Disclaimer: As always we'll own nothing but the original characters and the situations all characters find themselves in.

Isn't He Dreamy

Having a pretty good understanding of the detective moral code, as well as being quite adapt at reading body and facial cues, Bane was aware that his words had made Blake happy even though the other man was obviously trying and mostly succeeding in hiding that fact. He wanted to make Blake happy, make him smile and show his dimples and eye crinkles, Bane thought but didn't say. He didn't want Blake to have a reason to hide those emotions from him. Because while he was still conflicted and confused about a lot of things, namely the emotions and urges his detective inspired in him, Bane was fairly sure that in the end he was a lot less conflicted than Blake about their reactions to each other. Wanting someone the way he wanted Blake was foreign to him, but he didn't feel guilt over the desire or shame. If the situation they'd found themselves in earlier had been reversed he would have had no regrets if the end result had been sexual relations.

The same could not be said for the man under him, who was looking everywhere but at him again.

Getting off Blake and then the bed Bane stood beside it, careful to keep his voice controlled and calm as he continued to exert a huge amount of mental strength to ignore his body's urgings. "You need to finish washing up and change."

"I will. Shortly." Blake tacked on, aware that he wasn't up to moving at the moment.

Understanding that he was doing more harm than good by remaining, Bane nodded his head and forced himself to say good night and then turn to leave, getting almost to the door before he heard Blake's good night in turn. Giving a slight nod so that Blake would know he'd heard him Bane let himself out of the room and closed the door behind him, heading straight to the room he'd commandeered for himself.

Stripping out of his sweaty clothes as soon as he'd closed his door behind him Bane let them fall to the floor without a thought, which was totally out of character for him and an obvious demonstration of just how occupied his mind currently was with far more important thoughts.

Naked he headed into the master bathroom, his destination the shower to wash away the sweat that still clung to his body and would hopefully relax his tense, painfully tight body. Before he opened the door he removed his mask, setting it off to the side before entering the fogged glass enclosure as he continued to consciously control his breathing.

And the hot water did take care of the first problem but not the last, his body refusing to calm or accept the fact that it would not be satisfied. The fact that he was still rock hard utterly perplexed Bane, especially when that particular part of his anatomy had never been a problem for him before. Logically Bane knew that he could switch the water over to cold, and that that might help, but he'd gotten used to having hot water every night and it was a luxury he'd been enjoying, especially knowing the end could come sooner as opposed to later. He'd been denied Blake, hot water was a weak consolation.

It was while he glared down at the body that refused to listen to him, a rare thing since he'd gotten over the need for Venom, that Bane realized that there was something else he could be doing that might help his present problem. He'd never before…but there wasn't a whole lot of privacy in prison or in many of the other places he'd been to over the years.

Eyes trailing over to all the bottles that he'd left stacked and unused in their built in shelves, Bane left his spot under the showerhead to go through the contents until he came to a bottle that had made him scoff when he'd come across it the first time given how many other places he'd found this particular product in the bedroom too. Now having the lubricant in the shower as well was very appreciated, Bane acknowledged as he clicked open the lid to pour some of the contents onto his hand.

It was surprisingly slippery.

Keeping his back to the hot spray of the shower so that the stuff wouldn't be washed off his hands Bane carefully took himself in hand and testingly moved his fingers up and down, eyes widening at the sensations that followed the action.

Clumsy at first, and wincing a few times when his grip was off or too tight, Bane slowly got the hang of it, the fact that he was still wishing he was with Blake leading his mind to picture what it would be like if the other man was in the shower with him now. He knew what the detective looked like naked and wet after all, and the mental images made what he was doing feel so much better and electric. Connecting the dots Bane deliberately thought about what it felt like to have Blake squirming under him, how much he wanted to know what it felt like to have his body stroked by Blake, imagining the sounds and expressions the other man would make when he touched him in return if Blake were to accept him that way.

Those thoughts, combined with a growing awareness of how he liked to be touched and what felt really good, Bane soon got closer and closer to the orgasm he sought, gasps and low moans escaping his dry lips as his hips jerked and fingers grew increasingly clumsy. Breathing Blake's name like a prayer Bane's mind whirled at the thought that the pleasure would be even greater if Blake were actually with him, the idea as seductive as it was terrifying.

When he did come it was sheer luck that he didn't end up slipping and falling into the glass or the floor, the new sensations and the power of it completely overwhelming him so that all Bane could do was stumble around before pressing his back against a wall, sliding down it to sit on the wet floor. Tipping his head back with his eyes closed, Bane knew nothing but the fact that he hadn't known that his own body could give him such pleasure.

How long he sat there Bane didn't know, the water growing cold though he hardly felt it at all. It was the familiar twinges in his head that warned him he needed to get up and out of the shower that got him moving, Bane getting to his feet on relatively steady feet then.

Putting on his mask before he toweled off Bane made short work of removing the majority of water from his body and then headed back into the bedroom and got dressed in clothes suited for sleeping in before slipping into bed.

Brain functioning relatively well at this point Bane settled against his headboard and reaching out retrieved Osito from the bedside table and held the stuffed animal in front of him, his eyes moving over the places where Blake had sewn the bear back together for him.

"What should I do, Old Friend?" He asked the bear.

Naturally Osito didn't answer, but by the time he finally returned the bear to its usual resting place Bane had some idea of what he was going to have to do to make Blake his.

)

Later that night Blake knew he was dreaming for a number of reasons. The biggest one was the fact that the clothes he was currently wearing were not something he would ever choose to wear, though the setting of the dream was another big indicator as far as he was concerned. He was in a ballroom that was one elegant step away from being horribly gaudy due to the cherubs on the ceiling and all the fancy gold molding on the walls. The ceiling to floor windows on one side made all the difference though, Blake appreciating the view as he tried to ignore the fact that he was wearing a golden yellow shirt that was distressingly similar to what he'd seen musketeers wear in the various 'Three Musketeers' movies. The breeches he could live with, but the shirt…

At least he was alone in the ballroom, with only the candelabras and chandeliers for company. Or so Blake thought to himself just before his dreamscape decided to change that fact, which just figured to his way of thinking. Though the sight before him made him a lot less self-conscious about what he was wearing, Blake thought to himself as he grinned, unable not to as he took in the getup his mind had come up with for Bane to wear.

Bane was wearing an outfit more suited to a Victorian lord or another old school French guy than a mercenary. The gold waistcoat, white dress shirt, blue tailcoat and black pants were so at odds with the face mask and Bane's body type that only someone as innately sexy as the current bane of his existence, no pun intended, could pull it off. Not to mention the fact that the articles of clothing looked tailored to the other man's body, bringing all those muscles in Bane's thighs to mouth-watering definition.

"What is this place?"

"A ballroom, I'm guessing. A really old one." Blake replied in answer to Bane's question as the mercenary came to a stop in front of him. "All it needs is some music and a huge crowd of people dancing, sipping champagne, and gossiping about their neighbors."

Once again on cue music began to play, the tune not one Blake recognized though that wasn't saying much. He did know that some of the melody was piano and violin, but that was about it.

"Do you enjoy dancing?"

Shrugging his shoulders Blake smiled ruefully as he acknowledged that he'd been fairly decent years ago, but hadn't done any formal dancing in years. Work had kept him busy.

When he was asked whether he'd ever danced before Bane shook his head, stating he'd never had a reason to learn or attempt that particular activity. Was it enjoyable enough that Blake regretted the lack of time he had for such things?

"A little, maybe." And because it was only a dream Blake reached out and grasping Bane's one hand brought it up and set it on the small of his back. Then he took Bane's other hand in his and lifted it up to the proper level. "Just relax and follow me. I'll lead."

There was surprise in Bane's eyes, but he nodded in agreement and made no effort to pull away.

They were awkward at first, Bane obviously not used to being led and not the easiest person to move unless he knew to on top of that. Luckily the mercenary was also a quick study, Blake found, the other man graceful and quick on his feet by nature with Bane picking up the repetition of Blake's movements and how he was supposed to move in relation to what the other man was doing so fast that Blake asked if Bane was sure that he'd never done this before.

"No. You're the only one I'd want to dance with."

Feeling his ears go red, damn them, Blake couldn't seem to stop himself from smiling just a little, nor did he complain when Bane took over the leading, doubting that Bane even knew he was doing so. Instinct was a powerful thing after all. Instead he simply laid his head on Bane's shoulder, trusting that he was safe and in good hands as they seemed to fly around the room as they danced in perfect unison.

As if by magic the candlelight dimmed around them as they danced, lending added intimacy to the minutes as they ticked by without much notice, the two men lost in the music and each other.

)

In the morning Blake opted to skip breakfast, his appetite below zero at the moment as he bundled up and headed outside with a bag of bird seed he'd discovered in one of the pantries the day before. Barsad was with him of course, a silent shadow, but Blake simply ignored the other man's presence and headed into the snow until he came to a grouping of young trees that provided homes and branches for the birds to sit on. Taking a seat in the snow himself Blake scattered some seed onto the snow around him and then went very still, watching the birds begin to fly down from the trees to eat the seeds furthest from the possible human threat.

He'd always loved watching and feeding birds, had often wished he was one as a small child so that he could just fly away and leave behind all the bad stuff in his life. With his first name he'd taken plenty of crap for his affinity for the small creatures, but that hadn't stopped him from seeking them out anyway.

Today they didn't bring him their usual peace though, which really didn't surprise Blake all that much. Even his sleep deprived mind was working well enough to know that it was likely going to be a long while before he felt steady and remotely close to calm after the night he'd had.

If he'd just dreamed about having sex with Bane he could have brushed that off as simple hormones. Better that he dream about it than actually sleep with his captor after all, and he was a guy and was therefore genetically wired to think about sex more than most women would deem strictly necessary. As long as he didn't actually jump the guy Blake figured he'd earned the right to fantasize a little in compensation for keeping his dick in his pants. So yeah, sex dreams were okay, but there had been nothing sexual about his dream about Bane and that, quite frankly, scared the fuck out of him. He was not a romantic guy, never had been really. If he did something romantic it was because it would benefit him and make the other guy happy too and hopefully lead to lots of sex.

There had been no sex.

He'd actually had a dream straight out of a stupid chick flick about a guy he was interested in and there'd been no sex! It had been all romance and dancing and…and…feelings!

Groaning Blake dropped his face into his hands, which wasn't a good thing since he still had birdseed in them which caused him to sputter, curse, and then chuck the seed onto the ground, startling away all the birds he'd been trying to lure towards him in the first place.

"You didn't even notice one had landed on your knee."

"Not really in a talking mood, Barsad."

Remaining where he was, a couple meters away, Barsad watched his potential prey's body language for signals and tells. "Bane wasn't in a talking mood either, this morning. You need to step lightly there, if you wish to live to the New Year."

"Why would you care whether I live to that point or not?"

"Your death would mean nothing to me." Barsad agreed, not about to lie. "But your influence on Bane matters a great deal to me…and others. If you think to use that influence to use him I will see you dead myself."

Blake's chuckle was not a happy sound. "I don't doubt it."

They both went quite for several minutes, with Blake going back to feeding the birds while Barsad watched him and pondered the dilemma he faced. On the one hand he might be slipping the detective a metaphorical weapon with his words, the knowledge one that could both harm Bane or perhaps help the man he'd devoted his own life to. He had spent plenty of time with Detective Robin John Blake now, was fairly confident he had an understanding of the man's character and what drove the cop's thoughts and actions. And yesterday had cemented a worry in his mind that had weighed him down ever since and had kept him up all night in silent contemplation.

"I can hear you thinking from here. If you want to threaten me some more go ahead. I won't tell him."

Normally he would have pointed out that Bane would take his word over the detective's, but Barsad was beginning to think that would not be the case for much longer the way things were going. And it was that thought that decided things for him, because in his gut Barsad knew that some things were unavoidably at this point.

Walking over to Blake's side Barsad silently took a seat beside the other man, meeting Blake's gaze squarely when it was aimed in his direction.

"If you go to his bed do so without ulterior motive."

Eyes widening at the statement Blake had to swallow hard before he could ask in a conversational tone of voice what Barsad meant by that.

"In many ways Bane's knowledge of the world and the people that populate it far exceeds your own, but when it comes to sex and love he understands very little. In that area you know far more and that is knowledge we both know you could use against him if you chose." Reading the detective's interpretation of his words easily in the fire that flamed in the man's brown eyes Barsad raised a hand in a 'simmer down' gesture. "I don't believe you would whore yourself for your own benefit…but for others would perhaps, I think, be another story. For the boys from your orphanage or the innocents of this damned city…" Barsad trailed off, seeing what he had expected on the detective's face. "If you show him pleasure and a false love, then take it away or let him see the truth…he will become the monster everyone thinks he is. You bring out the man in him…and you will kill that man and leave only the beast if you, like so many others, use the promise of heaven to push him further into hell."

Deliberately being flippant to hide his shock and reaction to Barsad's words, Blake smirked and stated that he got the man's point. Sleeping with Bane would be bad, message received.

"That's not what I said, and you know it."

Blake glared. "So you're saying you'd be fine with him sleeping with me in general? Me, the enemy?"

"You are not my enemy…yet." Rising to his feet Barsad looked down at Blake, who was obviously not pleased to have to crane his neck back to meet his eyes. "And if it's the thought of what your hero would say if you did take Bane as your lover…well he has slept and given his loyalty to much worse. Your end, unless one of your Christmas miracles goes into effect, will be soon if this city is not somehow saved, Detective. You'd be wise to remember that as well."