Chapter 29

Bruce and the Batlings looked up eagerly the next night when the elevator doors opened around one a.m. while Harley and the Suicide Squad were out on patrol.

Huge smiles broke out on Bruce and Damian's faces. A pleased smile decorated Tim's face as he saw Bane, although he was feeling slightly nervous about facing the previously antagonistic Jason. Steph's grin had nothing to do with welcoming home either Bane or Jason, but was in eager anticipation of Bruce and Bane's first romantic reunion - indeed, their first romantic interlude at all, since they had made the decision to date over a phone call.

Bane's eyes flew straight to Bruce as he and Jason exited the elevator, and the slightly hesitant but warm hopefulness in Bane's gaze made Bruce's decidedly no longer stony heart melt as he shot a heated look straight into his new boyfriend's eyes, causing Bane's face to crease in a warm smile.

"Baba! Bane!" Damian yelled happily, leaping down from Bruce's lap, Osito in hand, to run towards Jason and Bane. Bruce stood up to follow him, side-eyeing a giggling Steph as he went.

"Kiss your own boyfriend and mind your business," he growled at her, although the teasing gleam in his eye and the crinkling at the corner of his lips softened his words. Steph started laughing even harder but Tim decided to take Bruce's advice literally and bounced up from his chair to plop down into Steph's lap.

"Tim!" she squawked in surprise but her protest was drowned out as Tim began enthusiastically making out with her. "Tim," she giggled against his lips when she got her wits about her.

"They need some privacy," Tim smiled at her as he stroked the back of her head with the hand he had looped around her neck, drawing back from Steph's mouth only to answer her before going back to kissing her. Steph sighed into him and decided that maybe she didn't need to spy on Bruce and Bane so badly after all.

Bane wanted to keep his eyes locked with Bruce, but Damian and Osito were scampering up the catwalk so he bent to give his little friend a hug as Bruce made his way up a little more slowly so that his tiny son could have his moment with his two best friends-slash-fathers.

"Little Bat! And Osito," Bane was saying as he cuddled Damian to his chest and kissed the top of each of their heads. "I have missed you," he said.

"I missed you too, Bane," Damian said seriously. "But Father says you won't be leaving us anymore," he added, his eyes sparkling. Bane looked up into the approaching Bruce's tender but intense gaze.

"No," said Bane slowly as Bruce's smile grew. "I do not believe that I will." Damian smiled and hugged him a little tighter before turning to Jason.

"Baba!" he said with even more enthusiasm as Jason bent and scooped Damian and Osito up into his arms.

"Habibi," Jason murmured, his eyes full of tears as he snuggled Damian into him. Bruce's eyes went to his older son's for a moment with proud approval at Damian's endearment for him and Jason gave him a slightly guilty smile back. Bruce surprised him by stepping forward to kiss his cheek before greeting Bane.

"No one can have too many fathers," Bruce said gently as Damian clung to Jason's neck. "I'm glad that my boys have each other," he added as Jason blinked and nodded.

"Thanks, Pops," he said hoarsely, and the forgiveness that Bruce saw in Jason's eyes choked him up, too. "We'll talk later," Jason said to him with a little smile as he glanced towards the patiently waiting Bane, who was smiling at Jason and Damian as paternally as Bruce was.

"Come on, munch," Jason said to Damian, carrying him down towards the Batcomputer with a final wink for Bruce. "You've got to tell me more about your plans to take over the world with frosting."

"Frosting and fondant," Damian corrected him as they went. "And sometimes sugarwork. Grandfather has been expanding my curriculum since I talked to you yesterday."

Bane chuckled lightly as Jason and Damian moved away, giving him and Bruce some space. Bane was looking a bit shy, which surprised Bruce since Bane had been the confident one in their dynamic prior to leaving on his road trip. However, their previous interactions had been limited to friendship.

"Come here," Bruce said softly with his arms out, stepping into Bane's space before things had a chance to get awkward. Bane let out a long exhale as Bruce wrapped his arms around his massive chest and melted into his arms, finally molding himself easily around his friend, although this time Bruce was the one offering the strength in his arms as he gave Bane a tight and reassuring hug.

"Welcome home, boyfriend," Bruce murmured to him, turning his head to brush his lips over Bane's stubbled cheek. Which caused said cheeks to turn red, but despite that Bane dared to reach a hand higher to cradle the back of Bruce's head, pressing his face closer into his neck as Bruce hummed happily into his throat.

"You must forgive me," Bane said with some embarrassment. "I am unused to romantic gestures."

"You're the king of hugs," Bruce chuckled softly against his warm skin before lifting his head to press a little kiss to Bane's lower jaw. "You'll pick it up fast."

"Mm," Bane murmured. "Your hugging skills have improved remarkably quickly in a short space of time," he said as he used one arm to snug Bruce's low back even tighter against him. "Perhaps I shall be as quick a study," he said with a growing twinkle in his eye.

"Let's go talk upstairs," Bruce said suddenly, pulling back questioningly.

"Yes," Bane said with relief. "That would be preferable."

Bruce glanced down at the Batcomputer and saw that Tim was still dutifully making out with Steph from his cozy perch on her lap, although it clearly wasn't a chore to either of the teens. In fact, they didn't seem to have even noticed that Jason and Damian had come down, although Bruce saw that Jason had thoughtfully taken Damian straight past the enraptured teens and over to the sparring mats where they were sitting together already deep in conversation and pouring over pictures on Damian's phone.

Bruce smiled up into Bane's eyes and reached for his hand, surprising him again, although Bane recovered quickly and shyly clasped Bruce's hand back as they entered the elevator.

"Where do you want to talk?" Bruce asked him as they ascended to the manor. Bane gave him a blank look so Bruce took the reins and suggested, "My study?" and Bane nodded his assent.

Bruce led the way, still holding Bane's hand in his, and politely disregarding his usually zen-like friend's nerves and embarrassment as they walked. Once in the study, Bruce pulled Bane down next to him onto the leather sofa, keeping his hand in his as they sat shoulder to shoulder.

Bane sighed and met Bruce's eyes with a troubled gaze.

"I must confess, Bruce," Bane said slowly as Bruce traced patterns on his palm with a thumb, "I am very new to romance. I feel… most out of my comfort zone," he admitted.

"But you're still sure…?" Bruce asked him, searching his face.

"Of course!" Bane said at once. "Yes," he said with a smile that only grew more charming with the added color in his cheeks. "Quite sure," he added, squeezing Bruce's fingers a little more boldly with his own. "But, quite out of my element, I am afraid," he said regretfully.

Bruce gave a soft chuckle.

"Well, you've got a foot up on me on most things these days," he said. "It's only fair that I'm better at one thing." Bane let out a relieved and hearty laugh.

"Bruce, Bruce," Bane said. "You bring me so much joy." Bruce raised a very quizzical Bat-eyebrow at him.

"I bring you joy?" he said doubtfully.

"Much joy," Bane said more seriously, meeting Bruce's blue eyes with his dark brown ones, and even lifting his right hand to trace down the side of Bruce's face. "I think you do not realize how much light you possess, my friend," Bane said gently as Bruce's breath hitched under the path of his fingers.

"I think you don't realize just how good you are at romance," Bruce countered with a saucy smile, reaching his own left hand up to cradle Bane's cheek as he leaned in to brush their lips together lightly before gently sucking Bane's lower lip into his mouth. Bane's breath caught as Bruce explored his lips with light nibbles and kisses before slipping his hand to the back of Bane's neck to hold his head more firmly as he deepened the kiss.

Bane let out a little moan as Bruce's tongue found its way into his mouth, and even though it was with tentative inexperience, Bane began kissing Bruce back. Bruce moaned, too, then, as he shifted his hips and dropped Bane's hand so that he could wrap his right arm around Bane's neck as their kissing grew more heated.

The happy squiggles that had been chasing Bruce's heart around all week seemed ready to leap out of his chest as he kissed his enemy turned friend turned boyfriend. He had never kissed a man before, but Bruce was both relieved and ecstatic to find that it was as good as his feelings for Bane had led him to hope that it would be.

Because his stomach and groin were tightening with a familiar heat, and ripples of electricity were shooting from his lips and tongue to his cock, and while he still didn't exactly know how sex with Bane would work out logistically in terms of roles and who put what where, Bruce suddenly felt a lot better that it would, in fact, work out and end up being fantastic.

Maybe with some practice; ok, he could be humble enough to assume that not quite everything might translate immediately; and Bruce was starting to suspect that Bane was quite inexperienced indeed, which meant that it might take some extra time to figure out how to make sex great for him, too, but, well, they'd be figuring things out together, in that case. And Bruce, at least, wasn't shy in bed.

Hell, it was nice to have something that he felt more confident in than Bane. Not that he begrudged Bane any of his wisdom or serenity, but Bruce didn't want to be their relationship's damsel-in-distress to Bane's white knight. It was nice to be able to bring a strength to the relationship. Although apparently, he brought joy, too, which was honestly befuddling. Bane seemed to mean it, however, although for the life of him Bruce couldn't imagine why.

When they finally broke apart panting, Bane rested his forehead on Bruce's for a long minute as their breath intermingled.

"How fast do you want to take this?" Bruce asked him when he broke the silence. He gently traced his hand over Bane's pecs through his shirt. "Be honest," he said. "I won't mind, whatever you say." Bane snorted.

"I am not a virgin, Bruce," he said. "If that is what you are inferring." Bruce laughed, but he still looked concerned as he searched Bane's face.

"You haven't done this a lot, though…?" he asked him, not needing his friend's complete sexual history but wanting to understand his reticence. Bane sighed.

"I did, at one point in my life," he murmured. "When I was addicted to the Venom," he said with a certain amount of disgust. "But… those trysts… let us say that they lacked all semblance of romance," he said morosely as Bruce's eyes softened sympathetically.

"Sex with sentiment?" Bane said to him. "Kissing? Hand holding? That, Bane has never done."

Bruce got a sappy pleased smile on his face.

"I'm the first person you've ever kissed?" he said and Bane blushed even deeper as he nodded without meeting Bruce's eyes.

"Hey," Bruce growled at him, catching Bane's jaw in his hand and forcing his eyes back to meet his own. "Don't be embarrassed, love," he said, moving forward to give Bane a sweet kiss. "I don't mind - at - all -" he told Bane, separating each word with a tiny peck on the lips, "being the first person who's had the privilege of kissing you." Bane relaxed slightly under Bruce's tender gaze and gave him a small smile.

"Although," Bruce continued with a teasing twinkle in his eye, "I intend to also be the last person who ever has the right to kiss you, so I'm sorry if you were hoping for more experience out of life." Bane huffed in mock offense.

"I am much younger than you, Bruce," he said. "You would deny Bane a second romance from the grave once you have withered and died?" Bruce busted out laughing, his stomach shaking so hard that he had to bury his face in Bane's shoulder as he collapsed in mirth.

Bane chuckled too, and wrapped his arms around Bruce to hold him there.

"I can see it now," Bane murmured against Bruce's curly hair as his partner continued to shake with laughter as Bane caressed his back. "Your ghost will haunt the manor, scaring away anyone who seeks to comfort poor, lonely Bane in his grief."

"Never," Bruce declared when he caught his breath as he curled into Bane. "I'll leave instructions for Harley and Jason to toss me into a Lazarus Pit and bring me back to you." Bane guffawed.

"Somehow I do not think that young Jason will be amenable to such a course of action," he said as he snuggled Bruce closer.

"Harley will be," Bruce said confidently. "She's a good daughter." Bane gave Bruce a genuine smile.

"You consider Harley to be your daughter, now?"

"I do," Bruce said peacefully. "Although she claims to be your sister. And Damian, my son, claims that Jason, also my son, is now his other father and that Harley is his mother by extension. So thank God we're homeschooling him," Bruce laughed. "Can you imagine if he got homework on his family tree?" Bane chuckled.

"Family is what you make it," he said.

"It is, indeed," Bruce mused. "You're Damian's father, too, now, you know," Bruce said, playing with the edges of Bane's tank top. "He claimed you, too."

"I am honored," Bane said with a smile. "Life is sometimes a truly miraculous gift, that I should be reunited with the Little Killer and now be so fortunate as to call him not only my tiny friend, but my son."

"You did a good thing, saving him," Bruce said quietly.

"Yes," Bane said soberly. He sighed. "I only wish I could have saved myself, at his age," he murmured.

"I wish I could have saved you, too," Bruce said more seriously, with a sharper edge to his voice. Bane met his eyes sadly but smiled at him.

"I know, mi cielo," he said. Bruce's eyes widened in pleasure at Bane's endearment.

"I do want to talk, at least a little bit, about your past before we have sex," Bruce said gently, squeezing his arm more tightly around Bane's chest. "I need to know what not to do, and I need you to know that you can always tell me to stop and I will."

Bane sighed.

"We will talk," he said. "Not tonight. Tomorrow, perhaps," he said. "Let us enjoy our reunion without such ugliness intruding."

"Of course," Bruce said lovingly. He began to shift, and then hesitated. "Can I put my legs in your lap?" he asked.

"Bruce," Bane said in wondrous joy. "Yes. Please," he smiled. Bruce smiled back at him as he shifted sideways to lift his legs up and over his boyfriend's thighs as Bane snugged his arm around him tighter. Bruce sighed happily as he laid his head down on Bane's shoulder and curled into his embrace.

"I never thought I would find love again," Bruce said contentedly.

"I never thought that I would find it at all," Bane answered. "Especially with the man who I was so unspeakably cruel to," he said with regret mixed with wonder. "How you can forgive me…"

"I do," Bruce said, palming his face. "Who you are now is so different than who you were when you broke my back. You becoming Batman saved my life, Bane," Bruce said honestly. "I was spiraling from learning Jason's truth. And you didn't only save me; you saved my family and my relationship with my son. I don't know where I would be if you hadn't insisted on making amends for that day."

"Well, they say that God works every situation out for your good if you love Him," Bane mused. Bruce gave him a guilty look.

"I don't know that I think about God very much," he said.

"Happily, I do," Bane said cheerfully. "And breaking your back has turned out for my greater good, in fact." Bruce laughed.

"All the same, I'd rather you didn't do it again."

"I suppose we must cross very rough sex off the list, then," Bane said with a straight face. Bruce raised an eyebrow at him as Bane began to chuckle.

"We'll have to make an actual list, you know," Bruce said easily once he grinned. "I've never had sex before with a man. It seems like there are many more… options," he said with a little chuckle.

"I am happy to bottom if that would be more comfortable for you," Bane said as he idly ran a hand down Bruce's arm.

"I would enjoy that," Bruce said with some relief. He had been a bit worried when some of his research indicated that many men preferred one or the other, and given that he enjoyed sex with vaginas… he wasn't sure how he'd feel about forgoing penetrative sex if Bane was opposed to bottoming.

"I would never want you to do something you do not enjoy," Bane said, meeting Bruce's eyes adamantly. "You must be truthful with me as we go forward."

"You, too, with me," Bruce said. "I'm pretty open to new experiences, though," he said. "I wouldn't mind trying anal. And I'm pretty sure that I'll enjoy giving you head," he said. "If you want it," he added quickly, remembering that he didn't yet know if Bane avoided certain acts due to his past abuse.

"We will make a list," Bane repeated, slightly avoiding the question, Bruce noticed, and was glad to let the topic rest for the night. For now, it was enough to be curled up in Bane's lap as Bane's head began to droop sleepily onto his own. Bane was home, and Bane was dating him, and together they would figure the rest out.