Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the situations I put all my poor victims in.

My wrist is all better now, thanks for the worries on my behalf, Guys! Special shout out to rensei-chan, thanks muchly for your messages!

When We Touched

Blake had been told more than once that he had doe eyes, whatever the hell that meant, but that silly little fact came to mind and stubbornly stayed there as he froze like a deer in headlights at the first touch of the wash cloth over his cheek. It wasn't even Bane's fingers touching him, the warmed piece of terry cloth keeping their flesh from making contact, but that didn't seem to matter to his brain, which was keeping him frozen like a statue as his face was cleaned for him. He couldn't even draw in a breath until the cloth moved to his neck and Bane broke off the eye contact to watch what he was doing.

"I…I don't need your help. I can do it."

"You don't ask for help." Bane commented without stopping or looking away from the pulse beating so frantically before his eyes. "Neither do I."

"Bane."

"Your pulse is erratic, your color up and eyes dilated, Detective. But there's no fear in them, and your body is not braced to defend, to repel my touch. Most of the time you don't fear me at all because you don't fear death and you see that as the most likely outcome. We have that in common as well."

In a snap Blake's fingers were wrapping around Bane's wrist, though they both knew it would take nothing on Bane's part to break the hold. To break him. "I don't want you touching me, got it?"

"But you do." Of that he was now certain. "Your body gives you away, both now and while we were training in the way you reacted to my body coming into contact with yours. It angers and perhaps shames you at times, but you do." Leaning in close Bane noted the hint of fear he could see in those dark, dark eyes. "You fear your reaction and wants, not me. You know I won't rape you, there would be no point in that. Rape is about power, about taking another's body and mind and crushing it, manipulating it for your pleasure and to prove that you are the one in control and more powerful. That their life and body is yours to do with as you please. You already belong to me, Detective Blake, and I don't need to prove that to you. You know."

Sticking his chin out in challenge Blake growled the fact that he did NOT belong to Bane and NEVER would.

For the life of him Bane had no idea why he would like being growled at, but in this case he was glad his mask hid his smile as he spoke as coolly as before. "You know otherwise."

Glaring back defiantly Blake was pissed that the man was right about his body's stupid, incredibly wrong reactions to Bane, and infuriated at the idea that it was obvious and had led Bane to think he could continue to touch him as he liked without resistance. No one owned him, not Bane or his hormones. Bane might control Gotham and the men running his city into the ground, but he'd go to his grave laughing before he'd let Bane think that he'd just roll over and submit.

Which was why his next words weren't the most advisable, but certainly well aimed.

Leaning in even closer so that his lips were almost on Bane's mask, Blake stared into Bane's eyes when he spoke in an oh so sweet and knowing purr. "Yours isn't the brand I wear, Bane. You'd be smart to remember that too."

It was a direct hit, Bane knowing instantly that Blake was referring to the mark of The Bat that his detective wore so proudly on his skin. The implication was clear as well. Blake was willing to be claimed by Wayne, but not by him.

"Saying that…was a mistake."

The shrieking sound Blake made would embarrass the hell out of him later, though not so much at the time as Bane picked him up, threw him over his shoulder in a fireman's hold, and started carrying him out of the bathroom and back towards the bedroom. Blake would also be embarrassed by the fact that his struggling and attempts to knee and boot Bane's chest, as well as the beating of his fists on Bane's back, did nothing but cause him pain while the mercenary paused only to turn on the bedroom lights before walking over to the bed and dumping Blake on it.

The manhandling and wrestling for control of the situation ended before it had really begun, Bane pinning Blake's wrists in line with the struggling cop's head, the man's massive body insuring that the rest of Blake's body remained right where he wanted it even as the smaller man attempted to buck him off, which did nothing but encourage him to keep the detective right where he was.

Squirming like a fish on a hook and getting nowhere, Blake jerked up and in desperation wrapped his legs as tightly around Bane's waist as he could and squeezed, trying to make the hold as crushing as possible since he'd seen a girl kill a guy that way in a Bond movie. And though it quickly became apparent that it wasn't having any effect, he must be doing it wrong, Blake told himself that so long as Bane's hands were occupied with his there was only so much Bane could do to him like this.

And that as soon as Bane let go he would find a way to break free or get his neck snapped trying.

The fire in Blake's eyes didn't deter him, no, it just made Bane that much more determined to get it into the man's thick head who he belonged to. That he would not allow anyone else to lay claim to his captive and would kill anyone who tried to take Blake away from him. He would not leave this room until Blake knew that in every bone of his body and admitted it outloud.

Seeing the way he was being watched and the absolute certainty in Bane's eyes as to how this would go down Blake had to concede that he was helpless to do anything physical until he was given an opening, which was why he settled for proving that he really had been born and raised on the big, bad streets of Gotham by calling Bane a lot of very bad names in between cursing him to hell and back with a great deal of creative fluency.

Impressed, there had even been some blasphemies in there that he'd never heard before, Bane had to smile a little behind his mask again. "Am I going to need to wash your mouth out, Detective?"

"Put anything in my mouth and I'll bite it off, Assehole."

It took a moment for Bane to get what Blake was threatening, the implication of it broadsiding him for several heartbeats as he imagined it, having no idea what that would be like but suddenly very interested in finding out. That had been a type of currency in prison so to speak, and the recipients had seemed to enjoy it quite a bit. There had also been many who'd expressed interest in him performing that act on them, something about his mouth being made for it, but by the time he'd been subjected to the general populace he'd been too strong for most, and one of his teachers too feared to risk his wrath by forcing him that way. He'd been offered the act in return for his protection or mercy before, but had never been tempted by any sexual act they'd offered him. But if it were Blake…

Not liking the silent stillness of contemplation that had come over Bane, his gut said it was not good, Blake yelled at Bane to get the hell off him NOW before things really got ugly.

)

What he'd had in mind was to scare Blake a little by using the bed, using it to convey the absolute ease with which he could dominate the cop despite the little fool's delusions to the contrary. And yes, if Bane was being honest with himself, he'd craved more skin to skin contact, the earlier training session having ignited that particular need to a painful degree. That had been unexpected, but somewhat explainable given the endorphin rush from working out even against an inferior opponent, but the mercenary had not anticipated what it would be like to have Blake squirm and buck up against him like this, the sensations fogging up his brain and making his body react in ways that called to the animal in him and pushed the man aside. He was struggling just to breath as Blake started struggling harder under him, his heart pounding in his chest as his body demanding more contact, more pleasure unlike any he'd known before.

It stunned Bane beyond words when he belatedly realized that he was hard and aroused. He desired Blake sexually to that degree? That he would react like any normal man instead of the weapon he'd honed himself into being…

Feeling it too Blake's eyes went as wide as they could go before they narrowed dangerously, the detective going absolutely still as he realized that he not only needed to save his strength, but that Bane was the sort who'd enjoy the fight for dominance as much as he normally would and that struggling would only be seen encouragement.

Bane didn't like this turn of events one little bit, especially with the beast inside him demanding he claim what was his and to hell with the consequences. Jerking Blake's wrists together Bane held them with one hand, the other coming down to yank one of Blake's legs down and off of him, moving his hand from there to spread and dig his fingers into Blake's ass, as he ground their hips together deliberately, shifting so that their erections were better lined up because what was functioning brain wise said that his nerve endings had told him that that was what had felt best.

Mouth opening in shock Blake allowed one gasp to escape his lips before he bit down hard on his bottom lip to stifle any further reaction as Bane's body surged back and forth against his, his body reacting to the stimulus even as he cursed and tried to throw off the man's hold and rhythm again because his mind told him to even as his body screamed for more…and then just gave out.

The workout from earlier had his strength leaving him quickly as his last wind gave out, his body giving up the fight even as his mind struggled to make his leaden limbs move. But in his head he knew he was done, that there was nothing he could do to stop this from happening if this was what Bane wanted. There were even treacherous voices inside his head that told him that this was what he wanted, that he'd never find a man who so perfectly fit every physical requirement in a lover, who smelled and felt so very right and could completely dominate him without-

And then Bane moaned.

Surprise had Blake sluggishly turning his attention to concentrate on Bane's face instead of the body holding his captive, becoming aware of the labored breathing through the mask, the tightness of Bane's features, but more importantly the look in the mercenary's eyes as their gazes met and held.

They weren't the eyes of a rapist or man in control, there was very little control in Bane's eyes as far as Blake could see. In those steel blue eyes he saw need and desperation, but more than that he saw a complete and total lack of understanding as to what he was doing or what he wanted. This was completely new to Bane, he was acting purely on instinct and this-this wasn't about owning or breaking him at all, Blake realized in a sudden flash of insight. That was why Bane wasn't crossing more lines than this and had sounded like he meant it earlier, when he'd talked about lines he had no interest in crossing.

Bane didn't want to rape him…he just wanted him and didn't know what the hell to do about it.

"Bane…."

"What do I do?" Was his harsh demand before Blake could say anymore, Bane's voice completely wrecked and barely understandable. "How do I make it stop? Tell me!"

Using the sort of authoritative voice he thought Bane would respond best to Blake told him that he needed to calm down. That if he wanted it to stop Bane needed to gain control of himself again. He wasn't the mindless animal they'd tried to make him, he was a man and his body was his to command. Everyone knew what amazing control he had, how in charge he always was, he needed to find his center, his calm again so that he could look at the situation rationally. Bane should start with his breathing, that would help.

Desperate for control, he didn't know how to function without it, Bane did as he'd been told, concentrating on just his breathing, forcing the air in and out of his lungs at rhythmic intervals. It didn't help the ache, the need that thrummed through his veins like ferocious, starving beasts, but it did help a little, reminding him of his mental exercises.

And as his mind quieted a little more Bane became aware of the body beneath his in another way, a more intellectual way that said he'd been forcing his sexual interest on Blake minutes before and that the detective's movements against him hadn't been encouragement, but the other man fighting him and his intent.

Letting go of Blake's wrists Bane sat up, looking down at the bruises already forming to mar the other man's skin. "I apologize."

)

If his body had been working at the moment Blake knew this would have been the time to lash out physically, but even if he hadn't been feeling like an overcooked noodle Blake wouldn't have had the heart to do it. This was obviously one of the few lines Bane had ever drawn in the sand so to speak, and the mercenary was obviously shaken to the core that he'd stepped over the line for those few minutes. He understood what it was to have your foundation shook out of nowhere, leaving you scrambling to make sense of things while your brain was too confused to do so.

"It's okay, Bane." Blake found himself saying, actually wishing that he had the strength to reach out to stroke and comfort. "Hormones get the best of us sometimes. You didn't cross the line, you toed it."

What the hell am I saying, Blake wondered as he watched Bane process his words, his brilliant mind no doubt going a mile a minute as he weighed the validity of them. He shouldn't be comforting Bane or justifying what the man had almost done, he should be trying to use it as leverage, or to inflict psychological damage. He'd just been thrown on a bed, manhandled and rutted against while he-oh.

"But I would have crossed it." Bane would not lie, especially with the fire still coursing through him, aching for the body lying so still beneath him as if in offering. But he knew the reason Blake wasn't fighting him was physical exhaustion, not surrender, and the thought of him taking advantage of that fact was abhorrent to him. He had seen what was done to Talia's mother while he protected her daughter…the thought that he could become like those animals was a fate worse than death in his mind.

"No. You wouldn't have."

Having looked away, unable to meet Blake's gaze, Bane turned back to look at him, demanding to know why he would think that, grasping at the slim hope like a lifeline.

"Because I wasn't telling you no."

Eyes widening, recognizing the truth in that statement, Bane stared dumbly at Blake, silently beseeching him to explain.

"If I'd been fighting you with words as well as actions you would have stopped." Had he known that when he'd tossed aside his words, telling himself that struggling under the man was his only weapon, Blake asked himself ruthlessly. Would he have lied to himself and pretended to believe that returned violence would be what Bane would understand despite knowing the power Bane placed in words? God…had he wanted Bane to take him that way so that he could tell himself he'd been a victim when really he'd wanted it? Wanted Bane to fuck him, to hold him down and take him again and again until they both lost consciousness.

Now it was Blake's turn to hide from Bane, closing his eyes as self-loathing washed over him.

Lifting a hand without thinking Bane hesitated for a moment and then gently leaned forward to carefully brush back the detective's hair, so very grateful when Blake didn't shudder at the touch of his paw like hand. Talia's mother had stroked his head on occasion, it had been a gentle caress that had always made him feel better.

And he understood why Blake wasn't throwing off his touch or looking at him. His captive was as conflicted as he about the reactions they inspired in each other.

"Stockholm Syndrome?" Bane offered as the silence continued between them, thinking to give the fragile bird under his stroking hand a way out.

"No. If that were the case I wouldn't be conflicted about this. I still think you're completely off your rocker when it comes to your plans from Gotham and I'd stop you if I could." Was Blake's eventual response, dark humor in his voice as he opened his eyes, finally meeting Bane's gaze once more. "Why? Why me? You said yourself you aren't interested in sex, and every bit of data we collected says you're asexual. So why now…?"

Considering the question there was really only one answer that made sense to Bane.

"There is only one you in this world; and you are unlike anyone I have ever met before. You're special."

Blake had no idea what to say to that so he didn't, but in his mind…all he could think was how he'd been waiting for decades to have someone say something along those lines to him.