Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the situations all characters end up in. Everything else belongs to someone else and that's the way of it.
Camp Rules
Having spent a good hour working the kinks out of his body with various stretches, between the helicopter and the way his body had been put through the wringer thanks to the League he'd really needed that, Blake debated doing some more before opting against it. Instead, he turned his attention to once again studying the inside of the tent he'd been ordered into as soon as they'd arrived, looking for something worth taking note of or entertaining himself with. There was really nothing in the tent, which was probably why they'd felt safe leaving him in it alone, so Blake sat and occupied himself with just being grateful that he hadn't been ordered to put the tent up in the first place. Though he might have to in the future since his current accommodation had already been erected when they'd arrived at base camp and wouldn't be in the future. Ugh.
As he'd never slept in a tent, much less put one up, Blake was really hoping that that wasn't going to be one of his duties in the future. Especially since having it fall on them in the middle of the night would not endear him to Bane. Or be much fun to get out from under. This tent seemed well built tonight though, at least to his limited understanding, which was good since Blake didn't fancy sleeping in the desert.
From mountain to desert in a day, Blake mused to himself. The world was a funny place. Though it was pretty cool out there now, too. Morning would probably be a different story.
Damn, he wasn't cut out for this nature shit.
Rubbing a hand over his head in frustration, Blake hated the fact that he was so out of his element here. Didn't know his place or what was expected or just how far he needed to bend or hold strong to stay in one piece. The main thing was he wasn't safe here. Was surrounded by enemies who were trained both mentally and physically to kill him on orders or just because they felt like it. Simon, who he needed to remember to call Kei, would be his only true ally here and even that was something he couldn't lean on since he had no intention of sacrificing the boy for his own selfish purposes.
Simon.
They hadn't had a chance to really talk. No one had left them alone together yet. He knew what little he'd been told about the situation his friend was in, but he hadn't gotten it from the horse's mouth, so to speak. And he needed to get a better sense of Bane, too, and how he should behave around the man to make the best of things. Thus far he'd underplayed his intelligence and knowledge while presenting himself as something like a high ranking courtesan or mistress. Someone who was there for Bane's pleasure, yes, but also to be pampered and cared for. To be valued.
Only problem with that was he loved the sex, who wouldn't, but he also wasn't some plaything either. He was more than that, but he didn't know if he should make that clear. If he should keep playing the role to survive or could subtly continue to let his true self shine through over time.
Bane didn't know what to do with him. That much was obvious. He was the first Pet the alpha had ever had, and Blake got the impression that he puzzled his new master quite a bit. What puzzled him was Bane's behavior when it came to sex, since one minute the man seemed to know exactly what he was doing and wanted, and then the next minute seemed uncertain and wary. Either way Bane was well satisfied with the end result, he'd been able to tell that much, but it would certainly help insure his future if he could see more of Bane's face, get a better read on him.
"How do I get myself into these situations? Seriously."
Getting up off the floor, such as it was, Blake walked over to the spot he guessed they'd be sleeping on. Or at least Bane was sleeping there. He might be expected to sleep elsewhere since he was a Pet and there wasn't nearly the privacy here as there had been in Bane's room. A lot more potential spies for Talia to have. So he wasn't entirely sure if he would be allowed to share the blankets in front of him now that they were surrounded by Bane's men, and wasn't sure quite how he felt about the idea of Bane fucking him here either, for that matter. He wasn't exactly quiet, after all, and Bane definitely didn't want him to be. Or at least hadn't before.
He'd have to face these men in the morning, and he'd rather they not be thinking about him in a sexual manner when they did. He'd probably be safe from rape given that he belonged to Bane, but there were always men who thought they could get away with it. And that aside, well he'd rather they at least see him as a human being rather than Bane's sex toy.
John Blake. Sex toy.
Cue the eye rolling.
And man but he could really do with some water right about now. A galleon of it. All that damn singing had done a real number on his throat on top of the dry desert air he was breathing in now. Or at least he thought that was bad for him. Again, not his area of expertise. Either way he was a Pet; Blake didn't figure going out there and asking for water was proper Pet behavior. And while there might be water somewhere in the tent Blake wasn't sure if he was allowed to drink it.
Plus the idea of going outside the tent in the middle of the night to piss in the sand didn't appeal to him either.
Covering a yawn with his hand, Blake stared down at the bedding for a minute longer and then decided to err on the side of caution. At least for the time being.
Sighing, and anticipating a miserable night, Blake moved over to a space where he'd be out of Bane's way and then curled up as best he could to preserve as much body heat as possible. And then closing his eyes Blake willed himself to nod off into light slumber. He'd need all the sleep he could get.
)
He'd been sent to stand guard alongside Kei and a couple of other betas, though Barsad was fairly sure Bane's Pet wasn't stupid enough to make a break for it given the unfamiliar and inhospitable terrain around them. But Bane had so ordered, and so naturally he would obey. And was looking forward to trying again to get to know the Pet's new bodyguard, truth be told. Kei was a puzzle he was determined to solve no matter how long it took him. It was both his job and…and his curiosity needed to be appeased.
Spotting the boy up ahead, standing in front of the entrance of the largest tent, Barsad walked straight up to him, nodding his head in greeting before moving into position to stand beside the alpha to join him in facing off into the distance as he asked if Blake had retired for the evening.
"Sorta."
"Sorta?"
"Well sleeping on the floor is never comfortable. Do you know if he's allowed to sleep in Bane's bed or not? He wasn't sure and I didn't know. So he's sleeping on the floor without even a blanket." Kei frowned over that last bit.
In truth Barsad didn't know what Bane's wishes would be, especially since Bane had never had a Pet and therefore there was no precedent for this. But he didn't imagine Bane would want the Pet to be cold, if for no other reason than the cop would be useless to him sick.
"Tell him he can sleep in Bane's bed. I'll inform Bane I gave him permission."
"Thank you." A nod and then the boy was gone and into the tent, though he was only gone for a minute before he came back out to retake his position. And then he just stood there and basically ignored Barsad like he wasn't even there. Staring off into space with nothing in his body language to suggest he was alert or aware that someone stood so close to him.
"How is your song memorization going?" Barsad finally asked. And had to repeat two more times before Kei finally turned his head to look at him.
"Well. I think I have 'Satisfied' down. I like that one best. The others will take another listen, I think."
"That's the one where the sister laments the fact that Hamilton married her sister instead of her, right?" When Kei nodded Barsad asked why that was his favorite.
"Because I've never been satisfied either."
All right. That could be taken a lot of different ways.
From the sounds of it Kei had grown up in foster care originally, which meant that he'd missed out on a normal childhood and family, which would certainly be a reason for regret and dissatisfaction. The alpha could also mean that life in the League had denied him the music he so obviously loved, as well as many other pursuits and past times Kei might have once enjoyed. Or he could feel that he was being denied the chance to go to school or pursue a profession, which he was. Or he could mean sexually, which admittedly was where Barsad's mind had immediately gone. He was male. So sue him.
"You're young yet." Was the best response Barsad could think to say, since it wasn't like he could just ask the other man if the reason he'd been celibate since he'd been forced to join the League was because he actually was asexual, or because his previous sexual encounters had been mediocre at best. Given the boy's age when he was taken, that was entirely possible.
A brief look in his direction, followed by a slight shrug of shoulders before Kei went quiet. And ignored him again.
Seriously?
"Are you singing in your head?"
"Yes. So please be quiet."
Jaw threatening to drop, Barsad was genuinely speechless. Did the boy not know who he was?
But even as he thought that Barsad realized something that kept him from demanding the respect he wasn't being paid. Because it would be one thing if he thought Kei was challenging him because he was only a Beta to Kei's Alpha, he'd played those dominance games all his life and was used to it. But this…Barsad wasn't entirely sure the boy wouldn't have said that to Bane if his leader had been here instead. No. This wasn't about deliberately being disrespectful or even hurtful, if Barsad had been the type to be wounded at being so casually dismissed. Kei was just that lost in his own world that the workings of the real one didn't matter to him.
And it was that that had Barsad moving to stand in front of the alpha, reaching up to grasp the boy's chin to force Kei's attention on him. He wanted his words heard and understood.
"You will not live long under Bane, regardless of the esteem held for your father, if you don't show proper respect and deference to those of higher rank than you. Which right now is everyone but Bane's Pet. Do you understand that?"
"I understand, Sir."
Letting go of the boy's chin, Barsad was just about to tell Kei that he was saying this for his own good when he sensed Bane's presence, which effectively killed the words he'd been about to say. Instead he turned and walked over to inform the other man that he'd given the cop permission to sleep in his bed, as promised.
He felt Kei's eyes on him with every step he took.
)
The next day was spent driving. And more driving. And lots of desert. Without even cactuses or interesting rock formations to look at. Though maybe that was only in the US? Either way there was nothing but sand, blinding sun, and four antisocial men trapped with him in the pimped up armored vehicle they were riding around in. Well no, antisocial wasn't quite the right word for it, Blake supposed as he slumped a little in his seat. More like Bane was ignoring him, Barsad and Hitachi were following their leader's lead, and Simon was staring out the window, ignoring everyone. Or possibly Barsad in particular. He was picking up something there, in the way Bane's second had looked in Simon's direction a couple of times, but he could be reading that wrong.
Either way he was dead grateful when he was ordered to sit away from the rest when the caravan of trucks and other vehicles stopped for a break to eat and no doubt relieve their bladders. Blake had certainly drunk enough water to be ridiculously grateful for the time out for that reason alone.
And since he had no wish to hang out with the League members, and was quite happy to sit with Simon, Blake had no problem taking his water and disgusting granola bars and going off to sit in the shade provided by one of the trucks, leaning his back against a huge tire.
"So Bruce Wayne is really Batman?"
"Yup."
"But not your lover." Simon stated with utter confidence. "He's not your type at all."
"Nope."
Quiet for a moment, Simon took a seat beside him, his gaze thoughtful and penetrating for once. "Are you really okay with being Bane's lover? I know that he's your idea of male perfection, when it comes to sex, but that doesn't mean he won't hurt you. He's awfully big, after all."
Lips twitching at the phrasing, Blake would have patted Simon on the shoulder if not for the whole 'no touching' thing. "I think I can handle him."
"Well you would know better than I would what your ass can and can't handle."
Choking a little on his water, Blake slapped his fist against his chest a little clear it.
"You okay?"
"I'll live."
In the quiet that followed, Blake posed his own question, asking Simon what he thought of Bane's second. He didn't know much about him.
"He grabbed my face and told me to show respect to everyone but you."
Since Simon hated to be touched, much less grabbed without his permission, Blake surmised that Barsad was now on the boy's shit list. And since apparently the man had told Simon he wasn't deserving of respect Blake was inclined to join Simon in blacklisting the pretty boy beta. But this was Simon, which meant further analysis was necessary.
"What happened before he said that?"
"I asked him to stop interrupting my mental singing. I said please."
Ah. "This was while you were guarding me outside the tent last night, right?"
A nod.
"Then Simon…maybe he said that because I'm guessing Bane or any other high ranking man in this little guerrilla army of theirs would beat the shit out of you if you told them what to do AND weren't paying attention to the job you'd been assigned to do."
Brows furrowed, Simon considered this. "You think he said that to teach me. Not to be mean."
"Well you've been in the League a lot longer than I have. What do they usually do to subordinates who aren't doing their job or ignore them when they're trying to talk to them?"
"What you said." Simon's shoulders slumped. "It was stupid of me. Having you around, someone who understands…I forgot who I have to be here. It's even worse than in the homes sometimes. Usually they preferred me singing to talking. But here Father wants me around and they didn't. It's hard."
"I can imagine." And imagining it was horrible, especially since all this had to be so much worse for someone like Simon. Which reminded him... "No one here knows, do they?"
Simon shook his head.
"If you explained Bane might cut you a break. Or I can talk to him." Honestly Blake had a feeling that Bane wouldn't make allowances for Simon or anyone given the way Bane himself had grown up. Blake was betting the alpha had held a survival of the fittest point of view even before he'd joined the League. It wouldn't hurt to try, though.
But Simon was shaking his head again. "In the League it doesn't matter if you're missing a limb, beat to shit, or so sick you're halfway dead already. If you aren't dead, you're expected to perform just as well as the crème de la crème. Twenty four seven. My brain being wired differently from most people isn't going to work as a 'Get Out of Jail Free Card'."
"Well…I assume that we're going to another training compound, or another permanent building somewhere in this godforsaken desert, right?"
"Yes."
"Well once we're there you and I can sing all we want, okay? Just the two of us. You're supposed to be with me at all times from the sounds of it, and so long as we aren't bothering anyone who's going to care what we're doing? Bane let me sing before."
"Let you." Simon pointed out, not the sort to hope for anything good coming his way.
And fuck, at the moment Blake understood that completely as they stared out into the unforgiving, was guaranteed to kill them if the ventured into it alone desert. Because they were okay now, but the odds of them staying that way long term weren't good, and foster care and Gotham had beaten most of the optimism out of them long ago.
"I'll figure something out."
"Don't get dead on my account."
"Ditto."
A long silence and then…
"I ate garbage as a kid that tasted better than these granola bars."
"Yeah." Simon sighed as he stared at the bar he held in his hand. "No on in the League seems to know how to cook. Sometimes I'd sell my soul for even a slice of pizza."
"Coke."
"Fries."
"Milk chocolate."
"Ketchup."
"Ketchup?" He loved the stuff, but Blake didn't recall Simon being much of a fan of the stuff.
"It would mask the taste of at least some of the stuff they call food here."
"Truth."
Sighing, both men grimly turned their attention back to finishing their lunch. They still had a long day ahead of them, after all.
