Opening Bell

by Moih

Myra Bell is a shy trading analyst intern who works at the Gotham Stock Exchange. After being taken hostage by Bane during his orchestrated heist aimed at bankrupting Wayne Enterprises, she finds herself opening up to Bane in more ways than one. (Bane/OC)

14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Author: Huge HUGE thanks to MaggYme, Kai, WickedlyMinx, Siennax3, sunny day, mynameistolong, sunflower2527, and BMO for your reviews :0 Your reviews are the things I stuff into the good ol' energy converter to help encourage me to continue writing this story! I ~LOOOOOVEEEE~ reading them! Seriously you guys. I really can't emphasize enough how much it means to me to read each and every review. Without them, I'd be like...a sad dead fish flailing around or something (I don't know why I came up with that analogy, BUT IT'S THERE. I SAID IT. NO TAKSIE-BACKSIES.)

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Time to Neutron Bomb Explosion: 11 Days

Myra had taken up handicrafts and knitting small items that were undoubtedly items meant to be worn and used by a baby. Bane interpreted it as Myra's own way of 'nesting', considering her limited influence on her environment as well as her inability to actually go out and explore shops to gather up supplies she felt she needed. She even shockingly found a baby magazine amongst John Daggett's things that she had started spending a significant amount of time idly paging through and circling things she wanted. Bane made his own form of preparation, though Myra would never know about it. It was also a type of preparation he knew he had been internally preparing for prior to the knowledge of Myra being pregnant, but that added bit of information certainly expedited his actions.

It was in the form of a call he made.

The call was to Talia.

"I'd like to discuss our plan further," Bane said in a casual tone.

"Continue," Talia said in response.

Bane paced back and forth several moments before he continued.

"I have outlined a method that would allow us to detonate the bomb from outside the perimeter of the city…..," Bane started to say before he was cut off.

"Bane. We can't make any changes this close to the detonation. You know that. There's too much at risk; too many unaccounted variables," Talia said on the other end of the line. It was obvious her patience and irritation were running thin.

Bane stopped his pacing, closing his eyes to bring his fingers up to rub them gently with his fingertips.

"Why don't we just remove my men from the city now, and then simply detonate the bomb? This would help ensure the continuation of the League of Shadows and your father's legacy, as well as future endeavors on our part. Are a few more days absolutely crucial to this plan? I know you wish for Wayne to suffer as much as possible before the detonation, but...he is a broken man. He is finished. I've seen it with my own eyes," Bane said.

Bane could practically feel Talia's irritation through the phone.

"Yes. He needs to suffer. The whole point of waiting this long for detonation was to cause him absolute pain and suffering for his betrayal," Talia said as if lecturing a child.

"Yes…but... who's going to be around to continue your legacy? The League of Shadows? If we are all blown to pieces, will his legacy matter? Will revenge for your father's death matter?" Bane responded ardently.

Talia wasn't having it. She could also clearly detect an ulterior motive behind Bane's request. She knew Bane wasn't squeamish, hesitant, or getting 'cold feet' about the prospect of his own death, and that he also most certainly could have cared less whether the League of Shadows continued on as an organization; the whole reason he persisted with his involvement in it was for Talia.

"Bane. We aren't altering our plans," Talia said, pausing several seconds before continuing on with her thought. "You wouldn't want...someone you care for deeply to get hurt because you weren't there, would you?" Talia said innocently.

Bane knew a threat when he heard one; while her words may have implied she was speaking about herself as the person he cared for and would be remiss if he weren't around to ensure her safety during the ordeal, he knew Talia was referring to someone else.

She was making a threat against Myra's life.

Bane was silent.

"It would also be a shame…I heard a stork flying by overhead not too long ago. They make such a unique and distinct sound when they flap their wings...it's hard to mistake them," Talia said with deep innuendo.

Bane was not amused.

"What did you say?" he said urgently, seething as he tightened his grip on the phone.

"We aren't altering our plans, Bane. It's too late. Stick with the plan, or I'll be forced to take matters into my own hands," Talia said, before hanging up abruptly.

Bane's hand continued to tighten before an audible 'crunch' was heard as the phone got compressed by an angry shaking hand.

---

That evening, Myra stood in front of the bathroom mirror. She held the hem of her shirt up to expose her stomach, making attempts at determining if there were any physical indicators of her pregnant condition. She tried different poses like lunging dramatically forward, forcing her belly out as if she were bloated, or simply lifting her arms up. She didn't see any strong indicators; her stomach was still relatively flat, though she did feel like a slight flabby pouch was starting to form from all of the food Bane was cramming down her throat. Nothing prominent, though.

After her inspection and settling the hem of her shirt down, her eyes roamed to her face. She leaned forward towards the mirror, letting her fingertips trail along the green bruised splotches along her jaw that were now barely visible. Her eye had mostly healed with little to no evidence of there ever being an injury.

She had a hard time recollecting what happened entirely. One thing she did know, however, was that the bruises on her face were a result of Bane's handling of her. Her fingers continued to poke and prod her skin as she tried extracting the details of the event from the closed-off part of her mind that seemed to be begging her not to think about it. It was hard not to, however; the event of being physically and mentally abused to a degree which led to enough trauma to where she simply couldn't remember roughly a week of her life was alarming and concerning. She couldn't let it happen again.

She suddenly became very contemplative regarding her injuries and her perceived inability to protect herself and prevent them from even happening. She wasn't just protecting herself anymore; there was someone else that was going to be relying on her, too. She felt a newfound level of aggression and protectiveness over her own body. It started rousing a new level of indignation, frustration, and anger over the situation of Bane handling her in a way that caused her physical harm.

Bane walked into the bathroom as she was examining her face. Her facial expression must have strongly communicated her incensed and heated mood for he stopped suddenly to stare at her. Myra's eyes darted from the mirror to him when she sensed his presence. Bane almost regretted even deciding to enter the bathroom at that particular moment. Bane physically leaned back quickly as she swung around and pointed a finger directly into his face, shaking it at him before she firmly grabbed hold of his mask as if she were on the verge of wrestling a wild boar by the tusks.

Bane startled at the unexpected, uncharacteristically aggressive manhandling prescribed in Myra's actions. He simply stared, his eyes analyzing her for several moments as he waited for her to voice whatever it was she had on her mind that was causing her such animosity towards him.

"If you ever bruise me again...I'm...I'm leaving your ass," Myra muttered.

She could not have sounded more sincere. Bane could detect the seriousness she prescribed in her tone, which set a strong foundation for her claim. She continued to stare daggers at him with eyes covered with deeply furrowed brows. Bane returned her stare, though his was considerably more passive and compliant than hers.

"Agreed. We will leave my ass behind," Bane said in agreement, staring down at her.

It took all of his willpower to reign in his pride, to surrender and submit to the much scrawnier female in front of him manhandling him by his mask like she had her hands gripping his sizable nut sack. He also had to actively mind his reflexes; he had a tendency to snatch out and simply crunch anything - or anyone - that was making such obvious sincere threats at him, particularly if they took the extra initiative of manhandling him in a physical sense, especially if that manhandling involved touching his mask. No one manhandled Bane. No one touched his mask. That wasn't an available option unless you wanted to die.

He didn't react aggressively towards her, of course, but instead simply let her vent her displeasure at him, standing erect with his attention focused down on her like a man who knew he had 'done wrong'. He positioned his hands behind his back, feeling them shake from the mental exertion of overriding his natural tendencies to simply reflexively respond with violence when in any sort of physical confrontation such as this.

"While I know...I know I betrayed your trust...you..." Myra continued to stare, her eyes searching his as if she were going to find the words in the unwavering irises staring back at her.

"...you promised no one...NO ONE...would hurt me if I came back...'I won't allow it', is what I remember you saying...," Myra continued, her eyes darting across his face to fixate on his eyes.

Myra paused briefly, working her lips as she extrapolated the rest of her stream of thought.

"...I thought you meant it. Yet...there's a big black hole in my mind from...something happening to me...something painful that I can feel my insides telling me to ignore, because I won't like what I find. The one truth I do know is that it happened because you abandoned me, and fed me to a monster. Did your promise come with conditions? Or did you simply mean to exclude yourself from your own declaration? Do you plan on abandoning me again?" Myra managed to mumble out, as if she were confronting someone for swindling her into a bait-and-switch scenario; promising and selling her one thing, but clearly providing her something else.

Bane simply stared at her, remaining silent so as not to interrupt her. He waited several long pauses before he spoke, ensuring that she was absolutely done with her train of thought.

"Of course not," he responded, though his voice did hitch somewhat and he sounded far from genuine. He felt a pitiful grind in his heart as if he were directly misleading her, knowing she would undoubtedly feel a monumental sense of physical and emotional abandonment when she discovered his intentions to stay within Gotham when the bomb detonated.

Myra's brows pushed together in confusion at his statement. Why did he just sound so pitifully disingenuous? If he didn't exclude himself from his own vow and there were no conditions to his promise, then why did he let it happen? Were all of the promises he made to her rubbish? Meaningless? Was she not worth the promises he made to her? Did they mean something when he originally made them, but did she become less important to him as time went on to a point where promises made to her didn't matter anymore because she didn't matter anymore? Did she simply deserve the punishment he dealt her, therefore he felt he was justified in overriding his own promise to her due to that justification?

Bane sensed her confusion and sadness that started to creep into her face as her eyes slowly drifted downward off of his, detecting the very clear look of self-doubt and evaluation of self-worth that seemed to be a common theme from Myra due to her fluctuating self-esteem. Her mind tended to spiral and fixate on the negative when she felt wronged. Bane quickly spoke up to prevent her from asserting blame based on her own self-worth.

"I made a grave error when I hurt you, Myra. Truly...I won't admit that I have complete control over my actions in every situation, and for that I sincerely apologize. Certain emotions can propel me into reckless abandon, particularly if influenced by those I love. I made an unforgivable mistake in overlooking the fact that I was the very thing that I should have protected you from. I often forget sometimes how truly sheltered and isolated I keep you here, away from my work...you don't have regular opportunities to see me as I am, Myra, when I'm outside of the walls of this penthouse. It's because I don't want you to see what I am. Frankly put, I am a monster. I am evil. I am a monster in human flesh. Only a monster could have treated you the way I did. I know I have deceived you perhaps by pretending to be otherwise, with us living here..playing at 'house'. However, I am that monster that keeps you up at night...that drives your nightmares. That now seems to cause you to tussle and scream in your sleep. That created that big black hole in your mind. You must have seen something so horrifying and dreadful that day, in me, that your brain simply shut down to save yourself and retreat to a place that even I, a monster, couldn't reach you. That was me. I am responsible for it. I am that evil wretched thing," Bane said, his eyes becoming hard and steely and driven by feeling and purpose.

Myra's eyes lifted fleetingly up to meet his before darting down to look at the floor. She couldn't remember the instantaneous moment in which she blacked out; all she could remember was being scared. Scared, helpless, and afraid. Afraid she was going to die. Then the feeling of an astounding, overwhelming sense of betrayal and abandonment that the individual she loved and cared for so much, who had vowed to protect her against harm, wasn't there to save or protect her against...that monster. Then afraid of the manner she was going to die, knowing she was utterly alone and helpless, no longer concerned with the notion of death but actually longing for it, even attempting to take her own life to eliminate the terrible 'unknown' of what other unfathomable types of pain and torture the monster had in store for her. And then suddenly not caring about anything. And then...nothing. Darkness. It was also true, regarding her nightmares; her dreams had been riddled with them which had been keeping her up at night, giving her restless sleep, and making her feel drained. That was, until she made a habit of sleeping on Bane while she slept. His touch, comfort, and heat that radiated off of him seemed to keep those nightmares at bay. It was a conundrum - a paradox - knowing that the one thing that was able to prevent her from having nightmares while she slept had also been the cause of her nightmares.

How could he claim to be one thing, yet provide her with feelings of warmth and love that very clearly indicated something else entirely? Being with him and being nurtured and cared for by him had ignited a need inside of her. It made her emotionally dependent on him, because she knew deep down, truly, that no one on the planet would have provided that same level of comfort and care that he provided her that seemed so genuinely custom tailored to her. It made her feel good. Wanted. Loved. 'At home'. It felt good to be loved, especially to the degree he rose to and seemed to achieve effortlessly as if he were born to take care of her and seemed to know exactly the way she preferred things as if reading her mind. His ability to stop and listen to her requests as if her opinions mattered the most in the world, regardless of how ridiculous they were, made her feel special and shamelessly spoiled. As if she mattered most in the world. It made her hate him sometimes at how good he was at making her feel those lovely and sincere things. Yet now...he was able to achieve quite the opposite, by making her feel small. Hated. Undesirable. Briefly removing that feeling that she was ever 'special', for if she was truly special to him, then he wouldn't have hurt her the way he did. It all seemed like a huge farce. Was he right in that he simply was a monster playing at being a human, unable to actually feel things? Was he only pretending at having emotions and loving her because it fit his narrative of playing at human until he needed to unleash the monster? Or did he have it all wrong and was he simply a human playing at being a monster? He did seem genuinely remorseful and pained at the distress and hurt he inflicted upon her, but was that just an act too? It certainly didn't feel like an act. It felt real, delicate, and sincere. She had a difficult time ignoring just how real it felt. It was uncomfortable to have these two vastly different and opposing feelings coming together (one being the hurt he caused her, paired with the comfort and joy she felt from him and his tender nature towards her) to clash internally in her mind, trying to fight for dominance over how she should 'feel' towards him. It was especially uncomfortable because before she didn't even have to 'think' about how she should feel about him; it had been effortless to simply feel nothing but lovely and pleasant things.

When she started working her lips and continued to stare at him, he thought she meant to spit in his face. He closed his eyes and recoiled his head further back, turning it away, knowing saliva being spewed into his face was the very least he deserved. She didn't spit in his face; she instead released the firm hold she had on his mask while sliding a hand over to give him a simple stroke on the side of the cheek. Myra found that one of her weaknesses was that she was always all-too-willing to forgive someone simply because she loathed confrontation. Just because she 'forgave' someone, however, didn't mean she'd forget. Myra held on to that kind of baggage like a grudge deep in her heart when someone wronged her. And Bane had definitely wronged her. However, the care and comfort he had provided her the last week while she recovered was undeniable gentle and far from 'monstrous' or 'evil'. It was almost as if he were attempting to be so kind and so gentle, as if his actions would echo backwards in time and undo the hurt he had caused her. She also couldn't ignore the care he had generally provided her prior to the 'incident'. She had never had anyone seem so utterly devoted to her before; it was delightful and alluring, and she knew that if he was suddenly removed from her life, she would have a much bigger darker hole due to his absence that she couldn't fathom anyone else being able to fill quite as expertly or competently as Bane. She didn't want to ruin that contented feeling quite just yet.

"...you're not a monster," Myra eventually sighed out.

She turned to leave the bathroom.

Bane quickly grabbed hold of her arm quickly.

Myra startled from his sudden grip, her eyes were large and wide as she looked up at him. The next question he directed at her, however, erased the tension she suddenly felt in her body.

"Would you mind assisting me with brushing my teeth?" Bane inquired quickly.

Myra stared, confused by his request, and also simply waiting for the shock to dissipate from her body. After several moments to adjust, she looked up at him skeptically.

"I think you can handle it. You're a big boy…" she said somewhat condescendingly.

Bane looked at her critically; it was obvious he wasn't going to take 'no' for an answer.

"I insist," Bane said.

Myra sighed, shrugging her arm out of the hold he had on her arm.

"Okay, fine. Just restrain yourself from baring those monster fangs I'm assuming you've also been hiding from me," she sighed out, her tease indicating she had transitioned into a more relaxed mood and mindset.

Bane ignored her sassy remark and simply began to remove his mask, set it on the sink, and grabbed his toothbrush and toothpaste. He then handed them to her. Myra just looked down at them curiously like she'd never seen a toothbrush or toothpaste before, then back up to him wondering why the hell he needed help with doing something he did every day.

Then something dawned on her. Her lips turned into a naughty, mischievous smile. Bane hadn't seen that level of mischief on her face in quite some time; it was refreshing, but also very much anticipated. He took a large swallow, closed his eyes, and opened his mouth wide as he prepared for the undeniable onslaught about to be incurred upon his mouth and face.

Myra loaded up the toothbrush with toothpaste in a hurry before bringing it up to insert into his mouth. She of course missed the first pass; the brush went clean across his face up into one of the nostrils of his crooked, broken nose. Whether it was by accident or on purpose was anyone's guess. Bane simply kept his eyes closed, ignoring the 'mishap', opting to take the mild abuse passively and stoically.

"Oops, sorry about that…" Myra said non-convincingly capped with a mild snicker.

She, of course, didn't want to hurt him regardless of what he had done to her. This, however, was hilarious and would undoubtedly help her to unload that hefty grudge she now carried in her heart 'a little bit'. She loaded up more toothpaste, attempting another pass. She got it in his mouth, shoving it up into his gums and stretching his lips out. Bane's eyes slowly opened and he stared down at her as she did this. She was apparently enjoying the inconsequential lighthearted abuse to his face; she looked like a child with a giant marker on a clear, clean, white wall of a house, knowing they were being naughty but unable to restrain themselves. Bane closed his eyes again, letting out a mildly satisfied grunt through his nostrils. After several very aggressive swipes against his gum line, she paused.

"Why are your gums bleeding so much? Oh wait...is this blood of your victims that you swallowed whole?" she inquired, before continuing with the onslaught.

Bane responded with some level of difficulty due to the object and toothpaste in his mouth.

"My appetite didn't call for human flesh today, unfortunately. However, you are being a tad aggressive…" he mumbled out mostly coherently, opening his eyes into slits to just barely stare down at her.

The look Myra gave him very clearly indicated he was the last person on Earth that got to criticize someone else for being 'too aggressive'. His response only caused her to intensify her scrubbing in moderate ire. Myra used her finger to fishhook the side of his lip so she could dig into his mouth even deeper. She even stood up on her tiptoes so that she could peer into his mouth as she continued to fishhook his lip. She loaded up more toothpaste, making large sweeping gestures on his front teeth that caused his lips to swivel around like they were being swirled in a blender. He kept his eyes closed, though he did hear Myra let out a very light jovial chuckle at undoubtedly the amusing display before her.

"You have such crooked teeth...no monster fangs though, disappointingly," Myra observed with slight humor, scrutinizing his snaggly bottom row of pearly whites.

Bane briefly furrowed his brows at her unsolicited and unnecessary comment. He wasn't ashamed of his teeth, but he still had to fight the urge to simply close his mouth so she would stop her visual inspection and judgement.

She apparently had her fill of fun, for she removed the toothbrush and took a step back. She perhaps could see the tension building up in his muscles as his pain levels were rising from not wearing his mask. He had pushed the pain back, though water did start to erupt at the corner of his eyes as he waited longer and longer before he made any attempt at taking a breath from his mask. He knew that he deserved to feel every bit of pain that he felt, so he endured it while Myra had her fun, not wanting to interrupt her.

He quickly spat out the toothpaste in a coughing huff before slapping the mask over his face without properly latching it on. He let the moisture in his eyes dissipate, bringing a hand up to pinch over his eyes to rub out any lingering dew before he turned back to her. The teasing and satisfied grin she still had plastered on her face made it all worth it.

Myra went to turn and exit the room to give him privacy, but he quickly straightened his back out and blocked her in by bringing an arm out. He connected his arm to the wall across from him and in front of her direct path. She paused, confused, turning to look at him. He stared fixated on her as he took several more deep, slow, full breaths through his mask before he finally set it back down on the counter.

He then brought his other arm up to connect to the other side of her against the wall to cage her in. He eased himself closer, staring down at her with soft half-lidded eyes. Myra simply backed up against the wall, staring up at him curiously but cautiously. Her eyes stared transfixed on his eyes before they eventually fell down to his lips.

Bane let her stare for a handful of seconds before he eventually brandished her with a very deep, full smile that stretched nearly across his face. That, of course, caused her to reciprocate a deep smile in return; she rarely ever got to see him smile with his lips, and to see such a wide, full smile on his face made her inexplicably and deliriously happy despite the serious undertones of the conversation they were just having. It made her weak in the knees, even. It was impossible not to reciprocate, the pull to return the smile too great and beyond her control as if the corners of his lips were controlling marionette strings that attached to the corner of hers.

Bane moved one of his massive hands to settle behind her head to cup at the sensitive skin at the nape of her neck. He then leaned forward and placed a delicate kiss on her forehead, keeping his lips pressed centrally over her brows for several solid seconds as if he were inhaling all of her worries and unease right out of her consciousness. Myra closed her eyes as he then proceeded to move down the side of her face until his lips settled over her injured eyelid, the remnants of the injury barely visible but he knew it was there. He gave her eye several soft sweeps of his lips as if he were attempting to swallow up that pain right out of her eye before he brought his hand around to curl his finger under her chin to coax her head up so she could grant him better access to her jaw. His lips continued to make delicate sweeps across her skin, following the trail of mostly healed bruising around and under her jaw. He was slow and methodical, seeming to be in no rush despite the limited time he had without the use of his mask, ensuring each millimeter of her skin obtained the same delicate treatment. Myra fluttered her eyes open when she felt him lean away, feeling herself internally pout due to the sudden removal of feeling something so wonderful, but saw him simply reaching for his mask. He took in several deep puffs before he placed it back on the bathroom counter again, turning his attention back to her.

He brushed the side of her cheek with the crook of his finger several times before he leaned back down to place his full lips that still had the aromatic smell of minty toothpaste directly over hers. Myra leaned her head back and accepted his kiss willingly, even embarrassingly letting out a small faint whimper through her mouth directly into his at the feeling he was instilling into her body as well as the feel of his delicious, full, delicate and amazingly tender minty lips fully encapsulating hers. She had felt like it had been ages since she had experienced something so brilliantly magnificent. Bane's smile flickered slightly, the corners of his mouth curling upward at her faint but obvious mewling. He reacted to her encouraging sounds by involuntarily pressing his chest firmly against hers while bringing one of his knees forward to coax and settle between her thighs.

She loved being kissed by him. It was a sensational experience. It wasn't rough or precise like most of his actions tended to be. It wasn't firm or hard like most of his body was. It simply was soft and delicate like two flower petals doing delicate sweeping smooth dances over her skin. His kiss also wasn't performed as if he were attempting to satiate his own sexual hunger. It was a genuine display of affection and care. He didn't need to kiss her; in fact, she was positive he would prefer to keep his mask on because every time he took his mask off, he became vulnerable to the world. She loved seeing and experiencing that vulnerability. His face also had areas that were baby-soft from being protected and incubated behind a mask all day and night; it was like feeling newborn baby skin against hers. It was easy to identify these patches of skin because they were the much paler velvety-looking skin shaped like his mask bordered by geometric tanned hardened spots where the sun made unusual tan lines on his face. His lips, just like every other aspect of his body, were bigger and fuller than hers, despite the fact that her lips were perfectly plump and femininely full. She didn't mind being eclipsed. She loved the feeling of being fully consumed by him like a soft moist comforting blanket.

Myra reached forward and cradled his head between her hands, stroking and encouraging him to dig and dive deeper with his affections. Bane simply took another small step forward towards her, sandwiching her body solidly between him and the wall, ensuring no space existed between them. He eventually broke the kiss to look down at her lazily, his eyes darting to her beautifully swollen lips.

"I believe you may have to brush my teeth again; that filthy mouth of yours contaminated mine," Bane said as if he were deeply annoyed, huskiness thick in his voice.

Myra massaged his scalp with her fingers, grinning up at him. She let her fingers play against his baby-soft skin for several moments before she eventually nodded. He reached forward and grabbed her around her waist abruptly, swinging her around and hoisting her up to settle her bum up on the edge of the sink, letting her legs dangle down as she settled in a comfortable seated position. Bane stepped forward, claiming the space between her legs as his domain as he reached forward to grab the toothbrush and the toothpaste, handing it to her. As she was adjusting the toothbrush in her hand and adding paste to the bristles, he reached around her on the counter to grab his mask, bringing it to his face to take in several deep puffs as he stared at her intently, giving her all of his focus. He then reached around her again to put his mask back on the counter after getting his fill of medicine. He let his hand linger there, clutching lightly at her backside with his other hand now settling at her waist to support her so she didn't lose her balance on the sink. He then obliged her by leaning forward towards her and dutifully opened his mouth again, closing his eyes.

Myra didn't hold back; the light insult he made against her 'filthy mouth' definitely inspired her into a more moderate level of aggression. Her legs even began swinging playfully, brushing up against him as she lost herself in the indescribable pleasure that came with assaulting his mouth with a toothbrush and toothpaste. Bane just stood and took it without complaint, occasionally sweeping his large hand against her backside to squeeze and stroke.

When she was done with her second bout of brushing, he leaned around her and spat into the sink quickly. He then repeated the process of taking in several more puffs from his mask before turning his attention back to her. He simply repeated his affections by leaning forward, closing his eyes, and claiming her mouth with his own. She didn't resist. She cupped his face with both of her hands, brushing her lips against his, pulling back just a brief moment to whisper something into his exposed ear.

"I hope our children inherit your lips…" she whispered timidly, softly, yet unexpectedly sincere and hopeful.

Bane physically recoiled away from her like he got stung, feeling as if someone took a very sharp hot rod and stuck it straight into his heart. He swallowed hard, giving her a critical look before averting his gaze, seeing the hurt and questioning suddenly radiating off of her from his perceived rejection.

Bane's mind was racing.

The notion of him not being there to see what his own child would look like was not something he wanted to be reminded of, or be told. It forced him into a reality he didn't want to inhabit. And further yet, she used the word 'children'; as if she had every expectation of staying with him, being with him, long enough to bring forth into this world more little creatures of both their making. It brought him heartache, misery, and unexpected longing for something he knew he couldn't have. This reality seemed to be flaunted under his nose like one massively cruel taunt, and it was certainly painful.

Bane moved his averted gaze to stare down at Myra. He brought a hand up to rub against his face quickly, trying to downplay his actions as if rubbing out pain and tiredness. He looked up and saw the look that consumed Myra; it did not help with the heaviness he was feeling in his chest. He let out a huge sigh, bringing his lips forward to kiss her lightly but earnestly against her forehead.

"I apologize...my spine...gives me trouble on occasion...," Bane eased out in a smooth lie.

The effortless lie seemed to ease the tension that had built up in Myra's shoulders and face, a sigh audibly being emitted through her lips. She wrapped her hands around his head, drawing him in closer. She let her hands rub and sooth over his body as if attempting to ease that physical pain he had just claimed to experience. Her hands certainly were soothing, and certainly did soothe his pain although it was more of the emotional variety than the physical sort that he had just claimed it to be. After several moments and seeing his tension ease, she leaned forward and planted a single, full kiss against his lips before leaning back to look up at his face.

"I wish I could see your face all of the time," Myra confessed, her eyes roaming over every feature of his exposed face.

"I don't. Then you would have to endure the sight of my grotesque nose, scars, and...what was it you said? Ah yes. Crooked teeth. I would truly fit the image of a monster," he mused.

Myra grinned up at him, eyeing his ugly disfigured nose and scars on his face, loving them as much as she loved his full beautiful lips. She did not agree with him; she felt his mask was far more terrifying and 'monster like' than his exposed face could ever be. She leaned forward to kiss him again but he brought his head back teasingly as if still offended over the slight she had made against his teeth. Myra continued to grin, reaching out and grabbing the front of his shirt to reign him in.

"Come here…I love your snaggle teeth…." she begged, half joked.

He rolled his eyes as if he were being terribly inconvenienced, but relinquished control and allowed his head to be snared back towards hers so their lips could make contact. Bane felt Myra's tongue dip into his mouth shyly but slid along the bottom row of his teeth with confidence like she was running a finger along the keys of a piano; catching every little uneven angle and jutted tooth in the process. She loved it so much she repeated the sweep going back the way she came. Bane sighed into her mouth in an audible show of appreciation.

One of her hands slipped from his head down to his sizable shoulder and then over the hilly landscape of the muscles that covered his huge arms. They distracted her, her eyes diverting to watch the strain in his muscles as he gently moved his arms on either side of her.

"Why...why are you so big," she asked playfully, almost as if she were noticing how truly massive he was for the first time.

Bane didn't answer her question. He was too distracted by simply gazing at her. He was marveling, appreciating, and loving the glow that radiated off of her when she was truly open and candid with him. That glow of hers also highlighted her features as her eyes grazed over him like she was looking at rows and rows of candy at a candy store. It also strongly indicated he was solely responsible for that happiness that seemed to shine off of her. He was rarely blessed with anyone giving him such a look. He also hadn't seen that glow in her for what felt like an eternity. He brought his lips forward to flutter playfully against her ear after he properly basked in her radiant happiness.

"Why are you so lovely, hmm?" he whispered into her ear, ignoring her question.

Her attention got sucked back into his affections, butterflies fluttering and scrambling in her stomach as redness consumed her face. She opened her mouth to respond, but could not think of anything that adequately described the way she felt, so instead just leaned forward to cover her mouth with his. After several more moments of reciprocating affections, Bane eased back to grab his mask to take in several more puffs. After setting the mask back on the counter, his eyes darted to her.

"I think you need to brush my-" he started to say, but was caught off.

"NYYEHHH I'M NOT BRUSHING YOUR TEETH ANYMORE. I'M DONE," she cried out, bringing a hand up to put over his lips as she made attempts to slide off the bathroom sink.

Bane backed up, letting her slink off the sink unimpeded. She stood there, adjusting her shirt, turning to look at the toothbrush on the counter.

"You know, we really should get electric toothbrushes. They would clean your teeth better," Myra offered politely.

Bane just gave her a look.

"I would not survive an electric toothbrush," he said seriously.

Myra just gave him an exasperated look as if she were offended at the veiled insinuation in his voice. She eventually grinned that devilish, playful grin up at him again before excusing herself from the bathroom to head to bed.

---

Myra and Bane were jostled awake that night from the shriek of a fire alarm. Myra lifted her head, groggy and confused. Bane leapt from the bed immediately, circling around to Myra's side of the bed to pull her out by the arm, disregarding her apparent lethargy and disorientation. He led her to the closet and immediately shimmied a loose shirt and pajama bottoms onto her body before shrugging a coat onto her arms before doing the same for himself, putting on his large shearling coat. He then led her out of the master suite without a word, leading her to the stairway since the elevators would undoubtedly be out of service. Bane used his body as he walked behind her to goad her to go faster, Myra looking passive and disinterested to whatever danger a fire alarm may indicate. They trudged the full length of stairs from the top floor to the bottom, which was no small feat. Myra, of course, groaned and mumbled complaints the whole way down. Bane simply ignored her.

They exited the building to the sight of everyone else who had inhabited the building congregated in a large crowd. Most were wearing coats over make-shift pajamas or simply wearing the clothes they wore that day without ever having changed. Bane walked past Myra, taking the lead. Myra simply followed him through the throng of people, staying close at his back both because she didn't want to have to think too hard about where she was going as well as trying to take advantage of the heat that tended to radiate off of his body.

They suddenly stopped after finding a decent space that wasn't heavily congested or crowded. Bane turned to Myra.

"Stay here," he said to her.

Bane looked around, and then spotted Barsad in the crowd. He made his way towards him, leaving Myra to stand passively and sleepily with her eyes looking like she was on the verge of falling asleep. Once he made it to Barsad, he made one last sweep of the crowd before directing his attention to him.

"Go and find out what the issue is," Bane ordered.

Barsad simply nodded before turning to leave back towards the building. Bane had no illusions about the fact that a fire department would likely not make an appearance to the tower to remedy the situation, considering the current state of Gotham. If there was an actual fire, he needed to arrange for a relocation. After watching Barsad duck back inside the building, he turned back to make his way to Myra.

She was gone.

His brows furrowed, scanning over the heads of the crowd of individuals. The unease in his chest slowly rises every second he didn't see her.

"MYRA?" he bellowed, turning his head to see if he could detect movement indicating she had heard him and she simply relocated.

Everyone around him went silent and turned their heads this way and that to see if they could spot her. Bane continued to scan the crowd, frantic. He suddenly picked up an unusual movement on the fringe of the crowd; a clumsily manicured-hand with bright pink nail polish raised up above the crowd briefly as if to snatch up towards the stars above before it was quickly and suddenly subdued by another hand, pulling it back down.

Bane charged forward, knocking over individuals like a bowling ball striking down bowling pins as he cleared a path for himself. It didn't take him long to see two men dragging a drugged-out looking Myra with a cloth over her mouth, undoubtedly chloroform.

He was unable to control himself. Red screened his vision, clouding his judgement. He jumped at the men like a giant stalking predator, grabbing the face of one of the men with his fingers, planting his hand firmly over it and simply squeezing until the man's face simply ripped clean off. This caused the man to reel in pain and shock, his screams real and terrible. Bane's head turned towards the other man, stomping his foot out to jab it into the man's calf, breaking it half, causing him to fall to one knee in pain from having his fibula bone audibly snap. Bane balled his fist and simply smashed it down on top of the man's head like he was playing a game of whack-a-mole. This caused a crater to form at the top of the man's skull, which undoubtedly caused instant death as his body simply slumped forward lazily and unmoving.

Bane's eyes darted back and forth between the two dead bodies, his rage bellowing out through his mask in large white puffs from the cold. He finally settles, his eyes slowly moving to Myra who had simply slumped to the ground, her body flanked by the two dead bodies on either side of her.

He moved towards her and bent down to pick her up, resting his arm under her rump and draping her arms over his shoulders and around his neck, wrapping his other arm firmly around her back to ensure her chest was firmly pressed against his with both of her legs simply dangling on either side of him. Her head slumped forward onto his shoulder, her eyes closed with her mouth hung open slightly.

Bane stalked back to the entrance. He noticed that the fire alarm had finally been disabled, the silence refreshing. He could hardly appreciate it, however, for he was still very much enraged and agitated. Barsad spotted Bane with Myra held loosely in his arms. Barsad approached, his face passive, eyeing Myra and simply assuming she was just being lazy and tired and wanted to be held and carried by Bane, who almost always obliged to these sorts of requests from her. The look that was radiating from Bane's features, however, told a vastly different story. Barsad picked up on Bane's rage and unease with his non-verbal cues immediately, transitioning his passive expression into one of concern.

"Someone tried to take her," Bane said, letting that fact sink in before he continued on with his next train of thought. "No one else is allowed back inside this building. Is that understood?" Bane asked as he waited for Barsad to give a confirmation.

Barsad turned towards the large crowd of individuals waiting to make it back into the building before turning back to Bane to give him a slow nod. Bane gives another simple nod in return before he bodily turned towards the crowd to address them.

"You have all been relocated to Wayne Industries building, henceforth," Bane shouted in a curt statement without further explanation before he turned back towards the building to make his way inside with Myra loaded and sagging in his arms.

Mumbled groans and discontent started radiating through the crowd; concerns about belongings, possessions, clothes, and other items still inside the penthouse building obviously on their mind. Bane could give two shits about their 'stuff'.

He made his way back into the building, the elevators now operable. As he entered the elevator and simply stood there with the elevator making its way up to the top level, his anger became unbearable. He could hardly think properly. He was upset that he killed the individuals that took Myra before questioning them properly. He was upset at being woken up in the middle of the night. But most of all, he was upset at the fumbling attempt by the two individuals at spiriting Myra away from him under the guise of what he could now only assume was a coordinated fire alarm panic. He stroked Myra's hair with his free hand, periodically moving his hand down behind her shoulder blade to give her a soft encouraging rub before they eventually made it back into their suite.

---

Time to Neutron Bomb Explosion: 10 Days

That morning as Bane was preparing their meal, Myra sat at the kitchen counter sifting through a magazine and humming idly. She surprisingly had little recollection of the previous night's events; the chloroform seemed to have wiped her mind of what happened after she stood waiting for Bane to come back after he checked in with Barsad. This led Bane to conclude that they had snuck up on her, knocking her out before she even had a chance to realize what happened. It was remarkable that she had been able to outstretch a hand in distress while she was being taken away, despite being drugged; if he hadn't seen her hand, he's doubtful he would have found her. Bane didn't feel the need to alert her to the situation, which would only bring her panic and distress.

Bane placed a plate in front of her on top of the magazine she had been paging through which diverted her attention. He moved around to settle in his chair. He eyed her cautiously, knowing she was either prepared with questions or was on the verge of saying something insightful based on the way she had been absorbed in the reading material. He tried getting a glimpse of what it was she was reading but she simply used her elbow to shield the contents passively.

She waited until he took his mask off to take a sip of water before offloading 'facts' from the magazine article she was reading, pushing the plate of food aside so she could read the full contents unobstructed, momentarily ignoring the food.

"According to this article, there are an abundant of benefits to having sex while pregnant. 'Your developing baby is protected by the amniotic fluid in your uterus, as well as the strong muscles of the uterus itself. Sexual activity won't affect your baby.' Huh. Interesting. It also states that experts believe that sperm might be able to prevent preeclampsia, cure morning sickness, lower blood pressure, and improve sleep. Oh, and I guess improve intimacy with your partner but ehh, that one doesn't seem as important medically as the other ones," Myra said.

Bane could detect veiled sarcasm in her last comment. Nonetheless, he gave her a pointed stare at her decision to provide him with these very specific facts.

"Well, I seem to be suffering from morning sickness. I think my daily routine must be lacking in something, according to this article," Myra said wistfully, using her finger to point at it.

"Must be," Bane said, diverting his attention to the meal in front of him, not taking her bait.

He had other concerns on his mind. He needed to find Barsad and get him to watch Myra so he could settle a few matters. He was also still silently raging from the previous night's events. He was currently in no mood, his mind entirely consumed with tasks that needed to be performed elsewhere. Myra detected his mild indifference, though not detecting the rage he was feeling because he was doing a good job controlling it from a physical sense. She just shrugged her shoulders and started devouring her food.

---

Bane didn't know who it was that ordered for Myra to be taken, but he had an educated guess. He knew that Myra probably wouldn't have been harmed, but rather would have been used as a pawn to either toy with him or to be used as leverage for his continued obedience. That did not sit well with Bane. He also knew the difficulties associated with preventing someone from simply slipping into their shared living space and kidnapping Myra outright.

This thought became the main motivator for keeping 24-hour surveillance on her. He also boarded up the penthouse building, limiting the entrances to secured access points which essentially only allowed him and Barsad access. Large wood planks and sheets were boarded up over the windows around the perimeter of the lobby level to prevent individuals from simply breaking in and entering. The wood extended up several levels to also prevent someone from simply using a grappling tool to enter a window from a slightly higher vantage point. All of the items, including personal belongings of the individuals who had once inhabited the building, were unceremoniously rounded up and dumped into several large dump trucks directly outside the building for individuals to come and sift through to claim their property back. It was safe to say there was a slight riot and culmination of fist-fights from individuals claiming property that hadn't originally belonged to them. Several spurts of bullets into the air over their heads from some of Bane's men ended these disputes quickly.

It was obvious Myra was not a fan of her drastically diminished freedoms, particularly since it seemed to come out of nowhere with absolutely no explanation. She understood why she had her phone and 'job' revoked previously and why she was to stay in the master suite like Rapunzel stuck in her tower due to her personal involvement with the Special Forces officers, but she did not understand some of the new initiatives taken by Bane.

In response to these seemingly drastic and undesirable measures, Myra had made it a new habit of testing Bane's nerves and patience in ways that she hadn't done before as if she were re-evaluating her boundaries like a petulant child. These instances generally resulted in Bane getting frustrated or annoyed with her for her blatant disregard for her own safety and general antics and found it difficult to hide his frustration. He never lashed out at her with his frustration of course; instead, he let it build up and he worked constantly to push it down into his gut. He even held himself back when his attempts at inserting an ankle monitor on her to track her whereabouts at all times ended with him nearly having a heart attack when he got an alert that Myra appeared to either jump or get pushed from the penthouse upper story floor. He discovered she had simply shimmied it off of her ankle and threw it out the window. She had understandably been upset at a monitor bracelet even being slapped on her ankle without any explanation whatsoever from Bane, feeling it wholly unnecessary and uncomfortable since she wasn't going anywhere, anyway.

It was also obvious Myra had still held a slight grudge against Barsad after their hallway encounter in which Barsad appeared to shove her towards Bane like he was pushing her onto train tracks in front of a speeding train after Myra confusedly made advances towards him. Any 'romantic' feelings that her confused mindset had briefly entertained were summarily squashed that day, replaced with grudge. In fact, she gave him a stink eye every time she looked at him. Barsad didn't seem to care. He preferred the grudge over the other look she had given him that day.

When Bane had to leave on business, which was considerably more and more frequent due to the impending neutron bomb explosion, he sent Barsad up to the room to watch her. She just glared at him. Barsad just returned her gaze, bored with the idea that he was babysitting her again, though this time he was instructed not to let her stray from his sight regardless of the room she was in. Bane was taking no chances. Myra quickly became annoyed with constantly being watched, particularly if she had to use the restroom. Barsad turned his back away from her when she used the toilet to give her 'some' privacy, but the fact that he was still in the bathroom with her made her feel angry, suffocated, and claustrophobic.

She found that Barsad kept his distance, usually retreating to a different room and avoided looking at her, if she simply removed her clothing. She knew this was bold of her, and somewhat uncharacteristic and unexpected for Barsad, who's initial reaction was extreme confusion and speechlessness. She used that to her advantage to get him to leave her alone. She took to walking around naked in protest, fighting past her own insecurities and sense of modesty in exchange for some semblance of freedom and control. She put her clothes back on quickly when she heard Bane make his way back into the suite hours later.

After the second day of this stint, however, Barsad must have told Bane what kind of antics she was up to because he stormed into the suite midday well before he should have returned and beelined towards her before she even had a chance to look up. He found her looking shocked, sitting cross legged on the bed reading a book.

Naked.

Bane charged at her, grabbed her by the arm and practically dragged her bodily off the bed. Myra gasped and squealed in protest. Her body flailed awkwardly at being suddenly jerked off the bed. He brought her to her dresser, dragging her to it before she even had a proper chance to find her footing, and assisted her with the process of putting clothing on her by cramming a random shirt from inside a dresser drawer over her head paired with some sweatpants before giving her a firm shove out of the bedroom.

"Quit acting like a child. I had better not hear any more stories of your nakedness, unless you wish me to burn all of your clothes and that be the only option left to you," Bane seethed at her.

Myra just turned around and gave him a tight-lipped disheveled expression. Bane studied her for several seconds before he turned around and stormed out of the master suite to go back to attend to his business.

After Bane had left, Myra ambled into the kitchen where Barsad was seated casually. She glared at him, sitting across from him at the table. He simply returned her glare, unabashed. Bored. Myra internalized how the text conversation went between Bane and Barsad, with Barsad informing him of her status.

Barsad: hey boss. so...myra is naked.

Bane: What?

Barsad: she's walking around naked and appears to be doing it out of spite

Bane: ...

Bane: ...I'll be right there.

Bane: P.S. Don't look.

Myra started smiling at this imaginary conversation, invigorating a deep sense of curiosity. She continued to stare down Barsad, seeing that he was texting on his phone.

"Hey snitch. What did you write in your text to Bane to get him to run up here so fast, hmm?" Myra inquired.

Barsad continued to look down at his phone, unmoved and unphased by her question or new nickname for him.

"I didn't write anything," he mumbled, fixated on his phone.

"Liar," Myra snapped, finding that answer wholly insufficient.

Barsad's eyes slowly rose from the screen on his phone to her, giving her a bored and unimpressed look, before slowly sliding his phone over to her. Myra looked down, seeing the display of his phone featuring the conversation between him and Bane.

Barsad was right; there was no written text. It was just a picture of her that Barsad had clearly taken quickly from behind. It was a blurred and extremely unflattering image of her naked, with a 'seen' marked next to the image indicated Bane had simply seen it without replying with a confirmation text message.

Myra immediately gasped, however, at the unflattering naked photo, reaching for his phone to delete it. He just glared at her, snatching his phone away quickly. Myra's eyes were practically shooting lasers at him.

"Delete it,'" she fumed.

"No," Barsad said simply.

Myra got up and made an attempt at retrieving it physically, but Barsad simply got up from his chair and body-blocked her by rotating himself around so his back was facing her while outstretching the phone away from her. He did this until she grew tired and gave up. She went back to sit in her chair, giving him a deathly stare while mumbling words under her breath at him.

They sat that way for several hours until Myra heard the distinct noise of someone entering the master suite. She jumped up from her chair and practically ran to the entrance. Barsad followed at a much slower and reluctant pace.

When Myra saw Bane fully enter the room and close the door behind himself, she practically plowed into him as she brought a hand up to clutch at his chest to steady herself. She couldn't get the words she needed to say to him out fast enough.

Bane had immediately stopped in his tracks, giving Myra his full and undivided attention as soon as she rushed up to him and had seen that she had a moderate amount of distress and something urgent to tell him. Bane had a look of concern on his face as his hand compulsively came up to reach forward to cup her cheek as she stared up at him, her chest slightly heaving from the sudden acute exertion of hustling to him from the kitchen at such a speedy pace. Myra navigated and steered her cheek directly into his palm for full-pity effect. One of her hands continued to clutch at his chest for emphasis, her eyes large and dewy with lips slightly parted. She milked her expression for all she was worth, knowing how to pluck at Bane's heart strings like a harp when she needed to.

Barsad watched from the corner, his brows furrowed and nearly giving out an aggravated sigh at Myra's theatrics as she very clearly played Bane like a fiddle for sympathy and attention.

"Barsad has pictures of me naked on his phone," Myra spat out quickly, dismayed, pointing her free arm accusingly at Barsad.

Bane nearly missed her rushed words, his eyes roaming over her distressed face, relieved to know she wasn't hurt or injured after his eyes did a sweeping glance over her body. He brought his free hand up to cover her hand that had found its way onto his chest. He focused on her dismayed widened eyes staring up at him, very clearly wanting him – and only him - to fix and resolve whatever was tormenting her.

Bane's thumb stroked her cheek as she continued to stare at him expectantly as she waited impatiently for him to react to her words, several seconds passing by as he savored her gentle touch and gaze before he finally processed her words. He blinked several times in confusion, not quite sure he had fully understood what she said, before his expression quickly transitioned into pure malice as his face slowly turned towards Barsad, heat as intense as a thousand suns practically shooting out of his eyes. The chilling look Bane was directing towards Barsad made Barsad immediately remove his phone from his pocket and scurry towards him to surrender it over.

Bane detached himself from Myra and took a step back to analyze the contents of the phone. Barsad glared at Myra. Myra glared at Barsad as Bane stood between them with his head bent down as he searched through Barsad's phone and systematically deleted any remnants of blurry images of Myra's nakedness. Bane had the audacity to even chuckle a few times during this purge from whatever picture he had seen, causing Myra to snap her neck to Bane and glare at him too, wanting to see the image that Bane had found so humorous. He just batted her away when she tried to look.

When Bane was done, he handed over the phone to Barsad. Barsad brought his hand to take hold of it but noticed Bane's firm grip still held onto it tightly, not letting go. Barsad lifted his eyes to meet Bane's gaze, understanding the warning clearly as he returned the gaze. He eventually released his hold on the phone. Bane's eyes turned back towards Myra, clearly agitated.

"Are you two done acting like children?" Bane snapped suddenly.

Myra turned her eyes from Bane to glare at Barsad. Barsad lazily glared back. Bane let out an agitated huff through his mask. He pointed a finger into Myra's face.

"You. I had better not get any indicators about you being naked," he said angrily.

Myra's face immediately lit up into pure sass, smirking and all ready to retort and twist his words to indicate his blanket statement must also refer to their own personal encounters. She took in a breath, ready to reply with sass but Bane was already ahead of her, detecting the shift in her face and the misfortunate formulation of his words.

"YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN," Bane fumed angrily through his mask, his impatience clearly rising.

Myra's face immediately deflated, returning her anger back to Barsad, who she saw looked uncomfortable with a shade of red coating his cheeks from the brief but suggestive verbal exchange that just took place in front of him.

"You. Restrain yourself from taking photos of her. Understood?" he barked, nearing his patience threshold.

It was obvious he wasn't making a request; he was demanding they abide by these conditions. Myra and Barsad just eyed each other. Barsad made mumbling noises of agreement, but Myra remained silent. Bane's eyes turned to bore into Myra as he waited for her verbal confirmation. Myra shifted her gaze from Barsad after detecting the intensity of Bane's glare; she simply returned it with equal ferocity sprinkled with a little bit of sass, very clearly refusing to comply. Feeling as if she shouldn't have to; she felt like she was unjustly being punished. They engaged in this 'stand off' until Bane's eyes flickered back towards Barsad.

"Leave us," Bane said to Barsad, before his eyes flickered back to Myra.

Barsad didn't need to be told twice; he left without another word, not caring to get in the middle of the stand-off that seemed to be happening between Bane and Myra. Once Barsad left with the 'click' of the door indicating he shut it behind him, Bane brought his arms up to grab Myra by the shoulders roughly as he then proceeded to steer her to the bedroom.

Myra swung her head to look at him, seeing that he had the look indicating he had undoubtedly capped his patience threshold. He also undoubtedly had something else clearly on his mind based on the large protruding bulge at the front of his cargo pants which caught Myra's attention. Her eyes focused on it for several seconds before she let a deep knowing smirk spread across her lips, assuming the systematic deletion of her nude photo captures from Barsad's phone may have inadvertently incited an arousal from him, regardless of how unflattering or even humorous they were. Based on the fact that he was steering her to the bedroom, she also made her assumptions about what his plans for her were.

"...this activity might be a bit difficult, what with my inability to be naked around anyone and all," she said, getting more much-needed sass off of her chest while also being in the mindset of clearly testing his patience.

"SILENCE," he barked at her, giving her a shake by the arm he held her. It did not appear that he found her sass presently humorous based on the vein Myra spotted sprouting on the side of his head.

Myra looked him over and the anger he was exuding. Despite him practically dripping with frustration and anger, she felt moderately exhilarated. She also inexplicably didn't feel her 'Spidey-Sense' telling her she was in mortal danger and should shut the hell up unless she wanted to get physically assaulted. She couldn't explain why, but she loved knowing that her words and actions were getting such an irrational and angry response from him, particularly over something that seemed so petty and inconsequential.

When they made it to the edge of the bed, Bane pushed her forward, nearly causing the wind to get knocked out of her lungs from the unexpected force of his palm at the center of her back into the bed. She started to squirm, but Bane simply bent down and pushed against her back to hold her down to pin her against the bed with one hand, practically grinding her down into the mattress so she wouldn't move. He then shimmied his hand underneath her front to grab hold of her pants waistband, giving a strong tug to pull both her baggy sweat pants and underwear off until they fell around her ankles. He bent his body down to force them off of her feet, never removing his hand from her back as he did so. Myra just stared at nothing in particular, her chin rested firmly against the mattress, her eyes wide. She was silently building up an explosion of more sass.

They continued to say nothing to each other as Bane systematically pulled off the rest of Myra's clothes, his actions causing him to breathe irregularly through his mask from the exertion toppled with his disgruntled attitude. It caused a periodic raspy wheeze noise that permeated the bedroom, reminding Myra of a lung cancer patient having to use an oxygen tank. She bent her head forward to hide her smirk into the mattress, deciding to keep that thought to herself knowing he wouldn't appreciate being compared to a severely ill cancerous individual.

When Bane was done, he straightened his back and proceeded to systematically remove his own clothing. He maintained a wide-eyed, agitated, unwavering stare that was focused on the back of her head as he did this. Myra could detect the intensity of her gaze, so she fidgeted her head to the side to peer at him while he undressed.

"I don't know about you, but this whole situation seems counter-productive to your stance on 'nakedness'" she teased - SASSED.

That seemed to be the last straw for Bane. He grabbed her by the hips to yank hers up closer to his. He gripped her firmly, then used his hand to push her upper body further down to ensure her torso was thoroughly pressed against the bed as she continued to bend forward at the waist. She had never had sex with Bane when he was truly agitated, angry, or annoyed; it was beginning to be a rousing experience. He removed small delicacies and acts of gentleness from the process and instead simply replaced it with acts of dominance and control that made sure she knew who was in charge of the situation. It was shamelessly arousing. It made her want to be sassier and entice him further. It made her feel naughty. She eventually felt his hand move between their bodies as he grabbed hold of his considerable erection to position the head to her entrance.

Before she knew what hit her, she felt him make a massive thrust as he snaked his way inside of her, feeling herself being completely filled up by him almost instantaneously. It was a shock to her system. Myra balked, speechless at the sensation and the force behind his actions. It wasn't wholly unpleasant; just unexpectedly intense and breathtaking. It didn't take long before he started driving into her in with deep methodical thrusts, moving one of his feet back for better leverage as he drove himself forward into her.

"I'VE…HAD…ENOUGH…OF YOUR….SASS," he practically bellowed between the grunts he made after each strong thrust he used to propel into her.

Despite Bane's very clear and somewhat (un)successful attempts at asserting his annoyance and displeasure with her, as well as the air being stolen from her lungs momentarily from the obvious shock to her system, Myra couldn't help herself. After she felt her lungs inflate with an adequate amount of air, she began her next assault.

"Yes...but clearly...you haven't...had enough...of my ASS," she smirked, her eyes shut from the force he was utilizing to drive into her, her words flying out quickly between his massive thrusts that pushed the wind out of her lungs with each onslaught.

She tried leveraging herself down on her forearms to look over her shoulder to see whether her words caused him to seethe further, but he simply began driving into her harder in a possible attempt to thwart her prying eyes. This caused her to bring her arms out in front of her to stabilize herself as well as to prevent her from sliding uncomfortably around on the bed as Bane's thrusts became vicious and erratic in both strength and the trajectory he chose to enter her. She started to get the sensation that Bane was simply trying to drill the sass right out of her body like a jackhammer. It was working, to some extent; every thrust he delivered felt like he was expelling the air right out of her lungs, making it difficult to attempt formulating words or complete sentences; to sass at him. It also started to become exceedingly difficult to simply ignore the growing sensation and tingling she was feeling between her legs.

"I thought...I made...myself clear...about...you...hurting me...again," Myra managed to get out between gasps. She almost wished she hadn't chosen to use that line for her next sass attack; she would be extremely regretful if Bane suddenly stopped to reflect upon his current actions due to her words. He ignored her, thankfully.

"You...YOU...saucy...DECEIVER...your...SLIPPERY...CUNT...paints a...picture....that is...far from...DISTRESSED," he said, over-emphasizing the 't' in 'cunt' by expelling an emphasis of air between his tongue and the roof of his mouth. He also emitted the word 'distressed' with a combined guttural groan that reverberated through his mask. He clenched his eyes closed as he found a second-wind in strength to drive his hips forward.

Myra audibly gasped, looking visibly scandalized as she snapped her head back to try and give him an open-mouthed wide-eyed look of shock. She had never heard him say anything quite so vulgar to her before. She couldn't quite get her heard turned around to look at him properly, so instead had to settle by facing forward, letting her eyes momentarily wander around as she settled down from the rush of feeling scandalized. She continued to muse over his choice of words, feeling inexplicably more aroused by his rare foul mouth display. Bane always seemed to practice a certain level of verbal politeness, regardless of who he was talking to or what the situation was. However, being told that she was a 'saucy deceiver' with a 'slippery cunt' was decidedly not polite.

All it did was make her want to be naughtier. To be sassier. She decided to continue her verbal onslaught while Bane continued his physical one.

"Did you...kiss your...mother...with that...foul mouth?" Myra managed to get out in a snide.

"I've only...ever kissed...YOU...with this...mouth..." he heaved.

"Well it's...FILTHY," Myra practically groaned out, her words inflected to sound as if she were shaming him and she were the moral superior.

Bane just audibly growled at her, his hands briefly readjusting against her hips before yanking her into a more erect angle for him to enter her. He then adjusted his thrusts to be low full ruts, not even bothering to remove himself from her even a fraction as he simply maintained a physical connection. This caused her to jostle forward clumsily from the power he used behind the ruts. She could definitely feel him 'tapping out' inside of her, reaching the furthest reaches of her body before she felt the unmistakable pressure of his cock as it pushed against her cervix as if to say "That's it, bud; you can't go in any further." Bane didn't like to be told what to do, however, so he simply thrust himself in regardless, causing her inner walls to stretch and accommodate his length and girth instead. It was similar to how he acted in life in general; forcing others to accommodate his size and mass, pushing forward regardless of what was impeding his way. This was no 'light tickle' against her cervix, either; this was more like a hoard of Black Friday shoppers trying to push through a store entrance that wasn't meant to be opened, with a weak sales employee on the other end unable to do much other than stand there, gawk, and hope the doors don't bust down.

After feeling herself physically relax despite her insides painfully stretching beyond her imagination paired with an extra slick layer of arousal, she eventually started feeling something very soft-textured bouncing lightly near her entrance, undoubtedly his scrotum, as it became obvious he was finally fully inserted up to the hilt like a custom-fit glove just for him. She felt as if her body had simply absorbed the length of him right up into herself, refusing to let him go.

"What are... you trying... to do... push the... baby…. right out of me?" Myra quipped finally, giving him a glare over her shoulder; she was only joking of course.

Bane, however, immediately eased up on his thrusts and even slowed down, his eyes softening at the implication of her words. After a second or two of contemplating the actual reality of her words even being a possibility (newsflash: it wasn't), he furrowed his brows and gripped her hips harder, becoming angrier when he saw her visibly snicker at such a ridiculous thought. He also became enraged that he had even been momentarily duped into being sympathetic. He sounded as if he was revving himself up; a bull expelling large puffs of smoke out of his nostrils (mask) as if he were on the verge of charging. He then proceeded to double down on his efforts. Myra finally decided she had enough of her sass and eased up, closing her eyes to simply enjoy the ride.

Being taken by Bane was definitely a full-sensory experience for Myra. What with the feel of his large, calloused hands as they gripped her hips toppled with being pumped full of his length with inhuman strength, the distinct and unmistakable sound of his breath as it became amplified and emitted out through his mask in periodic mechanical wheezes. The sound of her arousal elevating to such a degree that she could hear the loud wet slopping sounds every time he pumped into her. His sounds of disgruntlement eventually transitioned into ones of pleasure and satisfaction, his ears finding those soft wet noises as pleasurable to the ears as she undoubtedly did. For him it was indicator that he was causing her such an elevated arousal due to the pleasure she was feeling due to him that her body was practically bursting at the seams. It's what allowed him to even physically penetrate her as deep as he was. It also gave him a significant amount of pride and satisfaction, knowing he was responsible for it.

Bane had had his fair share of sexual encounters prior to Myra, yet he never engaged in intercourse with a woman that lubed up quite like the way she did for him. He was usually met with sandpaper-like resistance, or a very low moderate amount of wetted arousal that barely allowed him to penetrate deeper than a few inches due to his own size and girth. Yet, with Myra, it was almost as if as soon as his body communicated to hers of his intentions, she turned on like a faucet. He loved it.

When Bane sensed Myra finally subduing, submitting, and reigning in her sass, he rewarded her by bringing a hand around her front to gently stroke her between her legs at her nub in unison with his thrusts. This made Myra soften up and relax considerably, the release of her orgasm obvious based on the way her toes began fidgeting and her hands clenching at the bedding, emitting a long-winded gasp through her lips that indicated she had reached her peak from a mind-blowing combined effort of a clitoral and cervix-stimulated-induced orgasm. She was practically choking on the sensation that consumed her whole body, the usual dense tingling that tended to settle between her legs during a regular orgasm was now fully spread out to branch throughout her nerves all the way to her fingertips, leaving her speechless, breathless, and dewy-eyed. It took almost no time for Bane to follow her lead, spilling himself deep inside of her like a sensational spritz of energy which only caused Myra's toes to curl further from that unmistakable feel of his very special formula filling up any available crevice inside of her that wasn't already consumed by his cock.

Bane's efforts caused him such extreme exhaustion that after his cock made that last quivering and pulsing motion to indicate he had fully expelled himself inside of her, he simply lurched forward over top of her, not even bothering to remove himself from within her, his mask practically digging between her shoulder blades. The weight of his body collapsing over hers also caused her to sink fully into the bed, a loud "OOF" escaping her lips, followed by weak struggling. Bane responded to her pathetic struggles by leaning forward a bit more to rest his arms on either side of her body to redistribute some of his weight off of her as he continued to regain his breath, composure, and stamina, large strong breaths emitting through this grill of his mask directly into her back. He turned his head to the side to rest the exposed portion of his cheek against her flesh, savoring the warmth radiating off of her back against his skin. One of his hands reached down to gently rub her oily and sweaty hip in unison with his haggard breathing as if he were attempting to sooth and comfort her. She most certainly wasn't distressed, however, but appreciated the gentle strokes against the exposed skin on her hip, feeling as if his soothing strokes were attempts by him to slowly guide her down from the sky due to the massive high she had felt from her climax. She also felt like the marshmallow in a S'more; Bane and the bed were the graham crackers, and she was the soft white fluff that was being visibly squished by two opposing forces. She was too numb, elevated, and tingly to care.

He closed his eyes for several moments before eventually opening them, easing himself gently from Myra's body with considerable care. He moved one of his hands to trail along her spine in a soft and delicate gesture, which was a stark contrast to how his actions had been up to that point, before straightening his posture.

Myra rolled onto her back after sensing him exit her body, staring up at him lazily. She then outstretched her arms to him wordlessly as a clear indicator she simply wanted to be picked up or held. Bane leaned forward again, somewhat tiredly due to his stamina still not fully recovered, but obliged her by scooping her up off of the bed to hold her like a koala. Myra wrapped her legs firmly around his middle, wrapping her arms around his neck tightly, seemingly indifferent to the fact that she was bare naked. She rested her lips against his bulging trapezius muscle, enjoying the taste of his salty sweat and oil that were dripping off of his body, making periodic light brushing strokes with her lips as if she were scooping up that taste directly into her mouth. Bane cupped her by her bottom as he walked them both to the kitchen, his pace slow and lethargic but ensuring the hold he had around her was strong and secure. He adjusted one of his arms so he could open the fridge to retrieve several cold bottles of water, tucking them in front of Myra's chest and between their bodies for a temporary placeholder before making his way back to the bedroom.

During this short transit, it started to become difficult to determine who's oil and sweat belonged to whom as their bodies still had a slight sheen of perspiration, Bane's more so than Myra's. He moved to Myra's side of the bed, leaning forward to dump her onto the mattress, placing the cold water bottle on her nightstand before he moved to his side of the bed. He settled in bed, resting his back against the headboard as he fumbled to remove his mask. He was still slightly out of breath and looking disoriented, but uncapped the bottle of water hurriedly to satiate the thirst he undoubtedly was experiencing. Myra just lay on her side of the bed on her stomach with her chin resting in her hands as she stared at him affectionately as he recovered from his exertion. She eventually fell asleep in that position.

---

Myra woke up not too much later to the feel of vibration. She lifted her head, confused, before her eyes darted to Bane's phone being lit up. It was placed between her and Bane's body on the bed; Bane had very clearly fallen asleep sitting up with his back to the bed's headboard, exhausted from the physical toll of their sexual endeavors. He must have made attempts at using his phone before he simply put it down on the bed to doze asleep.

She craned her head to see what the contents on the phone read, feeling some level of withdrawals from the outside world due to her own phone being taken away. She gasped, however, not because of the content of the message, but because of the background image that Bane was using on his phone; her blurry unflattering naked photo. She snatched her hand out at it. Bane had woken up to the vibration also, however, and was much quicker than she was. He snatched it up before she did.

"What are you doing! Delete it!" she gasped. .

"No," he said, eyeing her before continuing. "I may even change it, now that you uncovered that cache of photos on Barsad's phone. A few are QUITE humorous. Thank you for that added delight to my day," he teased.

"There was a CACHE!?" she exclaimed, clearly assuming there might have been one or two photos on Barsad's phone. Not a 'cache'; ones even humorous enough to elicit laughter out of Bane.

She narrowed her eyes at him.

"Doesn't it even concern you that he had a bunch of nude pictures of me on his phone!?" she whined.

Bane just dismissed her.

"Rest assured; while they may have been nudes, they were more hilarious than suggestive. I highly doubt he was collecting them for his personal use. He had much lovelier images of his wife stored on his phone, which I'm embarrassed to admit also included nudes. They were quite lovely," Bane finished thoughtfully, though he did seemed somewhat embarrassed at the prospect of invading Barsad's very private set of images in the manner he did. Barsad had no chance to warn or divert him of the content; he simply handed his phone over before Bane decided to rip his head off. That was perhaps what fueled the unusual glares from Barsad at Myra.

Myra glared daggers at him.

"If they were so dang funny, then why did you get such a massive erection from looking at them, hmmmm? Was it from looking at the more 'lovely' nude photo of Barsad's wife?" Myra retorted, angry, slightly jealous, but also knowing she was treading on somewhat dangerous grounds by insinuating that Bane had become aroused from deeply private and personal photographs of Barsad's wife.

Bane whipped his head towards her, his eyes narrowing.

"Of course her photos didn't incite my arousal. I barely looked at them. I only had eyes for you and your absurd tendency to be captured in the most unfortunate of poses and facial expressions. Lucky for you, your humor happens to be one of my favorite attributes about you. Your humor paired with with a body I most certainly find physically attractive…" Bane said as he brought a hand out to stroke the exposed skin on her back which Myra quickly swatted away like she was swatting a fly, still clearly annoyed. "...was of course a very pleasant and titillating surprise. I also very much doubt Barsad would find them as sensual or alluring as I do since those photos are most definitely an acquired taste," Bane said teasingly, bringing a hand up to poke her forehead for emphasis.

Myra was not pleased.

"WHY DON'T I JUST WALK AROUND DRESSED LIKE A SEXY CLOWN THEN? Then you would get to walk around with a permanent erection!" she gawked.

Bane found that notion quite hilarious.

"Please do," he said simply, amused, matching her threat as he gazed down at her humorously.

Myra continued to glare and fidget. She even let out a raspy growl. Bane just continued to stare at her display. He eventually put his phone down on his nightstand before lacing his fingers together to rest against his chest. Myra stared for several seconds before she made several aggravated huffs, throwing the blanket over her and burrowing her head into her pillow so she didn't have to look at his teasing face.

Myra waited until she could detect that Bane was asleep before she made her move. She eased out of bed as sneakily as she could, being slow and careful so as not to disturb the mattress. She snuck around to his side of the bed. She wanted to delete the pictures he had on his phone of her, and replace it with a nice big picture of his bare ass, which she was not currently staring at as he lay on his side with his back to her. As she was reaching for his phone, however, Bane shifted in the bed. His head snatched up and turned to the side to glare at her over his shoulder.

"What are you doing," he spat out.

Myra stared wide-eyed, her mouth dropping open at suddenly being found out. Bane shifted in bed quickly and snatched out to grab her by the wrist, applying moderate pressure.

"Nothing!" she squealed.

He squeezed harder.

"Ow! Fine! I was going to delete those images and replace it with a picture of your bare butt. Happy?" she huffed out, squirming against the pressure he was applying to her wrist.

Bane stared at her for several moments with an emotionless stare. It wasn't long before he made his move, however. He leveraged himself up into a seated position and snatched at her before she could realize she should try and get out of his reach. He bodily dragged her over his lap to expose her own bare butt to him. Before she even realized or comprehended what was happening, she felt a sudden slap against one of her butt cheeks. Her eyes enlarged, her back arching and going rigid from the unexpectedness of it before she started struggling, trying to roll off of his lap. He held her tight prone over his lap, not letting her escape quite yet.

"OW, what are you DOING?!!" she shouted out in alarm.

"You have been considerably NAUGHTY lately, hmm?!" he fumed, winding his hand back dramatically before giving her another loud spank.

Despite the pain from the slap on her bare cheeks, she couldn't help but laugh at the ridiculousness of the situation. A burst of air combined with a laugh escaped her lips.

"STOP THAT," she shouted. Her laugh and high-pitched lighthearted squealing, of course, only encouraged him to give her one final smack on her rump before shoving her off of his lap, her butt cheeks inflamed with a large red handprint.

"You had better adjust that attitude of yours, for your sake," he warned her; Myra knew he wasn't' joking, despite the playful and lighthearted punishment he just distributed to her bare behind. He gave her a warning glare before getting up, grabbing his phone, and marching to the bathroom. Myra simply watched him while she softly rubbed her butt with her hand. She stuck her tongue out at him as he retreated into the bathroom before making it back to her side of the bed.

---

Time to Neutron Bomb Explosion: 9 Days

The next day when Bane returned, relieving Barsad of his duties of watching Myra, he threw something at Myra in passing. She startled, unsure of what it was he was throwing at her, her body leaning away before she realized it was something soft, plush, and fuzzy.

"Here. This reminded me of you," he said as he stalked towards the kitchen.

Myra looked down. It was a stuffed animal of a baboon with a huge shiny red ass. Myra stared at it, rotating it in her hands, squeezed it, and then fumed. She threw it at the back of his retreating head. It bounced off with a soft 'fluff' sound.

Bane stopped on his tracks, slowly turning towards her. He gave her a threatening glare. Myra stared back, knowing the look he was giving her wasn't anything good. She thought what she just did was quite hilarious, however, so she sprinted away in a giggling fit.

Bane stormed after her. He caught up to her effortlessly, dragging her to a recliner chair in the living room where he sat down firmly. He threw and draped her over his knee chest-first, holding her tightly with one hand to prevent her from squirming. He yanked down her pants to expose her bottom to him like a shiny globe. He paused, staring at the back of her head, winding his open palm back before unleashing a loud 'smack' on her bottom.

"OW. STOP spanking me!" She shouted, twisting her body to make his job slightly harder.

Bane gave her another smack.

"I will when you stop giving me reasons to," he reasoned.

SLAP.

"Besides, I'm finding that I quite enjoy it," he confessed lightheartedly.

SLAP.

"I have a sneaking suspicion you do too," he said with another slap on her cheek.

"I DO NOT. That is ABSURD," she said, aghast.

SLAP

"Oh really? Then why the sudden penchant for your naughty behavior, hmmm? And your limitless sass?" Bane teased.

SLAP.

"I clearly remember stipulating that I would leave your ass if you bruised me again. Are you spanking me hard enough to bruise me? You better not be," Myra goaded.

Bane paused immediately, his hand frozen in mid-air as he turned to look at her.

"Would you like me to stop?" he asked seriously, genuine concern written in his features.

Myra was startled by the question. Her eyes wandered around the room quickly as she internally thought about her answer, unable to decide. She had been mostly joking when she asked the question; she felt he wasn't spanking her hard enough to elicit bruises. She also knew she shouldn't like being spanked, nor could she ever recollect being spanked as an adult by an adult; but this was 'funny' and somewhat exhilarating, and she couldn't really explain why. She also had never really found the concept of being spanked as 'sexy'; yet, every slap he delivered to her rump left tingles that occasionally flared and extended to settle between her legs due to the connecting nerves that were in such close proximity to the ones in her rump. After several very long moments of silence, Bane's brows furrowed at her inability to provide a clear or quick answer, which in itself was answer enough for him as he gave her another healthy slap on her round behind. Her lighthearted and periodic giggles didn't help her cause.

He rubbed his open palm over her bare cheek as if in an attempt to wipe the red hand mark that had started to form there. After several moments of this, he gave her another loud open-handed spank on her bottom. After he did this, he shoved her up and off of him, propelling her several feet away. Myra turned around and glared at him after finding her footing while she rubbed her sore ass. She worked her mouth as if she were formulating something sassy to say.

Bane leaned forward in his seat as if in anticipation, resting his forearms on his knees, raising his eyebrows at her as if daring her to say something. She took several more steps away from him as she rubbed her bottom.

She wisely said nothing, deciding to bide her time for the next time she saw his exposed bare ass to unleash her own assault.

---

Bane had started making a habit of walking conspicuously around the master suite with some type of snack food in his hand as if he were snacking on it passively. He even kept one of his hands dipped into the bag as if he were on the verge of eating from it. He, of course, rarely did that. Never did that. Myra knew this was a façade; he had to take his mask off to eat, so him walking around with food in his hand very clearly meant that wasn't for him.

He would approach her with a few pieces of whatever food he had in his fingers before he would then coyly intercept her.

"This is quite delicious. You should have a taste," he would say. Myra would stop what she was doing reluctantly, eye the food he was coercing her into eating - usually gross healthy but nutritious food- before reluctantly opening her mouth while he gingerly placed the food into it. She would slowly chew it, eye him, and then swallow.

After seeing her consume and accept the food, Bane would then simply hand her the bag of food.

"You can have the rest. I'm done with it," he would say before walking off.

He did this so frequently that whenever she saw Bane holding any food item, she immediately just stopped and opened her mouth like a baby bird waiting for the mama bird to plop worms into her mouth. She even became conditioned to outstretch her hands for him to place the container of food into her hands after placing the initial portion into her mouth before he eventually marched off, verbal explanation no longer necessary.

She even joked with him about this habit.

"You have to stop. I'm going to get fat," she confessed.

"Excellent. I like a woman with some meat on her bones," was his simple sincere response.

Myra's eyes wandered around awkwardly. He had 'tastes' in woman? That simple statement from Bane was too intriguing for Myra not to dig deeper.

"Oh you do, do you? What else do you like your women to be like, hmmmmm?" Myra inquired.

Bane's eyes shifted to her in a bored manner, knowing she was fishing for nonsense.

"I have a penchant for brunettes too, if I'm honest. Perhaps some freckles," he continued.

Myra's eyes bulged. She clearly had none of these things.

"Is that your final answer?" Myra said in a manner that indicated there were repercussions if he chose to answer poorly.

Bane gave her another bored glance.

"I like a woman with elegance and grace, too. Someone who knows how to walk properly on her own two feet. Isn't clumsy," he continued his tease.

Myra just jutted out her lips, knowing he was teasing her but it still stung a little to not have him list even one attribute that described her, especially when some of the things he was saying were exact opposites of what she was. Her eyes fell to stare at his chest for several seconds as she contemplated his words before she quickly turned around to stalk off, crossing her arms over her chest as a clear indicator she had enough of 'that game'.

Bane moved to quickly stop her before she stalked off too far, detecting her soured mood and hurt feelings.

"I'm only teasing. Am I not allowed to tease, too?" he asked sincerely while slowly sliding both his arms around her from behind at her back, resting his chin on her shoulder to look down over at the profile of her pouting face.

"NO," she fumed.

Bane started swaying their bodies, letting the silence following her response highlight the ridiculousness of it.

"Ah. I see," he finally said softly, continuing his soft rhythmic swaying. "Would you like to know where my true tastes in a woman lie?" he asked in a husky voice into her ear.

Myra subdued somewhat, though she was still pouting.

"...yes," she mumbled out.

Bane leaned closer so that the tip of his mask brushed against her ear.

"It's in a woman who can cook a good homegrown meal," he said softly, clearly still unable to reign in his tease. He also very clearly knew Myra couldn't cook worth a damn.

The fallout from his inability to control himself and his persistent tease resulted him having to subdue, pacify, and console a very agitated and squirmy-wormy Myra in his arms. She also wasn't fully consoled until Bane individually listed all of the characteristics he specifically liked about her, and then sign a document that Myra wrote up that was a legal contract indicating his preferences in women from then-on-out had to strictly adhere to those listed in the document. Considering some of those characteristics included things like, "Having a name of Myra Bell", "Is clumsy", "Has to have a scar on her lower back and forehead from a childhood trauma", his apparent future preferences were very narrowed. He signed it obligingly, despite eying several added clauses and stipulations that Myra had snuck into the document. They included things like, "Must get Myra ice cream whenever Myra says so," "Must provide foot rubs when asked", "Must get cheese pizza regardless of the hour". Considering he did all of these things anyway, he didn't point them out. He also didn't question the actual legality of the document, which was outright nonsense. Myra pinned the signed contract on the fridge, glaring at him as if taunting or daring him to break the guidelines outlined in the contract as if she were threatening to 'SEE HIM IN COURT" if he did so. He did not want to break the news to her and draw attention to the fact that he had a moderate level of influence over the current court system in Gotham and it was doubtful any outcome would benefit her if it came to that.

---

"Baaaaanne," Myra whispered into the stillness of the bedroom late one night after they had both settled down for bed.

She waited several seconds before whispering again into the dark.

"Baaaaaannne," she whispered slightly louder.

Still nothing. She decided to try out a new nickname for him.

"Baaaaaaeee," she whispered, having a hard time suppressing her laughter. She was incredibly impressed with this new nickname she thought up; she was basically saying his name, just without properly finishing it with the "N" sound. It totally changed the dynamic of his name, transforming it from a slightly menacing insinuation into one of a term of endearment all of the 'cool kids' used.

This seemed to incite a reaction.

"Don't call me that," she heard Bane huff into the darkness.

"BAAAAAAEEEEEE," Myra whispered again, seemingly ignoring and steamrolling over his request.

"What is it?" he asked aggressively, annoyed.

"I'm hungry, Bae," Myra confessed.

She could hear him shifting in the bed. She strained her eyes and saw he was rubbing at his eyes.

"Then go get some food," he offered her, sounding tired and at his wit's end.

"BAAAAAEEEEEEEE," she whispered again, almost a shout this time.

Bane snapped his head towards her, sitting up in the bed and letting out an aggressive huff in her direction.

"Will you cease calling me that? WHAT IS IT? WHAT?" he fumed.

"….I'm hungry for some cheese pizza, Bae," Myra pouted, bringing her hand out shyly to touch him against his elbow.

Myra heard Bane give out another loud sigh, his head shifting and turning as he looked around the dark bedroom before turning back towards her.

"It's the middle of the godforsaken night. All establishments will be closed. You'll have to satiate your appetite on something else," Bane practically growled.

"What about the CONTRACT you signed, Bae? You wouldn't want to break a legal document..." Myra subtly teased.

Bane just glared, still not moving.

"I am unconcerned with your blasted contract.." he fumed.

"But…but….Baeeeeee. I'm pregnant, Bae…" she pouted, the soft tips of her fingers tracing and squeezing against his bicep pathetically. She really put on a show, her eyes glistening and her lip sticking out. She even began rubbing her belly for emphasis and theatrics. She didn't care or want to be told that no pizza places were open, particularly since the neutron bomb explosion was set to go off in less than two weeks. Most businesses were closed, especially in the middle of the night. Supplies in the city were also low, particularly for non-necessary extravagances like pizza places, making the request near impossible. Again, she didn't care.

Myra watched as Bane's body stilled, his hands resting in his lap as he hunched forward in a sitting position on the bed. He appeared to simply be thinking. He sat like that for a dozen or so seconds as if mustering up the mental fortitude and energy to tackle the situation Myra tossed into his lap. He eventually let out the biggest agitated sigh Myra had ever heard from him as he started removing the covers from off of his legs and eased himself out of bed with care as if his whole body ached. He finally stood up, moving with precision in the dark to grab a few items before leaving the room.

Myra waited patiently, her eyes roaming around the dark room. She eventually became tired, however, after lying in bed for a half hour without a word from Bane. She eventually fell back to sleep.

She was startled awake, however, to something jabbing her in the arm. She opened her eyes groggily, fumbling her hands around to touch whatever it was that was jabbing her and felt cardboard. Confused, she sat up and saw Bane standing over her with the pizza box which he had used to nudge her awake. She released a big goofy grin, not questioning how he was able to procure a pizza given the current conditions within the city.

Bane simply tossed the box into her lap before he walked around to the other side of bed, sliding back under the covers with a tired wheeze through his mask. Myra sat in the bed eating the pizza directly from the pizza box like a demon. Bane ignored her slopping sounds she made consuming the pizza, which she didn't appear to hold back or attempt to muffle. Her eyes turned towards Bane every so often between chomping down on the slices, her hands reaching out to give him several affectionate strokes that left a greasy cheesy smear behind on his skin.

"THANKS BAE. That was close...you almost broke a legal contract...," she whispered loudly.

Bane gave out an annoyed grunt through his mask. He most certainly did not get her pizza because of her ridiculous (il)legal contract. It was safe to say he did it for a different reason.

---

Author: BAAEEE. BUT...PIZZA, BAEEEE. : D

Also, PLEEAAAASE don't forget to review! I may take a bit of a hiatus from this story for a bit because I feel like I may be spitting out the chapters a bit too fast (except for YOU KAI! -points-); I may have lost a few casual regular reviewers to that (or my story is just simply getting too boring/dumb/they don't like the direction, WHICH IS FINE TOO I SUPPOSE. I'LL JUST GO HIDE UNDER A ROCK.) I have pitiful self-esteem when it comes to my writing, so I get all squirmy when I feel like people aren't as engaged/interested in it as they used to be. I know I shouldn't, but I use feedback/reviews as validation that it's not as garbage-y as my mind is telling me it is. If I don't update soon, it's because I decided to just go scramble under that rock and stay there.