Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the situations the characters find themselves in. Thanks so much for continuing to read and giving me feedback on my work. It's muchly appreciated and I do read every review you send me!
Note: sorry it's been so long since I've posted anything, I've been sick for the past two weeks.
Also Happy Valentine's Day!
A Complicated Day
Just as Barsad had predicted no one knew or had seen anything. In some of their eyes Barsad could see that the men, like him, knew that the culprit had to be one of them. Many of them probably knew why one of their comrades would wish the cop dead and who most likely had given the orders for the omega's execution. These were not stupid, unobservant men. They had all been trained by himself and Bane, allowed their current positions because they were up to the tasks they were assigned. They would all be aware of the affect Blake was having on Bane and Talia's feelings on the subject. The bitch was making little to no effort to hide her desire for the omega's pain and eventual death. Bane was probably the only one currently in the compound who wasn't aware that Blake's days were very much numbered unless Bane stepped up and chose his would be mate over the woman he'd always followed with blind obedience. Who Bane's men followed with blind obedience because that was what Bane expected of them. How he had trained them.
After talking with the latest man and learning nothing useful Barsad started off to hunt up the next person on his mental list, glancing behind him to check on Kei because keeping the alpha in his sights was basic self-preservation. For both of them. Barsad didn't even want to think about what sort of trouble the other man could find when not properly supervised for a few hours.
The glance reassured him that Kei was still trailing silently after him. The alpha hadn't said a word since the start of the interviews, observing quietly instead. Or at least Kei was doing an excellent imitation of quiet contemplation.
There was a thoughtful look on Kei's face but Barsad was loathed to ask the alpha what he was thinking. That could lead down any number of rabbit holes Barsad did not have the patience for at the moment. Actually, no. Not rabbit holes. Landmines was the better descriptive.
"You keep looking at me. Why?"
"To make sure you're behaving."
"Oh. I am. Right? I'm being quiet at least. Or I was."
"You are." Barsad acknowledged. "We have two more men to talk to and then I'll see what Bane's next orders for us are."
"Do we have to interview the other two? I mean if one of them tried to shoot John they aren't going to admit it. And if one was really stupid or suicidal and admitted it, well they'd blow their brains out or slice their jugular right after because that would be a lot quicker and less painless than what Bane will do to them. And I don't want to see that."
He'd rather not have to get blood and possibly brain matter off his person later either. But since Barsad was fairly sure that no one would step forward to be Talia's scapegoat, at least not this early in the game, Barsad just shook his head and stated that they had a job to do.
"No we don't. Bane's head is so far up his-nevermind."
So Kei did have some common sense after all. Who knew?
"Before we go find the next person can I ask you a question?"
Praying for strength since he'd no doubt need it in the coming seconds Barsad asked him what the question was.
"You said I should be more alpha. Did you mean with you specifically or just in general?"
"In general."
"Oh. Okay. I was wrong."
About so many things, Barsad silently tacked on to that statement. Then curiosity got the best of him. Dammit.
"Wrong about what, exactly?"
Kei opened his mouth-then paused for a telling moment. "I'm not sure...but I don't think you'd like it if I answered that so I'm taking the Fifth. We should get going with the fake interviews."
He wanted to ask...but Barsad told himself that if Kei thought there was a chance it would anger him than yes, odds are it would. Extremely. And he didn't need anything new to be angry about or stress over.
"Let's go."
So off they went again, the two of them saying nothing at all while Barsad contemplated all the various things Kei could have been thinking. Not surprisingly the majority of those thoughts did nothing to improve his mood or stress levels. But Barsad was also very much aware of Kei's nearness and the fact that the boy wasn't humming to himself. Something the alpha had started doing more and more lately. And it occurred to him-and shamed him-that with the assassination attempt he'd forgotten that the alpha's adopted father had died the night before. Was being cremated as they did these interviews.
"It is a difficult thing, to lose a father. After this I will see about you being relieved for the rest of the day."
"I'd rather stay with you or John."
He was a complete and utter fool, but Barsad's heart leapt that he'd been named first.
"As you wish."
"That's a line from a really famous movie called 'The Princess Bride'. The male lead says it a lot to the female one and it's sorta their inside joke. I had a foster mother who thought it was the greatest love story ever. I liked the movie way more than the book. Except for the 'rodents of unusual size'. That freaked me out as a kid."
"Rodents of unusual size?"
"Think of a rat/mole hybrid the size of a human being."
Yes. That did sound like a truly ugly and fearsome creature.
"And did the couple in this story live happily ever after?"
"They did. She almost had to marry someone else, and he almost died, but he lived for 'true love'."
True love. Barsad's parents had had that. The memories were faded, and often painful, but he did remember that. Did, in some part of himself, want that for himself too.
"You probably don't believe in true love. I don't know if I believe in it either. I've only ever seen it in movies and in books. But I think it would be nice. Maybe."
Not knowing what else to say Barsad settled for inclining his head in agreement.
)
Robin hated ice. Like he really, really hated ice. The only good ice was the sort in drinks or with evil food coloring and sugar added to make it taste yummy. Ice you had to apply to your skin was way more evil than the people who came up with ear worm songs like 'Baby Shark' in Blake's opinion. And that sure as fuck was saying something. So yeah, ice was something he'd prefer to avoid but unfortunately thanks his profession and the fact that he'd been trained by Batman himself to be an even bigger badass than he'd already been...well Blake was very familiar with the necessity of applying ice to his body even if he hated it with a serious passion.
Currently he was lounging against Bane's chest, the alpha's legs bracketing him and Bane's arms wrapped around Blake's waist as they sat on the bed together. Arms that kept him in place as the ice packs Blake had placed just below both knees froze his bare legs off. He was just wearing one of Bane's shirts at the moment which maybe hadn't been one of his best ideas.
Ugh. Though it was comforting too, being surrounded by the alpha. Especially after what had almost happened.
To comfort himself Blake again reminded himself that his present feelings of happiness and contentment-ignoring the whole ice thing-were a normal biological reaction and said nothing about how he felt about Bane. He'd just gone through a heat AND nearly been killed. Needing an alpha around was only natural. Totally an omega thing. The fact that only Bane would have made him feel this safe and centered and 'right'...well that was biology too. He was sleeping with Bane after all. And technically speaking Bane was the biggest and most dangerous alpha in the compound. It only made sense that his stupid omega brain thought that made Bane even better than hours of leisurely sleep and endless supplies of chocolate.
Yeah...a change in mental subject was needed.
"How did your meeting with Talia and her dad go?"
When Bane stiffened up behind him Blake belatedly realized that yeah, he could have picked a better topic. Oops. He'd forgotten about the whole Kei thing. Poor Bane. It was a wonder Bane's head hadn't exploded if Talia had been as obvious as Kei thought she'd been.
"Okay...nevermind. Kei said that-speaking of Kei, if you lose your tin can I can give you that kiss I told you about for saving him for me."
"I didn't save him for you."
Blake wasn't buying that for a minute, his tone making that clear. "Really? Then why, pray tell, would you keep him here?"
"For Hitachi's sake. To honor his memory and final wishes."
Since that was possibly, just possibly true, Blake didn't bother to argue with him. If Bane didn't want that kiss then it was no skin off his bruised ass. In fact...maybe he should have a nap. A nap sounded good right about now. So long as Bane stayed around to keep him feeling warm and not likely to be shot at in the immediate future.
Closing his eyes Blake shifted so that from the waist up he was slightly turned and then settled in to nap a bit.
Or not.
"You said you never found the boy appealing as a possible mate. Why?"
Keeping his eyes closed Blake's lips curved into a rueful little smile. He probably should have seen that question coming. "He's too young and pretty. Not to mention I prefer my men bigger, bulkier, and a great deal more dangerous than he could ever hope to be. And he doesn't hope to be. Plus I'm not remotely his type either."
"What is his type?"
That was a trickier question, especially since Blake was pretty sure that Simon had never actively gone looking for someone to date in the first place. Once Simon had grown into his looks the omegas had come a running and had kept coming until Simon had decided that dating was too much work and stressful. Still, he did know what Simon didn't like, so Blake tossed out a few obvious 'type' requirements.
"Low maintenance. Self-sufficient...and likes music. Oh, and isn't one for PDA or a toucher in general."
"PDA?"
"Public displays of affection."
Bane was quiet for a minute or so, absorbing this. "You are not low maintenance."
"No shit, Sherlock."
"No swearing."
Rolling his eyes over that Blake made no apologies for his high maintenance. He'd warned the man not to make him become an omega again. Bane had totally brought this all on himself. Cause if Bane thought he'd been bad before...well Blake could see a lot of drama in their future. And how.
"He's not your type either."
"Yeah, no." Blake snorted in amusement over the very idea.
"He's a pitiful excuse for an alpha."
"Enough, Bane. It's not his fault your precious Talia wants to fuck him. He's made it very clear he couldn't be less interested in her." Grimacing, Blake mumbled under his breath that that was the problem.
Making a sound of discontent Bane asked what he meant by that.
Shit. Next time he'd have to mumble quieter.
"I mean that if he'd slept with her she'd have lost interest in him and that would have probably been that. Your Talia only wants him this badly because he's made it clear he's not interested and your beloved princess has an inferiority complex."
"No she doesn't."
"She does so. She wants to lead and no one is going to let her because she's a woman. All her power comes from you and her father and if the two of you weren't around the League would have no use for her. It's why she both needs and resents the two of you so much. I mean she's not weak, I'm sure she can hold her own in a fight against the average alpha, but she's not you or Ra's al Ghul."
"You underestimate her."
That called for some serious eyerolling.
"She just tried to have me killed, Bane. I'm aware she's dangerous. I'm just saying that it's a very sore spot for her that her power comes from men. Men she holds sway over by using your familial ties or her sex appeal. And in Sim-Kei's case she can't stand the idea that he doesn't want her because in her head that suggests he doesn't think she's good enough for him. And that her ego can't stand. Particularly since Bruce turned her down too. So she wants him to suffer for making her feel like she's not good enough for a-someone like Kei."
And now you're going to tell me that she's far, far too good for him, Blake thought to himself, rolling his eyes again when Bane immediately proved him right.
"He is beneath her notice."
Called it. And he should probably stop rolling his eyes so much. Blake was pretty sure your eyes couldn't get stuck that way, but seeing as being around Bane called him to roll his eyes on a regular basis, well that couldn't be good for them.
"Well be sure to tell her you think so. Preferably when I'm in the room to see it."
Bane made a sound that Blake wasn't quite sure how to interpret but he didn't really care. This was a stupid, pointless conversation after all.
Abruptly annoyed with his-with Bane and the world in general-Blake decided to do himself a favor and clear the room so that he could have a nap and hopefully avoid having to see or speak to either of the al Ghuls before the two bitches left the compound. One of whom had just tried to kill him. KILL HIM DEAD. And even if Bane were to see Talia gun Blake down out of nowhere without warning he'd still probably believe her if she said it was an accident or self-defense. And Bane seriously thought Blake would become his mate? That he would want to spend his life with a man who always put a psychopath's wants before him? All those years in The Pit had killed Bane's brain. The wheel was still turning but the hamster was dead. Decomposing, probably.
And okay...now he was imagining a decomposing hamster and that was just wrong on a number of levels. Especially since an actual corpse was even now being burned beside the compound.
Fuck. He was so done with this place!
Twisting a little Blake angled himself to the side so that he could glare at Bane.
"What?"
"I'm mad at you."
His beautiful eyes clouding in confusion-dammit, no thinking Bane's eyes were beautiful, stupid brain!-Bane stared down at him warily. "Why?"
The fact that 'Because you love Talia more than me' was the immediate response that came to Blake's mind made him stomach drop and probably sucked all the color from his face. Fuck.
"A lot of reasons." Was the answer Blake went with, weak and stupid as it sounded.
"Robin..."
"Now that you know I'll live to annoy you another day shouldn't you be running back to your masters? I'm supposed to be a worthless Pet after all. They won't like it if they think you'd rather spend time with me than them."
Bane stiffened as he stated that it wasn't safe for Blake to be left alone.
True. He couldn't argue with that.
But Blake wasn't surprise either when Bane retrieved his phone to call Barsad back to babysit him. Probably. He didn't recognize the language Bane was speaking, much less understand, but of course that was what he was saying to the beta. Of course Bane was leaving him and proving Blake's point about how Bane didn't really care or want him. Not really. Otherwise he wouldn't be leaving. So there.
Feeling vindicated Blake untwisted himself and went back to staring straight ahead on him, arms now crossed in front of him. Hell, he'd have moved away entirely but Bane still had one arm wrapped around his waist and-so he was stuck. Until Bane left.
The call ended.
"Barsad and the boy have finished their investigation for the time being. We'll all go to see Talia and her father off."
"Wait...me too?"
"Yes."
Oh. He wasn't sure how he felt about that. Bane wasn't leaving him...but he was also putting him in close proximity to the person who had tried to have him killed. Was Bane trying to keep him safe with him or give Talia another shot to kill him because he was tired of Blake being a bitch to him? Fuck. Was this some trap and Bane intended to hand him and Simon over to the al Ghuls?
"You will stay by my side until the one who dared to try and take you from me is caught."
So until one of them keeled over dead, in other words. Great. That was just fantastic.
That a part of his brain actually thought that made Blake tempted to bitch slap some sense into himself.
"You have a right to be angry with me. I failed to protect you."
It was a testament to the weirdness of their relationship that even with that stupid tin can on his face to muffle and robotize his voice Blake still heard something in those words that made him twist around again to try and get a read on what Bane was thinking or feeling. No surprise he was out of luck between the mask and the fact that Bane had a pretty fucking amazing poker face.
"You weren't here to protect me."
"So I said."
"I mean that if you had been here, you'd have tried to protect me. This time, anyway."
Bane stared at him. "You believe that?"
"As a matter of fact I do."
