Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the storyline. Thanks for reading.

Most Important Answer

Blake's question hung in the air like a living thing, a seemingly invisible poltergeist with the power to chill the air and make it heavy and stifling, impossible to breathe in or think about anything else. It had their full attention, wrapping around their throats like skeletal claws that threatened to slice through flesh instead of simply cutting off the air they desperately wanted in their lungs again. The weight of it was enough to bring Bane to his knees, the mercenary taking a seat on the bed now as he stared off into space as he tried to find words that refused to come to him.

"I'm sorry. That wasn't a fair question." The first to break Blake stared down at his lap, his hands fisted tightly there.

"I feel like I am two different beings in one body." Bane began softly in the new, echoing silence, trying to explain his conflict. "The man I was before…knew only darkness and a way of life that was not life so much as survival. When I was able to leave that place, break free of it, I thought I was living then. But I wasn't. I see now that I was living for Talia and not myself, that I was merely…existing in order to protect what I thought was meant to be my purpose in this world. I was content with that, I didn't know any different and devoting myself to her was what I knew, what my existence had revolved around since she was born. Being with you-when I was with you-I was living for myself, acting for my happiness and no one else's save you. It was-intoxicating, that life I led when it was just the two of us." Pause. "The man I was is like an animal now, mindless, confused and raging because it doesn't understand what's happened. It's lost its hierarchy and purpose. The man I am with you…says that you are a gift I will never deserve, and that you should be protected against all, including Talia, until the last drop of blood leaves my veins."

Bane cleared his throat, his eyes that of a scared child trying to pretend he wasn't, lost and not knowing what to do or how to save himself. "I cannot regret saving you-but I am now lost in a world I no longer know my place in."

"There's room beside me."

Eyes widening at the arms that had lifted and were open to him Bane didn't think and simply reacted, crawling across the bed and into those arms, his head coming to rest on Blake's shoulder as he clung to him as he had once clung to Osito in the shadows of hell.

He was behaving like a child, showing himself to be weak and vulnerable and all the things that would get you killed in this unfeeling, heartless world. But this man was his, both sides of Bane whispered back to him as they quelled the instincts that would have had him pulling away. He was welcome and wanted here.

Keeping one arm around Bane's waist Blake lifted his other hand to stroke the smooth dome of Bane's head and over the leather of the mask. He knew that he should still be standing firm, not giving even a quarter of an inch, but love screwed with everything and he couldn't turn his back on Bane, not when the man needed him most. He knew what it was to be utterly and completely alone and feeling like there wasn't anything or anyone he could grab onto or depend on. Bane had been left alone all his life, only appreciated when he could do something for someone else. That wasn't the way it was supposed to be, and if Bane was ever going to be happy the man had to learn that. He was probably going to pay for this, in the immediately future or eventually, but some things were worth pain. Bane was worth it.

And thinking about Bane's past had Blake remembering that there was another big secret he needed to reveal since he'd been so vocal earlier about how much he hated his loved ones keeping things from him.

"In the interest of full disclosure I know about The Pit." Blake felt Bane jerk hard against him, but the man said nothing so he continued. "I remember thinking, once Bruce and Al were done telling me about it and you, that no one had or has the right to judge or condemn you. That someone who'd walked through the hell you did-how could that not warp your very being, existing in a world of darkness without ever once being in the light. By all rights you should be the mindless animal they treated you like-but you're not. You're not."

"You don't know all I've done, what happened in The Pit." Wayne and his elderly caretaker might have been able to find some information, but there was no way they could have gotten the full story or they'd have known about Talia.

"And someday if you want or need to tell me about those times I'll listen." They were probably stories of horror he wouldn't be able to process or understand any better than the plans Talia and Bane had had for Gotham, but he'd listen. "I wish I'd been there, wish I could have-"

"Don't ever wish that!" Bane snarled, his grip on Blake's waist tightening to a painful degree though Blake didn't so much as whimper. "You would not have survived a day in there. I would not have been able to protect you."

"I meant that I wish I could have spared you that hell." Was Blake's soft reply. "Serving and protecting the innocents is what I signed on for when I joined the police department. I wish I'd been able to stand for you somehow."

"You would not have lived long enough to stand for me. They would have torn you to shreds both for your beauty and your refusal to sink to their level." Nothing beautiful and pure could survive in The Pit intact, Bane thought to himself. His belief that Talia had been the exception to that rule had been proven to be false. He had failed her.

Sensing the shift in his mood Blake asked Bane what he was thinking, frowning when Bane answered him. "Bane…that she got out at all is a miracle. You did what I wanted to do for you, protecting her from the reality of that prison to the best of your ability. That she…got twisted along the way, that's in no way a reflection on you. For that matter, being al Ghul's daughter, of course he indoctrinated her to think the way he did. Knowing what she went through, that he'd failed to protect her-no wonder he lost sight of honor by the time he came to Gotham."

Consider this Bane felt obligated to point that if the principles of the League of Shadows were twisted and without true honor then he was the same.

"I won't argue that there are a lot of beliefs you hold that we're going to have to argue about, at length, but you do have honor, Bane. Of that I have doubt. And while I can't, will never be able to condone what you would have done to my city because of your beliefs, I can understand, in a way, wanting to hurt and even kill those who live lives of leisure and corruption, who show absolute indifference to those who suffer or deliberately cause it. You have no reason to believe in the idea of justice I uphold because you were never given any. Everything and everyone that should have protected and shielded you failed or worse, chose to cause you irrevocable harm."

Silence and then… "You've done your time in prison for the crimes you committed once you were free from The Pit, Bane. It's time you live for yourself and make choices that aren't based on hate, fear or revenge."

If not for all the emotional upheaval he'd experienced in the last few days Bane knew the news that his little bird knew about The Pit would have floored him and resulted in hundreds of questions that would have all ended up revolving around the question of how Blake had stood to be touched by him, had allowed him into his body knowing what he'd come from. Those questions would come later, Bane knew in some part of him, but for now he was too tired to think about multiple things as the hands touching and stroking him, the heart that beat so warm and steady beneath him lulled him into a sense of security and rightness that forbade him from questioning anything for fear of losing it.

"I don't know how to do that." Bane finally admitted. "How to live that way."

"I could help you with that."

Unable to move from where he was, this safe place in the eye of the storm, Bane closed his eyes and focused solely on Blake's warmth as he asked why the man would be willing to help him, had welcomed him into his arms like this after everything he'd done.

A pause was followed by a hard swallow before Blake got the words out.

"Because I love you."

Bracing his weight up on his hands Bane forced himself to shift into a position so that he could see his lover's face as he point blank asked how the man could still love him after hearing what he intended to do. He wasn't a fool, he'd seen how much he'd hurt and angered Blake earlier.

"You did, but love isn't that easy to kill, is it? Even if she killed you tonight you'd have died loving Talia, right?"

Knowing the other man to be right Bane nodded and then settled back down into his earlier position, making an effort to distribute he weight better so that his body wouldn't be as big a burden as it could be. Closing his eyes again Bane's voice was hardly above a whisper. "I don't believe I can be worthy of you." He had no problem bathing blood for love, that was something he understood. Violence was a part of him, he didn't know how to give that up, how not to be that man.

"How I feel about you-that's yours to nourish or kill, Bane. If you want it."

At present he felt like he knew very little about the world and his place in it, but Bane did know how he felt about the gift he was being offered.

"Yes. I want it."

)

Exhaustion caught up with them soon after that, Bane only leaving the room long enough to inform Barsad that they would indeed be staying for the night before returning to the bed he'd left his lover in. For both their sakes Bane stretched out on his back with Blake climbing on top of him to sleep on his chest, the familiar weight of his little bird making Bane smile behind his mask as he slid a hand under the thin cotton shirt the other man was wearing so that he could carefully place his hand against warm, hopefully un-bruised skin.

Blake's voice was thick with sleep but his words were audible enough. "Sex is going to be off the menu for a while, just so you know. So don't get any ideas in the morning if you wake up first. Still really mad at you. And Bruce." He added, to be fair. He really was still really mad at his teacher too.

"He cares for you very much."

Blake rubbed his cheek against Bane's chest in a sort of nod. "Little brother he never knew he wanted."

"He will not approve of you loving me."

A long yawn greeted that comment. "He just has to get to know you better. I think you'd like each other if you gave each other a chance."

And anticipating what Bane would have to say about that Blake announced that he was too tired to talk and that Bane could start earing forgiveness points by letting him go to sleep so that he'd be up to dealing with the idiot League members in this house, past and present, in the morning.

Since he would imagine he would need plenty of points before his lover stopped calling him an idiot Bane settled for telling his little bird good night and then went quiet after Blake returned the good night, along with a reminder that he wasn't to call him pet names in front of anyone. Smiling over the warning Bane was content to stroke a hand through Blake's silky hair, finding the action as soothing as the way the other man's breathing slowly evened out and went deeper as Blake gave into sleep. He could not sleep just yet, there were far too many things on his mind for it to shut down any time soon. Thoughts of Talia warred with thoughts of Blake, the 'what ifs' so varied and numbered that Bane didn't know where to start or where his priorities should be.

It was like that for a good two hours, Blake asleep while Bane pondered, the latter activity interrupted when the door leading into the bedroom opened just enough for Barsad to slip in, the mercenary making a beeline for the bed with the ease of someone used to moving in darkness.

"I need to go out and check something." Barsad said quietly, speaking in English since he didn't know how well Blake was at pretending to be asleep or if the man had actually passed out. Either way he didn't intend for his actions to be a secret.

"Where are you going?" Blake's words were decidedly slurred, but he was definitely aware they had company and had understood the reason for Barsad's visit.

"There is something I need to look into. I'll come back once I get a sense of the possible situation. That is all I will tell you for now. There is no danger." Barsad added, since he knew that would be the cop's next question. That the other man seemed to care about his continued existence annoyed him, but he accepted it as just another one of Blake's many flaws.

Eyes narrowing slightly, Bane very familiar with the cadences of Barsad's voice, the mercenary asked if his second needed or wanted company on this mission.

"No."

"You will call me if that changes."

Barsad nodded in acceptance of the order and then turned to go, pausing when Blake called out that he was to say safe since he wouldn't be around to save his butt if he got it into trouble again. "I didn't ask for your help, nor will I ever when it comes to my life." Bane's, yes, but the fact that he owed a governmental official his life was going to eat at him until the debt was repaid.

Closing the door after him Barsad didn't have far to walk down the hallway before he encountered Bruce, who'd been waiting for him. The two sharing a look of understanding Bruce pushed away from the wall he'd been leaning against and the two started back the way they'd come with Barsad bringing up the rear.

They had somewhere they had to be.

)

How long Blake and Bane slumbered after Barsad's little visit neither was sure, though both had deliberately chosen to sleep lightly and therefore came awake fairly quickly when the next knock came at the door. Since Blake was on top the detective nimbly slipped off and headed for the door while Bane threw aside the covers completely and got up as well to follow after the younger man who was still blinking away sleep when he opened the door to see who their visitor was, assuming it was probably Barsad come to say he'd returned from his mysterious mission.

Bruce stood in front with Barsad slightly behind him, both men revealing nothing and yet foretelling the reason for the interruption in their poker faces.

"Something bad has happened." A lot more awake between one blink and the next Blake's shoulders straightened as he braced for whatever they were about to hear as Bane came up behind him to observe their visitors over said shoulder. "What did she do?"

Glancing at the hand Bane had put on Blake's shoulder Bruce's eyes very briefly met his friend's before he met Bane's stare squarely, trusting that Barsad knew what he was talking about when it came to this. On how to say this.

"Talia and six men attempted to reach the energy converter three hours ago. We had changed the codes and such but she or one of your men managed to get them through. She wasn't aware that I'd already moved it and had it altered so as to be unusable even if she were to find it again. When she arrived there and realized that she wouldn't be able to use it against us…she got very angry and-she pulled out a gun and fired it repeatedly into the air to express that anger. One of the bullets ricocheted off the wall and went into her temple. She's dead."

The sound that escaped Bane's mask was inhuman, part terrible grief and part rage as his grip tightened painfully on Blake's shoulder, though the man didn't complain as he set his own hand on top of Bane's to give it a squeeze of support.

"I'm sorry for your loss, Bane." Blake said quietly in the silence that had descended as the other two waited for Bane to absorb what Bruce had just told them.

"You could be lying." Bane growled, his knees threatening to buckle as he grasped at straws. She'd only been without him a few hours…how could she be dead? His Talia could not be dead, she could not have died so easily and senselessly.

"He brought me with him to confirm her death, Bane. That's where I went." Barsad's voice was military in nature, as was his bearing. "Wayne showed me the camera footage of what happened from here and I went to the place the converter was kept to check her body for myself. The men she was with left her there when they couldn't find a pulse and are currently in the wind. I retrieved her body and it's now in a safe place where it can remain until we take her home."

"You will take me to her." Bane ordered, literally picking Blake up and setting the man aside so that he could push past Bruce and come to a stop in front of Barsad. "I will not believe until I see her myself."

"We'll go now."