Sorry for the wait, I had a lot of stuff to do and just had enough time to write this. Thanks to all my readers for the song suggestions. Keep them coming! And thank you all for the wonderful reviews.
Do not own Bane (sigh) or any TDK related content. Kali is mine.
One Month Later:
Kali had finally gotten the cast removed, and was wearing a brace for her ribs. She went to physical therapy three times a week. Bane had turned down multiple jobs throughout the month. Kali needed someone around, and he wanted to be that person. He'd even warmed up to the dog, with all his strange behaviors. Kali was determined to make him food he could eat, and she was doing good so far. Bane no longer felt uncomfortable being seen without his mask by her.
Bane drove Kali around the small town nearby, giving her money to buy food for the house, and for books and movies and whatever else she wanted. He never left the car though. It would be too difficult to disguise his mask here.
In the heat, Kali flourished. She often wore flowing tank tops and colorful shorts. Her pale skin quickly began to glow as she often spent many hours playing with Harley and exploring the property. Bane would follow her anywhere she went.
One late evening, as Kali was cooking something for him, Bane began to remember he needed to tell her something. He needed to tell her he knew about her parents, what had really happened. Yet there never seemed to be the right moment to tell her, and she seemed so happy. He didn't want it to end.
As night came around, Kali scooped ice cream for both of them, making sure to put the carton in the microwave first so it would soft enough for him to eat. Bane found he liked it when she did these small things for him. They sat together on the couch, watching a movie she deemed her favorite, Finding Nemo. Bane smirked. She claimed just about everything they watched was her favorite.
"Es-sca-pay!" She burst out, startling him. She continued to giggle hysterically. Her humor amused him like nothing else.
Some time later, after being so focused into the movie, Bane realized Kali had fallen asleep, curled up into an impossibly small ball in the corner of the couch, Harley half on top of her. Lately, while she still smiled, he could always see shadows of the demons that haunted her. Here, she looked so peaceful, a half smile as she slept. Bane did not want to disturb her. He got up, taking their bowls to the sink. He then took the knit blanket off the back of the couch, and managed to get Harley to lift his head just long enough to slip the blanket around her. Without thinking, Bane leaned down and placed a swift kiss to her hair, before going back to his room as he pulled his mask back on.
It was still dark when Bane heard a gasp, loud and near the point of a scream. He moved out to the living room to find Kali sitting, looking confused as she clutched the blanket around her. She turned to him with bright eyes as he slowly entered the room, making his steps heavy so she would hear him coming.
"I'm sorry. I didn't know where I was for a second." She said quickly, trying to disguise the tremble in her voice.
The poor girl was shaking, her pupils considerably small for the dark. She'd probably had a nightmare. Bane offered a hand to her, and she took it without hesitation. He helped her to her feet.
"Come, let's get you to bed." He said softly.
Harley did not follow, only stretched out more over the couch as they left. Kali was already drowsy again as he guided her to her room, all the way to her bed. She seemed suddenly terrified of the room, glancing around at each dark corner as she sat on the bed. Bane pulled up the corner of the comforter and she hesitantly slid underneath, still sitting up straight and tense.
"You're not dreaming anymore dear. No monsters here, just me." Bane said with a slight chuckle.
She looked at him then, really looked at him, and he could tell she wanted to ask him something.
"What is it?" He asked, sitting beside her.
"Would you... would you stay, just for a little bit?" She asked shyly, staring at her hands in her lap.
She looked very hopeless, and scared, and his pity and guilt ganged up on him.
"Just until you fall asleep." He said with a sigh.
She moved over to one side of the bed, patting the other. He sat there, against the headboard, and she laid down. It only took a few minutes for her breathing to slow and her frantic heart to calm. Bane waited a few more minutes, and just as he was about to leave, she suddenly turned onto her side, and curled her thin arms around his forearm, tucking it under her chin. She let out a small sigh, a small smile crossing her features. He ended up staying until the bird started to sing.
Kali awoke to the smell of something delicious cooking. She sat up, pushing her messy hair out of her face. She paused as a whiff of something crossed her senses. She sniffed, and realized the smell was coming from her hair. Is that...Old Spice?
Bane heard the water turn on in Kali's bathroom, and smiled. He knew pancakes would wake her up. She had mentioned not long ago how she loved berry-filled pancakes, with tater-tots on the side. He had never really cooked anything more than microwave meals, and meat before he turned it into a smoothie. He'd already burned a few, some more than others, but he doubted she would care.
When everything was done he left it in the oven so it would stay warm, and then stepped out onto the back porch to stretch and take in the morning air. The heavy smell of peppermint flooded his senses, followed by undercurrents of citrus. He could hear the faintest humming coming from the cracked window as steam poured out. How the girl could be taking a hot shower when it was already 75 degrees out was beyond him. Even the dog was already panting.
Not long later Kali came practically skipping into the kitchen. Bane pulled the plate stacked high with pancake and the bowl full of golden, some brown, tater tots, and set them on the counter before her as she shimmied into the high stool. He then got the ketchup and maple syrup out of the fridge, along with a small plastic bear honey container. Her jaw nearly dropped.
"You remembered me babbling about this?" She questioned as she looked over the breakfast feast.
"You did talk about it for a bit." Bane admitted.
She smiled brightly. "Thank you Bane." She said sweetly, and then began cutting up the pancakes.
She was about halfway through the food when she paused. Bane smirked, and pulled a gallon of chocolate milk from the fridge, and poured it into a tall glass. He still found it hilarious that she abhorred milk the way she did. It was the same with tomatoes, zuchinni, squash, and peas. She took a few sips of the chocolate milk, and then looked up at him.
"Aren't you going to eat some?" She asked very seriously.
"I don't think pancakes and tater tots are meant to be blended together." He replied, cocking an eyebrow.
"Blend them separately, duh. I'll save some and make it for you." There was no arguing.
It was not long after that Kali went bouncing up to Bane as he worked on setting up a clothesline between two trees in the backyard. He was working carefully with the wheel the rope went around, trying to hold it steady so he put the nail in at the right angle.
"Bane!" She burst out impatiently when he did not acknowledge her.
"What is it?" He asked with a huff.
He was already doing all the work to set this up. What more did she want from him?
"Do you want to go swimming? There's a nice creek at the back of the property, down at the bottom of the hill. It has lots of deep spots, I found it yesterday."
Bane paused, nail and hammer in hand. A swim in cool water was quite welcome at the moment, with the sun beating down at its highest point. Even though he was wearing shorts and a light grey shirt, he was sweating.
"I suppose. Let me finish this first." He answered.
"I'll be down there when you're ready." She said, and went running off, chasing Harley, a bright coral backpack flashing.
Bane continued to fidget with the line until it was perfect. He was sweating under the mask now. He took it off, and sighed in relief as a breeze cooled his face. He went slowly down towards the creek, where he could hear Harley barking. Kali's backpack was propped up against a rock, a light blue towel hanging out of its open pocket. Harley was at the edge of the stream, quiet, focused. Suddenly Kali rose from the spot he'd been looking at, and tossed the ball up into the air laughing. The dog leaped into the air, catching the ball with a snapping noise, and landed in a giant splash.
"So glad you could join us." Kali teased, pushing her hair back.
"I would have gotten here much more quickly if you had helped me." Bane responded, placing his mask down beside her backpack.
He kicked off his boots, yanked off the socks, and pulled his shirt up over his head. As he did so, he caught the expression on Kali's face. Her jaw had dropped, and her eyes were quickly exploring him. He smirked slightly as the shirt passed over his face. She recovered quickly.
"I can't help you, I'm still crippled, remember?" She said, sticking her tongue out at him.
Suddenly Harley swam up to her, bumping her arms with the ball in his mouth. She took it, and he quickly backed onto shore, crouched low, waiting, as she sunk below the surface again, giving Bane a teasing smile.
Bane sunk into the cool rushing water, sighing as chills soothed his hot skin. He closed his eyes for just a second, and suddenly he heard air rushing. He opened his eyes just in time to see Harley's ball directly before him, as the dog jumped and caught it. Harley landed in the water right in front of him, splashing and soaking him completely.
Kali burst out laughing, her cheeks turning a sweet pink as she giggled at him.
"Oh, little girl. You will regret that." Bane said quietly.
Her smile faltered as he lunged towards her, arms reaching. She dove backwards and under, swimming with the current. She came up a few feet away, and continued to slowly back away as he slowly drew near. She was running out of deep spots to swim in, and there was no doubt Bane could run faster than she did. Unless she splashed him to momentarily blind him as she was escaping. And so she did, scrambling up into the shallows, and shoving a wall of water at his face as she turned to run. She barely made it 20 feet before huge arms wrapped around her waist.
Bane carefully lifted her, being sure to put most of the pressure on her hips, and dropped her to the ground as she screeched in surprise. She giggled as Bane sat beside her, and they took in the glowing scenery that was there property. Suddenly Bane was caught in her eyes, trapped in the amber flecks, the warm glow of her cheeks, her soft black peppermint hair, her full pink lips. Something stirred in him, twisted at his gut and wrenched at his heart, coming to life, roaring inside of him. DON'T YOU DARE!
Bane gently captured her face in his hands, and kissed Kali as the world seemed to tear away from him.
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