of him and nodded in greeting.

"Where are you off to?" Talia asked casually, trying to avoid the subject of Aashir.

"I do not much care for the way that young man stares at you, nor his tone of speech with you," Bane said, completely ignoring Talia's question.

"As opposed to the way you stare at me?" Talia asked playfully, though it did not at all seem that Bane was in the mood for playfulness. Her smile vanished when she saw the dark look in his green eyes.

"He only wants one thing, Talia," Bane said after a moment of silence, his voice very serious and concerned.

"And what do you want?" Talia asked timidly, knowing she was pushing her luck.

Bane's eyes flashed with what Talia thought was anger. "He stares at you with nothing but hungry lust," Bane said defensively. "I've seen him watch you walk down the hallway; I've watched him gape at you in common spaces. That boy has nothing but covetousness in his eyes." Bane stepped closer to Talia and closed the gap between them. He rested his hands very gently over Talia's upon her waist and squeezed gently. "I care for you, little one. No one will ever love you the way I always have."

Talia gulped heavily. "You love me as a child," she insisted, unable to accept his words for some reason. But Bane shook his head firmly, saying nothing. Finally, Talia asked again, "Where were you going?"

"I was coming to see you," Bane said matter-of-factly. "I needed to talk to you."

Talia was conflicted in that moment as to what to do. They couldn't go back to the men's dormitory, for Aashir was there, awake, and would see them go together into Bane's room. Taking Bane's hand firmly, Talia turned to go back toward her own room. Bane pulled himself in front of her, which was just as well since his senses were able to detect the slightest sound or movement. He pulled her down the small hallway to their right until he reached the door he knew to be Talia's. Her father's suite was down another small hall ahead, and Bane stared carefully into the dark corridor for a moment before pushing Talia's door open and darting inside.

When the door shut behind them, Talia sat breathlessly upon her bed. The white blankets poufed around her when she collapsed, her nerves ragged. She buried her face in her hands and heard the lock on the door wrench shut. When she looked up, Bane towered above her in front of the bed, glancing around her little room with curious eyes.

"Much more luxurious than our cell in the Pit, no?" he said softly, his eyes finally glinting in the moonlight with a bit of humor. Talia chuckled under her breath and coursed her fingers over the smooth, soft blankets.

"No bed was ever so comfortable to me as that lice-ridden cot," she said gently, and Bane's eyes crinkled for a brief moment.

"As I said, I needed to speak with you," he told her, sighing deeply. He put his hands on his hips, drawing attention to the tight muscles of his chest and abdomen, and Talia struggled to listen to his words as she ogled him. His voice was barely a whisper as he said, "Your father came to me while you were eating your evening meal. He told me you would be training with Aashir for at least a few days starting tomorrow. Like I said, Talia, I neither like nor trust that boy, and I don't want him… doing anything… to you."

He stammered over his last few words and coursed his hands nervously over his bald head. Talia narrowed her eyes at him.

"He's skinny and weak," she insisted, brushing off Bane's concerns. "I can defend myself against him very easily."

Bane eyed her apprehensively. "I don't want you to have to do that," he said, shaking his head on his thick neck. His voice was gravelly and quiet. "I want you to train with me; you have nothing to fear from me. You're a beautiful young woman, Talia, and there are men who would take advantage…"

He kept talking, but Talia didn't hear anything else that he said. All she could think was that he'd just called her beautiful. He'd also (finally) referred to her as a 'young woman.' Talia could scarcely think.

"Talia." Bane's voice was firm now, and Talia jolted out of her thoughts to look up at him. He stared at her expectantly, as if he'd just asked her a question, and he raised his eyebrows. He said finally, "Well?"

Talia shook her head and shrugged. "I…" she began, but Bane nodded knowingly.

"Do what you must," he mumbled, and Talia was intensely confused since she'd missed out on his diatribe. "You must not contradict your father. Just… be careful, please, and tell me if anything happens."

He made a move to the door, to leave, and Talia panicked. She gulped heavily and said, a bit too loudly, "Wait!"

Bane paused and turned back toward her bed, his green eyes scanning her sapphire ones curiously in the watery moonlight. His hand fell from the doorknob and he stood straighter.

"I… I was coming to see you when Aashir caught me," she said softly. "I wanted… needed… to see you."

"Well, now you have seen me," Bane said rather sourly. "Was there something else that you needed?"

Talia swallowed again and nodded. Her eyes seared into his and she loosened the tie at her waist a bit, just enough to push one of the shoulders of the silk kimono down a bit. She drifted her fingers across her exposed collarbone, staring so intensely into Bane's eyes that she felt a physical burn. As her fingers drifted to the swell of her breast, she saw Bane avert his gaze.

He shook his head quickly and took a step back, nearly stumbling over Talia's low dresser. He caught himself and rose.

"I have to go, Talia," he insisted, walking in faltering steps toward the door again. Talia felt her heart sink with the sting of rejection, but just as Bane reached for the doorknob once more, he whirled around and quickly approached her bed. "It wasn't enough, was it?" he demanded breathlessly. "What happened earlier?"

Talia tried to keep her voice steady as she replied, "Was it enough for you?"

Bane did not answer for a moment, but then at last he shook his head and whispered, "No."

Spurred to a new level of confidence by Bane's evident want, Talia reached for his hands and pulled gently until he conceded and knelt on the bed. She urged him to lie down on his back on the small mattress, and he did, though his jade eyes looked uncertain and even fearful.

"What do you want from me, little one?" he asked, his voice a choked whisper. Talia smiled very gently at him and leaned down to plant a feather-light kiss upon his chest.

"I just want you," she answered, drifting her fingertips down his arms until she could lace her fingers through his. She remembered one of the ways she'd seen the couple in the hallway making love – the woman straddling the lying man – and decided to mimic the position.

She tossed one of her toned little legs across Bane's lap and knelt above him, her hands still gripping his firmly. As she moved, her loosened kimono fell farther off of her shoulder, baring her breasts. At the feel of the cool night air, Talia's nipples went hard and she shivered. Beneath her, Bane watched her body with glistening eyes, gasping slightly through his mask at the sight of her pillowy, round breasts.

"Beautiful…" he murmured, and Talia felt her heart flutter with desire for him. He made no move to touch her chest, so Talia pulled one of his hands, still interlocked with hers, up to her left breast. She placed his palm on her soft skin and heard his breath snag. Feeling fire flare through her veins, Talia tipped her head back and instinctively lowered her hips to meet his.

He still wore his drawstring linen pants, but Talia had no undergarments beneath her kimono. When her sex touched against the bulge between Bane's thighs, there was only the thin layer of linen between them.

She sighed as she felt his hardness against her, and then she let her intuition guide her to grind slowly against him. His hand tightened on her breast and his other hand moved to slide up her bare thigh, beneath the silky kimono. Bane's fingers ghosted over Talia's hip as she moved on him, until they finally reached the damp and secret spot between her legs.

"Ungh…" Talia uttered, quite against her will, as Bane began to fiddle with her nub. The sensations overwhelmed Talia – one of his hands massaging her breast, the other playing with her womanhood, and the feel of his erection pressing eagerly against her. Suddenly Talia wanted nothing more than to feel him inside of her, though she had no clue what that would mean. She reached for the ties at his waist, and Bane stopped her by quickly reaching for her wrists.

He shook his head breathlessly, but at the sight of Talia's disappointed and rejected eyes, he explained, "You are intact, little one. You will stay that way."

Talia very much did not appreciate him telling her what she would and would not do, but she realized he was trying to preserve her virtue.

"I won't be untouched forever," she pointed out, "and I only want you."

"Believe me, Talia," Bane said, his voice strained as she relentlessly continued to grind herself against him, "I want you more badly than I can explain. But… I can't…"

His words died then as he clutched at Talia's waist, pulling her hard against his hardened cock.

"Then let's just pretend… at least for tonight," Talia requested eagerly, feeling a twisting sort of tension between her thighs as her nub rubbed insistently against his linen pants. She knew she was getting them wet with her essence, dirtying and ruining them, but Bane didn't seem to mind one bit. Instead, he nodded at her words and clenched his eyes shut.

One of his hands drifted back up to her chest, where he brushed his thumb over her nipple. His breath came shallow and rapid through the filter of his mask, and a sheen of sweat glistened on his bald head.

Talia leaned down to rub her breasts against his pectoral muscles as she ground, the new angle allowing her to dig more deeply against his erection. She felt herself climbing a sort of mountain, or perhaps ascending to the top of a cliff, for she felt herself about to fall. Heat seared through her body and a rush of moisture flooded her sex. Her ears began to ring and her breath was ragged and unsteady.

Then, suddenly, her mind exploded. She felt her muscles clenching rhythmically as her hypersensitive nub rubbed as firmly as possible against Bane's hard cock. She had no control over her voice as she cried out in blissful agony, and she felt Bane's large hand clap firmly against her mouth to quiet her.

"Shh, little one," he said soothingly, though he sounded quite out of control of himself. Talia collapsed off of Bane's lap, unable to grind any longer. She was exhausted and her body was too sensitive now to move on him. She curled up into a little ball beside Bane's trembling body and tried to catch her breath as she recovered from her climax.

Once she was off of him, Bane's shaking fingers moved to untie his linen pants and pull his cock from the cloth confines. He began stroking himself furiously, panting unevenly through his mask. Talia watched him touch himself, enraptured and fascinated, and felt her own desire mounting again. His large hand pumped roughly over his swollen tip and throbbing shaft, while his other hand clutched anxiously at the sheets on the bed. Talia watched a bead of sweat trickle over the straps of his mask, and then his breathing stopped altogether. His eyes wrenched themselves tightly shut and he made a quiet, choked noise as his hand pulled down once more on his cock.

Then she saw him erupt, his seed spilling forth in several irregular streams and landing in small pools on his toned stomach. Talia gasped in wonder, desperately wanting to reach out and feel the fluid between her fingers. Instead, she thought hastily that, earlier, he'd mentioned the need for a rag, so she forced herself off of the bed. She stalked quickly to the bathroom and retrieved a wet washcloth from her shower. She used it to clean off his stomach, wiping the sticky fluid from his skin. She tossed the washcloth into her laundry and turned back to where Bane lay, still panting as he stared at the ceiling.

He slid his pants back up over his softening member, his fingers trembling wildly as he tried to tie the drawstring. His hands shook too much for him to do it, so Talia brushed his fingers away and gently tied the pants, sodden with her essence, for him. Bane reached for her to come back onto the bed with him, so she slithered onto the mattress beside him, casting one leg over his body along with one of her arms.

She'd often slept like this with him in the Pit – her face cradled against his shoulder as she clutched onto his body in slumber. Now, it felt very different. She wasn't holding onto him out of fear, but out of contentment.

When Talia was a child, Bane would often kiss her forehead affectionately. Now, he turned his head toward her as if he were going to do just that. But the mask was in the way, and Talia realized sadly that he would never kiss her again.

But, oh! The things he could do… the things he'd done tonight… Talia shuddered against his warm, hard body and felt heat rush through her again. She closed her eyes against her desire and swallowed hard.

She felt his hand pulling the tie from her hair, felt his fingers entangle themselves in her curls as he massaged her scalp gently. As he touched he, she thought back to his words earlier – 'No one will ever love you the way I always have.'

Talia drifted off to sleep to the echoing sound of his words in her mind, the very real feel of his touch and of his body. But as she slept, she dreamed the frightening nightmare that had plagued her sleep for years.

She was climbing out of the Pit, leaping up the holds, and she looked down to see Bane encircled by an angry mob. The other prisoners leaped onto Bane. He was strong, but there was only one of him against the dozen or more men attacking him.

Talia startled awake, trying to shake the horrible dream – memory - from her mind. She reached out for Bane's hand, but the space beside her was empty and cold. Talia blinked through the darkness and whispered, "Bane?"

There was no one there. He had gone; he'd snuck out so that they wouldn't be caught in the morning. Talia was all alone.