Bane was sleeping.

Or at least he had been.

The sunlight never reached the bottom of the prison, but Bane knew from years of experience that it was a little before midday.

It was unlike him to sleep this late.

The vertebrae in his spine cracked as he rolled his shoulders.

There was an oddity to sleeping on his side. He normally slept on his back due to his previous injuries. It was less agonising in the mornings.

There was little that could be said for his quality of sleep. But he was glad for it.

It was a blessing to be somewhere other than the pit. Even it wasn't real.

But this morning felt different. Like deja vu somehow.

There was a slight pressure on his bicep.

His eyes opened and saw his charge resting on his arm.

Hermione had shifted slightly away from him during the night.

His hand remained pressed against her stomach. It took him by surprise to feel her smaller one covering his.

Bane wasn't used to being this close with another person.

His thumb skimmed her soft skin. He allowed himself to enjoy her softness.

Bane's hand shifted onto her waist. He felt something odd. Like raised skin from a scar.

A big scar.

He traced the ridges. They went all the way up to just under her breast.

He stopped himself from touching her there. He wouldn't take advantage of her sleeping form.

Whatever had happened to her must have been painful.

Bane tried to recall seeing a scar on her waist. He hadn't noticed anything there before. He had seen her naked a couple of times. And while he made a point not to stare, he could clearly recall every curve and dips of her body. How could he have missed something like this?

Hermione let out a contented sigh.

His movement must have roused her.

Hermione groaned as she awoke.

The feelings of her hips retreating against his triggered a jolt of pleasure to pass through him.

He willed his body not to respond.

"Good morning, Bane." She yawned.

"How did you sleep?" He asked instead of returning the greeting.

"I slept well, thank you. You're like a radiator." She groaned.

His brow furrowed.

"What's that?"

She giggled at his question.

"It's something used to heat a house."

"I see." He knew she wasn't laughing at his expense, but never did he feel so out of depth before. He usually prided himself on his intellect. It was odd to feel uninformed about the simple things.

Like what it's like to live in a house.

In the hazy memories of his mother, there were pockets of conversations about a place on some remote island. A place where his father was waiting for them.

He only felt anger at her optimism.

His father was a bastard, and his mother was a fool for believing he cared about her.

It was by the grace of God he never met the man.

He wished he had happy memories of his mother. Not just a fuzzy image that became blurrier as the years went by.

Her death wasn't even one of his memories.

When a typhoid ridden inmate was lowered, she along with a dozen others were infected. She holed herself up in a cell to die alone.

All healthy inmates stayed away from the row of cells. Including Bane.

The prison doctor forced Bane to stay away. 'Your mother would not want you to die!'

Bane only found out about her death when her body was taken to the surface to be burned.

Bane pushed back the memories.

He didn't live in the past. Memories didn't aid in his survival.

"I'm sorry, sometimes I forget that you grew up here."

He noted the pitying quality to her voice.

He didn't need pity.

"It is of no consequence. If you feel comfortable reminiscing about your life, I will not stop you."

"It's funny, I feel like I'm already getting used to this life." The melancholic tone was one he knew far too well.

"One quickly learns that there is no way out of the pit. Only acceptance."

She turned over to face him.

Bane allowed his hardened eyes to drift over her face. She looked well-rested. Even in the darkened cell, she brightened up the dull space.

"So, no one has ever escaped?" He hated to see despair in her eyes.

Hope. It was the only thing that kept most alive in Peña Duro.

"One has." He admitted.

She frowned in confusion.

"What? But I thought that there was no way to make the climb?"

"A child found the strength to escape. No one else has succeeded." He eyed the cell next door. The cell where little Talia was born. Once, his only reason to survive in this hell.

"A child?" She looked as if she couldn't understand. "But how? I've watched dozens of men try to climb up that wall. How could a child find the strength to do what everyone claims to be impossible?"

Talia was no ordinary child.

"The child was destined for greatness. The child's father was said to be a man of myth and legend. It was not right to keep them from their destiny. I paid a heavy price, but I do not regret helping them escape. Even if it means I can never escape myself."

Another look of bewilderment crossed her face.

Bane sighed as he prepared to divulge another hint about his past.

He gestured to his mask.

It took a moment for the truth to dawn on her. His reason for the mask. The reason why he could never leave. The scars on his spine.

"You were injured. The mask is for your pain, isn't it?"

He nodded, burying down the ache he felt every day. Today, the slight burn was like an inferno.

"Yes. I cannot survive without it."

Even if he could find the strength to make the climb it wouldn't matter after a couple of days. He would succumb to his old injuries as soon as the venom ran out.

And he would more than likely die in the hot sun.

Perhaps it would be worth it.

One precious moment of freedom.

"They hurt you because you helped the child escape?"

"I let them hurt me." He nodded.

He needed their attention to be focused on him rather than on Talia. He fought as best he could, but no man was a match for an army of angry inmates.

He paid the price for those few seconds of happiness.

"But Bane…" She didn't finish. He could see she was getting upset.

"I do not regret my actions. I know what it is like to be a child of darkness. I will not stand by and allow someone else to end up like me."

He felt his eyes misting with unshed tears. Remembering the short-lived joy as Talia made the impossible jump to freedom before he was practically torn apart for his compliance in her escape.

'Goodbye, my friend.'

"You saved that child from this fate, and you still think you are a product of darkness." Her small hand traced up his arm until her hand rested on the nape of his neck.

He froze at her gentle touch.

"If anything, you rose above the darkness you were born into. You are not the man these other prisoners think you are. You are a good man, or you wouldn't have protected me and comforted me like you did last night. You should be proud of your scars. You're a hero."

Her proud eyes unsettled him. He didn't want the praise she seemed adamant to throw his way.

It made him feel…bitter.

He scoffed at her.

Her eyes hardened at him.

"You can scoff all you like but that won't change anything. You've already proved that there is more to you than meets the eye."

"I do not have to prove anything to you." His eyes turned dark. "Once our association is over there will be no reason for us to interact, let alone be there any reason for you to study me as it appears you have been doing."

He made to get up, but Hermione wouldn't let him.

He was surprised when she pushed him back onto the mat. Her small hands were like vices on his shoulders.

"Don't speak to me like that. You're the only person I talk to. You're the only person I trust. Forgive me for wanting to get to know the real you and not the heartless monster you portray for the benefit of thieves and rapists."

Before she could react, he reversed their positions. Hermione squeaked when she found herself underneath his body.

"Do not presume to know me, Hermione. You do not know what kind of man I am. You are like a baby bird that hatches outside the nest and thinks the first thing it sees is its mother. Little does the bird know what a dangerous creature they have become attached to." He fisted the sheets beside her head. "I am not your saviour. There is only one person you can rely on in this pit and that is you!"

She tried to push him back, but he didn't relent. If anything, he placed more weight on her.

What surprised him though was that she didn't look afraid.

"Are you going to hurt me?" The determination in her eyes intrigued him. "Because let me tell you something. There is no physical torture on this earth that will compare to what I have been through in the past." She raised her head, so they were nose to nose. He focused on her caramel eyes.

"You think I'm weak because I don't have your muscles, because I don't know how to fight like you. But I am not weak. Because true strength is in the mind and I know that better than anyone."

He froze in place. Watching her stand up for herself was eye-opening.

Bane was even surprised when she twisted and pushed him onto his back, like he did to her.

She straddled his hips.

This was a feeling he hadn't felt in a long time.

Dominated.

"You think I'm the weak one?" She gripped his shoulders and slowly dragged her hands down his chest.

He couldn't breathe for a moment.

"Because I think I know what makes you weak." When she reached his abdomen, his hips subconsciously raised.

He didn't recognise this feeling.

"And what is that, my dear?"

"You're afraid that I'm going to leave you too. And that's why you're pushing me away."

He finally made his body obey his mind. His hands gripped her hips. A warning for her to stop her little game.

"I'm not afraid of anything."

"Everyone's afraid of something." Her hands trailed back up to his shoulders so she could lean down and look directly into his eyes.

"When you're ready to face your fears, I'll be waiting." She planted a small kiss on his exposed cheek.

He was too stunned to move.

She climbed off of him and didn't even bother to cover herself while she removed her night shirt. She stood in her underwear as he watched in admiration. Her boldness impressed him.

Her delicate back teased him with memories from last night. Her body pressed against him. Her warmth. How she moulded perfectly into his frame.

So soft and supple compared to his built form.

As she turned around once her new shirt covered her breasts from his gaze, his eyes searched for the scar he had felt while she slept.

Except, there was nothing there now.

Just smooth skin.

"What happened to the scar on your waist?" He asked with narrow eyes.

Xxx

Hermione came down from her high really fast with his question.

She knew it was a risk kissing his cheek. Truthfully, she was surprised he hadn't attacked her.

While training her to fight, he had told her to use an enemy's weakness against them.

She knew she couldn't best him physically, so she used her femininity. It was a cheap trick. But it worked a treat.

Circe, how did he know about her scar?

Years ago, on a trip to America, Hermione went to a healing centre that specialised in glamourising cursed scars.

It cost a fortune, but once Hermione saw the purple scar was no more, she was happy to part with the money.

The only problem was that the scar reappeared during sleep. It made the charm last longer that way.

It was something she needed to get redone once a year.

Maybe the year was almost up. They usually sent her a reminder owl a month before the charm would fade.

"What scar?" She played dumb.

"The scar on your waist. It's gone." He lamented. "I know what I felt, Hermione."

"Why were you touching me?" She turned the tables around on him.

"You asked me to." His tall frame towered over her as he searched her face.

"I-I did." She moved back until she felt the wall.

"Show me."

His hand fisted her shirt and just before he could lift it up, an alarm sounded.

They both started.

"It's too soon." He whispered. She let out a sigh of relief when he let go of her shirt.

"What's wrong? You just came back." She watched helplessly as he moved to exit the cell.

"Something must be wrong. Something-" He swayed slightly. He gripped onto the bars for support.

"Bane?" She tried to get his attention.

"Don't leave the cell." He warned as he pushed himself away and out the cell door. "Not until I return."

The lock clicked into place.

"Bane. You're scaring me."

He was visibly sweating.

"33343." He rasped.

"What?"

"That's the combination." He wheezed out before he collapsed on the ground.

"BANE!" She yelled over the blaring alarm. He told her the code, she needed to help him.

Just as she was getting ready to finally exit the cell, a group of heavily armed men in military regalia appeared from the lower level. They were headed straight for Bane's prone body.

Hermione backed away slightly from the cell door.

She didn't think this prison had guards.

They shouted orders in Spanish. One leant down to check Bane's breathing.

Another pressed a button on the side of his mask and took out what looked like a cartridge.

The man sighed and pocketed the item.

He pushed in another one and Hermione heard the release of decompressed air releasing.

Bane took a deep breath.

Hermione was so focused on Bane that she didn't notice one of the men saunter up to the cell.

"Ay Dios mío, no wonder the big guy is so desperate to come back to this shithole." The man looked Hermione up and down.

"Luca, are you crazy? He'll kill you for even looking at his pet." Another man called in warning.

"He's out cold, and why are you so afraid of him? Without the drugs he can't function. I could probably fuck her in front of him and he wouldn't be able to do a thing. Just watching as his prize takes my cock."

Hermione felt her fingers burn with residual magic.

She wanted to turn this man inside out. But one look behind the bastard and she knew what she wanted to happen.

She focused as hard as she could, hoping and praying that it would work.

"He can't even lick your pussy with that mask on." He moved closer to the bars. "I'll lick you raw, but only if you can show me what you can do with that beautiful mouth." He quickly grabbed hold of her arm though the bars.

Hermione tried to break free but kept her eyes on Bane.

"I think I'll enjoy seeing your lips around my cock." His fingers touched her bottom lip. Hermione broke her stare to bite the man. His hand retreated before she could.

"Okay, maybe I'll try your other lips instead. I prefer pussy anyway." He brought her closer. His other hand moved to her hips. "I get to enjoy your screams that way."

Before he could touch her, Hermione tried to back away. Her eyes widened in fear.

"No need to be scared of me, puta." He chuckled.

"She's not afraid of you." A mechanical voice threatened.

Before the man could react, Bane wrapped one giant hand around the bastard's neck.

Hermione sighed in relief and backed away.

She had put in all her effort into a silent rennervate. She wanted him to wake up.

And now he had the man held aloft. Like he weighed nothing. He clawed at Bane's hand.

"Forgive me, I interrupted your conversation. What other pleasures were you going to inflict on my charge?" Bane's eyes were dangerous. Bright green. Hermione knew Bane would kill the man.

"I-I w-was only mess-messing, senior." Luca wheezed.

He was turning red.

"Bane, you cannot kill him." The other man called.

"He touched what is mine. He is lucky I haven't removed his head." Bane's eyes narrowed as Luca appeared to have wet himself.

He had enough reason to be terrified.

"Hurt him if you must, Bane. But don't kill him. It's so hard to find staff these days." Another voice called. He sounded American. The man's face was partially hidden behind what looked like a gas mask.

"Do not order me, Doctor." Bane's hand squeezed.

"If you let him live, we can start you on the new medication you requested."

That had Bane's attention.

After a moment's hesitation, he dropped the man's body. It crumbled and he coughed on the floor.

As he went to stand, Bane swiftly kicked out his knee.

Hermione cringed as the sickening crunch echoed around them.

Luca screamed in agony.

"You brought this on yourself Luca." The American man laughed. "You poked the bear."

Hermione watched Bane's eyes narrow at him.

"She's cute." He walked up behind Bane. "I can see why you lock her away. So many light-fingered fellows down here. I'm sure she'd be snapped up right away if you weren't there to stake your claim."

"Be careful Doctor. This could very easily be you on the floor." Bane threatened.

"I don't like the ladies, you know that." He jovially patted Bane's shoulder. "Come on, we need to get to work. Say goodbye to your toy."

The other men turned and left, one supporting Luca who hobbled on one foot.

"How did you do that?" Bane asked quietly.

Hermione met his steely gaze.

"Do what?"

"You woke me up." He watched her eyes for any signs of the truth.

"I was over here."

They stared at each other. Neither backing down.

It was only when the American man's voice called out for Bane, did he turn and follow.

"There is something strange about you, Hermione. One way or another, I will find out."

And with that, she was alone once more.

Xxx

"Who knew you had such game?" Crane laughed once they were behind the door and entered his makeshift lab.

"That's one fine woman, amigo." Montez agreed.

"I mean, I know any woman looks like a million bucks after while in the pit, but damn, that's some luck you have." They laughed. "You get to visit the boneyard while the others pray for a dirty magazine to get blown down into the pit."

Bane ignored their chatter. He was here so they could find out what went wrong with the new formula.

It was a failure. He knew it was a long shot.

But if there was a chance that he wouldn't have to change the cartridges as often then his body might adjust to a lower dose.

"How's the sex?"

Bane gave Crane an unimpressed look. He didn't answer.

"Can you have sex?" Montez asked.

Bane turned to the bearded mercenary. If looks could kill, he would be dead.

"What I-I meant by that was aren't you worried that she could get pregnant?" He backed away in fear but still looked curious to know the answer.

Bane never wanted to imagine the possibility of bringing a child into the hell he was raised in.

Talia escaped, but could he watch his own flesh and blood make the same climb as she did.

He didn't want to imagine the pain he would feel.

"Bane, having a kid? Man, he lost that chance years ago." Crane laughed.

That caught Bane's attention.

He couldn't have children?

Crane saw his confused look as he prepared to draw blood.

"Your body was so injured after what those other prisoners did to you, and all those drugs and steroids you've ingested have basically rendered you infertile. Good news for you and your lady friend. Now you can fuck to your heart's desire."

Bane's mind was reeling from this new information.

He could never father a child.

It was as much a blessing as it was a curse.

Did he want children?

He loved watching Talia grow up from a helpless little baby into a brave young child.

"I'm almost jealous, you get to go in raw-dog and reap none of the consequences. But we both know I wouldn't survive in this hell. At least you have something to look forward to when you get back to the little lady."

Bane felt a coiling in his lower stomach.

The idea that Hermione could be his was something that entered his mind intermittently when she first arrived in the pit. Always when he rested. The thoughts became more frequent when they began to share a cell and they were almost constant since the first time he saw her naked.

She was beautiful. It wasn't hard to notice her in the hopeless hell he called home.

And last night, he got to hold her close. Like the lovers in her books.

"We fucked up, and the computer chip in your mask alerted us that your levels were getting too low. You're not ready for the new formula. We need to run some more tests before we try again."

"How long will this take?" Bane sighed.

"No more than a couple of days." Crane took the vial of blood and Bane resigned himself to another unwanted stint in the doctor's lab.

At least Hermione was safe.

Crane's fax machine beeped.

"And good news on the medication, it's just been FDA cleared. We can try it out before you go back."

That added to the coil in Bane's stomach.

Two days couldn't be over quick enough.

xxx

Hermione's cramps were still annoying as she shifted on her sleeping mat.

She missed Bane's warmth.

They may have only slept beside each other once, but she wanted him beside her.

She groaned again.

"Hermione?"

"Bane?" She tried to open her eyes.

"Shh go back to sleep." He slid in behind her.

His big hand cradled her stomach.

She moaned at the touch.

"Are you mad at me?"

"I could never stay mad at you." There was something different.

It was… a good different.

It was his voice.

"Your voice. What's happened to it?"

"This is my voice."

She felt a kiss press against her shoulder.

"But you sound normal, like you're not wearing the-"

Hermione's eyes sprung open.

She turned and there was no one there. Just the dark cell.

Hermione searched every dark corner with her eyes.

He was there. It felt so real.

His voice and his lips.

Why was she dreaming about his lips?

Hermione squeezed her legs together. Needing to relieve the tension that had been building.

She wanted him.

She was tired of lying to herself.

Ever since the first time she saw his raw power and his enigmatic character, she was enthralled.

She knew she was setting herself up for a painful future, but even if she gained a moments happiness, it would all be worth it.

He was her only light in the pit.

And she wanted him to know it.