Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the situations all characters find themselves in. Thanks so much for reading and reviewing, it means the world to me.

Sorry for the lack of updates recently, Everyone. Work's been on the crappy, emotionally and physically draining side. But I'm hoping to post more this month so fingers crossed. And also the song mentioned below is another one from the Off Broadway show 'Hamilton'. I love the music heh.

Kind Of Stupid

Heats sucked. Sucked eggs and slimy, fresh from the sea oysters. Sucked-things he hadn't thought of but would definitely come up with later when his brain was firing on all cylinders. Which was probably going to be a while since his brain was still working on rebooting after the heat short circuited the fuck out of it. But his first and hopefully last heat was done and over with. That much Blake knew and clung to like it was the only life raft in a churning sea. Because Blake sure as hell felt like he'd just survived a perfect storm, and he'd only been joking when he'd warned Bane that that level of sex was in their future. Turns out the joke had been on him.

Well, both of them.

Cheered a little by the memory of how he'd totally wrecked Bane, and he so totally had, Blake's pleasure and amusement died a quick death as he remembered how wrecked he was too.

Though it could be a lot worse.

During his 'childhood' and as a cop Blake had seen and heard firsthand what became of omegas who hadn't been as fortunate as he'd been. Omegas sold out by their families to be exploited or abused. Omegas who'd gone into heat without enough warning or whose locked doors hadn't been strong enough to protect them from an alpha who'd caught their scent. Omegas whose 'partners' hadn't given a damn about their wellbeing during the heats, resulting in the omegas being half dead at the end from lack of food or water. Then there were the omegas who'd been passed around like a party favor from alpha to alpha, too out of their minds with the heat to protest, much less fight them. And always whatever happened was the omega's fault. At least in Blake's neighborhood growing up.

They asked for it. They enticed and teased alphas with their very existence. Fucking was what they were meant for. That and breeding.

Bane had made sure that he stayed hydrated and had fed him. Had taken him from this compound to another building so that he'd be safe from other alphas. And while there were bruises on his body Blake didn't doubt that they'd been unintentional on Bane's part. So yeah...for all his considerable faults Bane had taken care of him during his heat to the best of his ability. And he was grateful for that.

Though Blake's memories of what had happened during his heat were sketchy as hell. A blur for the most part. He had impressions and brief flashes of memory but for the most part he'd-blacked out wasn't the word...but Blake couldn't come up with a better way of describing it. It had been like those blinders he'd seen horses wear in the park or in movies. Like the heat had blinded him so that he saw only what the heat wanted him to see. Only he hadn't seen but just felt.

What he'd felt Blake remembered vividly.

Now if only he could block out what an idiot he'd been when his heat first started. He'd almost given himself hypothermia for fuck sakes. And yeah part of the blame could be placed very nicely on Bane's shoulders-but in the end it was his body and he should have known better. Been stronger.

Scrubbing his hands over his face while ignoring the way his arms protested the action, fuck but he was so out of shape, Blake turned his attention to looking around the bedroom he shared with Bane.

They'd arrived 'home' about half an hour ago and Bane had left him a few minutes ago to speak to Talia. Apparently the bitch had appeared at the compound the day before and had been waiting for them upon arrival. Or to be more accurate one of her minions had been waiting for them practically at the door to tell Bane that Talia wanted to see him ASAP. As in now.

It was sad that he could look at it as progress that Bane hadn't just dropped him on his ass then and there so that he could run to Talia's side like the good little/big henchman that he was.

No, Bane had insisted on carrying him back to their rooms first, Barsad walking alongside them and updating Bane on everything he needed to be updated on as they went. Once they'd arrived at their doorway Barsad had been ordered to guard said door while they'd headed inside, Bane depositing him on the bed and even covering him with the sheet before abandoning him to go shower and then get dressed in clean clothes.

Then his so called future mate had left after giving him stern instructions to remain in bed and rest until Bane returned. And looking for a silver lining-well at least he could be grateful that being forced to become an omega again hadn't turned him into an idiot.

Logically he'd known that any changes to his personality would or at least should be minor, but Blake was too much of a pessimist not to have feared the worst in the darkest corners of his brain. And hoping for the best while expecting the worst generally worked for him. Especially when he was already up shit's creek without a paddle. Like now. Definitely like now. But since there was currently not a doubt in his mind that Bane was an idiot Blake figured he could be cautiously optimistic at the moment.

Hearing the sound of the door opening Blake gingerly slid into a sorta seated position-and then threw off the sheet and ran to Simon without any real awareness of the physical pain his mind was trying to make him aware of.

His pain didn't matter. Simon mattered. And Simon was hurt.

Simon had been fine before he'd left and the visible bruising was obviously at least a day old judging from the coloring. The most obvious culprit was just as obvious, and there was definitely a growl to his voice when he said Danilo's name.

"He had to test me." Simon shrugged as he said it. "It doesn't hurt that much."

Not about to believe that without seeing the damage for himself Blake gently grasped Simon's chin and carefully turned the younger man's head this way and that to study it for damage before lifting up the alpha's shirt so that he could get a good look at the lovely bruises blooming over Simon's torso before clinically testing the ribs for signs of breakage.

"Are you trying to get him killed?"

He'd noted that Barsad had followed Simon into his room of course, but at the other man's words Blake switched his attention to Bane's second for a moment. "What do you mean? How badly is he hurt?"

"You're Bane's omega. You do recall how insistent he was that no one touch you when you were just a Pet, yes?"

"So you're saying I literally have the touch of death now?" Because he'd met a few alphas, such as the leader of the League of Shadows, who he wouldn't mind seeing dead in the near future. And the man's daughter too, assuming the rule applied to everyone not Bane.

"Don't put your scent on Kei." Barsad bit off.

"I'd never forgive Bane if he hurt him." Blake shot back. "He knows that."

"You're assuming he'd be rational about it."Barsad resorted, his gaze deadly serious. "You're his one and only. He's decided that you will be his mate and mother of his children. He will not be reasonable or lenient when it comes to you. He'll make sure every man within these walls knows you aren't to be touched. And what he'll do to them if they dare."

Apparently agreeing with Barsad on the matter Simon reached up and pushed Blake's hand away from his skin. "I was checked over by the doctor. I'm just bruised and sore. I swear." A moment's pause. "Are you all right?"

"Just a little bruised and sore. And I had two splinters Bane had to pull out before we came back. He had four."

"How'd you get that many?"

"Broke the bed."

Barsad winced at that, probably not wanting to think about his leader's sex life. Simon on the other hand nodded and stated that it made sense that someone of Bane's size would be hard on furniture.

"How's your father?"

"The same."

Nodding in understanding Blake would have given Simon's shoulder a squeeze if not for Barsad's warning. He'd have to have a little pow wow with the idiot about this whole no touching thing ASAP. After all the no touch rule had been in effect when he'd just been Bane's 'pet', but he'd still touched Simon then without any repercussions. Bane hadn't liked it, but he'd tolerated it.

"I was sent with food for you. I set it on the table by the door since I knew you'd fuss over me as soon as you saw me."

"Sweet." He could definitely eat.

"Sit down and I'll get it for you." And so saying Simon turned around and went to fetch the food in question.

For his own amusement Blake called after him that his ass wasn't all that fond of sitting at the moment which made Simon shake his head without looking back at him.

Barsad meanwhile continued to look at Blake like he expected him to unleash the ten plagues of Egypt on him at any moment.

"What?"

"Talia's presence here does not bode well for him."

"You mean it doesn't bode well for me. Assuming you mean Bane and not Kei."

Rather than comment on that Barsad stated that it would be in Blake's best interests to be on his best behavior when she came to see him.

"Let's cut to the chase, shall we? She's going to try and kill me now. Before she was getting off on the idea of Bane raping and torturing me, but she knows he won't do that now that he knows I'm an omega even if she ordered him to. And she also knows that if I become Bane's mate I'll matter to him. Yes I'll always come in second to her unless I'm pregnant at the time, but even just one instance of him putting me before her would be too much for her craziness to handle. And she won't allow me to have children that could one day usurp her, which means she'll kill me before they can be conceived. Even if I play nice."

That last bit he tacked on as sarcastically as he could. Which was saying something.

"You aren't wrong."

"No shit, Sherlock."

"We're all up shit's creek without a paddle." Simon stated in agreement as he came back over with the dinner tray. "Here you go."

"Thanks." Taking the tray Blake walked back over to the bed and then set the tray down on top of it, wincing as he carefully lowered himself as well before stretching out on his side so that he was facing the other two. "Have you already eaten, Kei?"

"Yes. It wasn't good."

Looking over what was on his plate...

"Right there with you."

)

Listening to the two of them discuss what the kitchens had provided for dinner and comparing tonight's meal with previous meals they'd eaten in Gotham, Barsad wasn't quite sure what to think of either man. Especially since moments before they'd been talking about the fact that Talia was going to have Blake assassinated at her earliest convenience. With Kei quite possibly dying alongside his friend in the process. The boy was supposed to guard the cop after all. And Barsad was not about to just stand around and let Kei be killed so-so shouldn't they be discussing what the hell they could do to keep them all alive and breathing?

Some of his thoughts must have been written clearly on his face.

"There's nothing any of us can do short of assassinating her first." Blake toasted him with his water glass, a knowing smirk on the omega's face. "Bane's deluded where she's concerned and his happiness means nothing to her. The only thing I can do is try not to end up dead before Bruce comes for me."

"I won't be of much use to him except as a human shield." Kei added with a shrug. "And that's only if I remain his bodyguard."

"Will he be safer if he isn't my guard?" Blake wanted to know.

"Hard to say." Barsad crossed his arms in front of him. "He was sent with us to test his loyalty and make him Bane's problem, rather than al Ghul's. He isn't deadly or skilled enough to be a bodyguard for Bane's mate but letting him be dead weight around here isn't an option either."

Kei was nodding along with him, which Barsad took to mean the man wasn't at all insulted by anything he'd just said. Which just highlighted once again how un-alpha like Kei was.

"He could take on the full-time job of caretaker for Hitachi. Given his long service to the League, surely providing him with care and comfort in his advanced years would justify keeping Kei here."

"I intend to argue that point."

"If Bane weren't so in denial that Talia is a psychopath we could argue that I'm the only person here who won't kill him under her orders. So I should be allowed to stick around to guard him. Though I would rather just hang out with Father all day. Guarding you is boring, John."

Blake rolled his eyes over that.

"We do need to come up with a plan now. Especially since there's no guarantee the three of us will have privacy again any time soon."

"If you have some genius plan to keep Talia from killing me I'm all ears."

Barsad wished he did. But he didn't other than Blake doing his best not to draw Talia's attention or anger her while Blake was in her presence. And judging from the look in the cop's eyes when he said as much Barsad knew he'd just wasted his breath.

"She'll kill him soon."

Kei wasn't wrong about that.

"I'm not an easy man to kill, Barsad." Blake stated after a few moments of silence. "And she is going to have to be careful about how she takes me out. That gives me an advantage."

Kei wanted to know what he meant.

"Alphas aren't rational when it comes to their mates or omegas. Everyone knows that. Hell, odds are that Bane knew what I was on some subconscious level, to let me get away with some of the shit I've pulled since we met. Now maybe if we'd been together for a while it wouldn't be that bad, but this close to our 'bonding' and my first heat with him Talia has to know he won't be rational where I'm concerned. That means if I'm dying any time soon it's going to have to look like suicide, an accident, or she's got someone lined up to take the blame. Someone she can kill and take credit for killing in revenge for killing me so that she can ensure her scapegoat is never questioned while also earning Bane's gratitude and continued devotion."

"I doubt a natural looking death. She'll want you to suffer. It's her nature to play with her prey."

"Yeah, I know. It's one of the reasons she and her dad are such fuckups. They don't realize that the best way to end your enemies is to just end them. Blow them up and that's that. But no, they have to make it all complicated and drawn out." Blake rolled his eyes. "It's like the biggest villain cliché there is."

"They didn't watch enough Disney as kids." Was Kei's apparently serious opinion on the matter.

A snort from Blake. "True."

"Somehow I don't think watching sanitized versions of old folk tales would have made them more apt at killing people."

"Says their loyal henchman who will, as per usual, likely die because of their stupidity. And die in ways way worse than Disney villains if we're talking your Grimm version."

"I don't want you to die."

Surprised, Barsad looked over at Kei. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. Even though it would be your own fault for being stupid enough to join the League in the first place."

"Seriously bad move on your part." Blake agreed before Barsad could say anything. "Though Bane and Talia definitely win the prize for most stupid. Congratulations to them."

Blake pretended to toast them with his water glass.

Kei stared at Blake for a moment and then broke out into bright, happy laughter that made Barsad's breath catch in his chest. So beautiful.

In surprisingly companionable silence Barsad joined Blake in waiting the laughter out before asking the younger man what was so funny.

Obviously struggling to keep a straight face, Kei's eyes practically danced with merriment. "What he said made me think of some lines from a new song John taught me. They fit those two to a T, since Bane thinks he can control John and she thought all these stupid things about him."

And then he sang the lines.

"You've invented a new kind of stupid
A damage you can never undo
Kind of stupid
An open all the cages in the zoo
Kind of stupid
Clearly, you didn't think this through,
Kind of stupid."

Breaking out into peals of laughter Blake gave himself over to hilarity while Barsad just stared at Kei as he tried to process what the other man had just insinuated. And when he did...

"Don't ever sing that around them."