Like I said, things are starting to "heat" up. This doesn't mean that anything is going to happen, just be prepared to fangirl.

Chapter 5: Heat

Ren exited the elevator, she stood in the living room and looked around, Bane was no where to be seen. She assumed he was out working with Barsad or in his room sleeping. She never interrupted Bane when he was sleeping, he rarely ever slept even at night his time was spent on other things. His room was mostly empty like hers, but his to a much more greater extent, not one sheet cluttered the bed, only two fluff pillows and his clothes were in a black duffle bag in the corner of the room.

Ren let out a sigh of relief, on the walk back to the building she found that she had been thinking of Bane a lot more than normal. It had become a normal thing for her and she wasn't sure if she could confront him without breaking her facade this time around. She placed her swords back in their case, pushing it under the bed. She rolled up the sleeves of her shirt, disposed of her boots and made way back into the living room.

She moved the coffee table and then immediately went into a handstand. She wasn't hungry, or bored, or tired and it was just past one in the afternoon. He wasn't home and that made this the best time to meditate. She closed her eyes, her long hair hung upside down and her forearms tightened to bare the weight of her body. It was quiet, all she could hear was the ticking of a clock that she did not know the whereabouts of. She tried to clear her mind, a practice that had grown to be arduous lately. Taking in a deep breath, she allowed the time to pass by and she hadn't known how long she had been there until footsteps took her from her deepest thoughts.

"You know, there use to be a time where you meditated right side up, but now I am beginning to think it was never that way." Her eyes flashed open and in front of the elevator across from her stood Bane in all his glory, with nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist, droplets of water tumbling down his bulky bare chest and crossed arms. Her eyes widened, she tensed immediately and fell backwards, her back hitting the ground with a thud. She made a grunt, sitting herself up and choosing not to turn around and face him.

"Ren? Are you going to answer me?"

"Yes." She blurted out hurriedly, her chest rising and falling with her unstable breath.

"I focus better when I have to keep balance." She continued, her voice wavering as her mind went back to the fact he was naked, a towel being the only thing keeping him from being revealed. She had never seen a naked man before, but knew of sex and love making, how it all worked. She wanted to see what was under that towel more than she herself could comprehend and she hated herself more than anything for it.

"Yes, but didn't you focus well enough when you were sitting the proper way?"

"Not entirely... S-Sir." She cursed herself for stumbling over her words, body shaking with adrenaline. She never called him 'Sir' and kne wit would be a mistake on her part.

"Something is not right. You are here early, I expect you have information for me."

"I do." She watched as bane crossed the room from his place near the elevator and sat down on one of the couches. Did he forget he was half naked?! He never just pranced around like this for as long as he was now...

"I'm listening." He leaned his elbows on his knees and stared at her from his place on the couch. The towel just barely long enough to wrap his lower body. She dared not look him in the eyes, in fear that he might know of her obscene thoughts.

"I found leads on a Captain who works- Or had worked under commissioner Gordon."

"And?"

"I found his home, he has a wife and two kids. I will be returning much earlier in the morning to catch him before he leaves, possibly to follow him." Bane nodded his head, his eyes trailing around the room.

"Smart." He plainly said, she bit her bottom lip and shut her eyes tightly, her face scrunching under the intensity of her nerves. "Do you want to fight me, Ren?" She stopped and looked over her shoulder at him with a questioning gaze, then she was yet again reminded of his nakedness. Despite the moment she held her head high and kept his direct glare.

"Why would I want to fight you?"

"Why not? We haven't fought someone in weeks." His scratchy voice held plenty of reasoning and for a moment Ren had immediately considered it, but then she thought of all the bad endings to a single decision.

"Months and you have fought plenty of people in these few days."

"But what about you? Don't you want to train in some way other than punching that dull bag hanging from the ceiling of the next room? Don't you want a challenge?" He made a point, she was growing restless. At the dojo, it use to be that one would fight their opponent at least ten times in one day now she had resorted to this, to sitting around and only doing things if they were required. How she remained as physically fit as she had, she didn't know. She barely consumed as much as she should have lately and her calorie intake hadn't been at its best from the beginning . When they found refuge in the sewers, she went on jogs through the tunnels in the morning, but now she only went once a week and even then that was rare. She needed some more exercise, she needed to fight... But she had fought Bane only once before and she had lost, that didn't mean he had lost respect for her. It was his test to her, he tested her because he wanted to see what Ra's had seen and he saw it. Otherwise she wouldn't be alive at the moment. She never thought she would fight him again, they were allies, possibly still acquaintances if you asked Bane.

"Alright, but... It's just sparring."

"Of course." He stood and left the room, she wondered what brought on this odd attitude of Bane's, but quickly pushed that thought aside. He wasn't acting strange, only being reasonable, she told herself, but it was all a lie.

More of the furniture had been moved to allow enough room for Bane and her to fight, to Ren's dismay Bane had only put on a pair of pants and she wasn't sure if he was even wearing anything underneath. She rolled up her sleeves even more and even rolled up the legging to her cargo pants till they were above her knees. She turned to stand across from him, his skin still littered with small droplets of water. Or was that sweat? She wasn't sure.

"So is this going to be a spar for points or..." She choked out, trying her best to hide how weak he made her feel.

"We are just sparring Ren, there is no need to be nervous."

"I am not nervous." His eyes squinted at her.

"Don't lie to me." He growled out with a hazy lisp in his words, he cocked his head to the side and glared at her.

"I haven't fought you in years."

"Are you afraid of me?"

"No..."

"Good." He remarked, his eyes cresting with a new found amusement. "Now make your move."

"You first." He stepped forward and she stepped back, he chuckled, his eyes lighting up even more.

"How can I make a move if you keep moving away?" She took in a deep breath and closed her eyes. As soon as they flashed open, she ran forward, hopping up high enough to wrap her legs around his neck in an attempt to bring him to the ground, but he was too strong. He grabbed her thighs, she remained hanging from his shoulders. His grip on her thighs tightened and she let out a groan, but it wasn't out of pain. She needed to get away from him, right now, she hoped he wouldn't realize the difference between a pained moan and a pleasured moan.

She pulled herself up and hit a fist against his head, he released her and she pushed herself from him falling to the ground. She crawled back, holding a hand up to him.

"You shouldn't have done that." She bluntly shot out, his eyebrows furrowed.

"What do you expect after wrapping your legs around my head?" The question was rhetorical, but if he wasn't wearing that mask she would definitely have an answer to it, in her mind of course, she would never tell him what he does to her.

"I have to go." She rambled out, sitting up and starting her way towards her room at a fast pace.

"So soon?" He asked, a bit disappointed and just as she entered her room, the elevator opened and Talia came strolling in.