Bad Habits (7/7)

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7:  Love Slave

Max gave him an injection just before dinner and he wowed Kyle by removing the mask beforehand.

“Does your face hurt when you eat, Bang?”

“The mask keeps it from hurting.  But your mommy gave me some medicine so that I could eat dinner with you.”

Kyle turned his bright blue eyes on his mother.  Max smiled back.  “Go on and eat, now.”

While Kyle ate, he continued to talk to Bane.  Max watched him interact with his father, her feelings bittersweet.  She wondered if she could rekindle things with Tammaro and let him know that she wanted to be with him.  He was a good man, and she was very fond of him.  Max hoped that Bane hadn’t scared him away.  She might have to go out of her way to earn his forgiveness, but she could do it.  She would do it.

Bad Habits (6/7)

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6:  Kyle & Bang

Max stood in front of the mirror, examining her bandaged forehead.  Kyle had art class in thirty minutes and she didn’t give a shit about anything other than getting him to class on time.  Her hair was massive and gorgeous and she normally wore it free on weekends.  But she was all about presentation and never left the house looking busted.  She removed the bandage and frowned at the knot.  Fucking Bane.  But at least it wasn’t hurting as bad as it was before.  The hydrocodone worked well, but all her drugs worked.  She could function.

Max twirled her hair into a French knot and pinned it with elaborate rhinestone combs.  She fluffed out her bangs to one side in order to hide the knot.  Then she put on a bit of makeup and her jewelry.  She sported jeans, boots and a black top that allowed the girls some display.  It felt good to get cute and catch eyes, but it couldn’t be done effectively with a big-ass lump on her forehead.  Not that any man would dare look her way with her baby’s father acting like a giant can of bug repellent.

Bad Habits (5/?)

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5: Father Figure

Max’s gut tightened and her instinct was to look for a weapon.  She opened her nightstand and eyed her lamp.  Other than an arsenal of high heel shoes, she had nothing to arm herself with.  And to her horror, Kyle got off the bed and walked towards him. 

“Who are you?”  He looked at Max and pointed towards Bane.  “Mommy, who’s that?”

“Baby, stand right there.  Don’t move.”  She didn’t want to alarm him, but it was hard keeping her tone even.  She should have known Bane wasn’t going to do as she asked.  Max got up and walked towards her doorway.  He stood there with the mask off—thank goodness!—but he had it behind his back.  Rage flashed in her eyes.  His expression was not as easily discernible.

Kyle rubbed her leg.  “Who is it, Mommy?”

Bad Habits (4/?)

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4: Concussed

Max came to, groaning.  She put a hand on her head; there was a large knot above her eye.  She sat up and the world started spinning.  She groaned again and lay back down.

Someone placed a very cold compress against her head.  “Don’t sit up.”

Max blinked as her vision cleared.  She turned her head in the direction of the voice.  Bane stared down at her, concern in his beautiful eyes.  She sat up again and grabbed her head before sinking back down into the bed.

“Owww!  My head!”  Her skull felt enormous.

“I told you not to sit up.”

“How…did I hurt my…head?”

“You fell in the bathroom and hit your head on the sink.”

She looked at him.  Her head hurt like a mad bastard.  Then, as things started falling into place, she tried to frown but it hurt too much.

“Relax,” he said.  He kept his large hand on the compress.

“I hate you,” she moaned.  “You…ruined my evening.  I was going to…to have an excellent dinner…and even better sex…and you…you ruined it…I hate you…”

Bad Habits (3/?)

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3:  Disruption

Bane did what she said.  Medicated via her painkillers, he took the time to walk around Positano mask-free, using the multitude of staircases that dotted the vertical village.  It made sense; if he was going to see his son, he couldn’t do it with his mask or with a multi-colored head.  Bane was usually with a soldier or two; doing subtle reconnaissance, learning the layout of the town.  He was already thinking about how to protect Max and Kyle from a distance.  And unbeknownst to her, he hid out in the vacant residence next to her villa and continued to watch them.  The little boy was adorable and sweet.  He didn’t walk; he ran.  He was loud and rambunctious like most boys and he adored his mother.  They laughed, they played, and they danced.  Max was devoted to her son.  Bane couldn’t help but feel a tug in their direction.  Maybe there was still a little bit of human left in his soul.  Maybe the darkness hadn’t eradicated everything.  But Max was determined to keep him at bay.  He knew he wouldn’t be able to stay away from her.  He needed to regroup; to find a balance, to center himself so that he could determine his next course of action.   Max’s world provided a haven outside of time where he could do that. 

Bad Habits (2/?)

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2:  Shaman

Just as she said, she arrived in front of the rental space four hours later in her little blue car.  She had a bag and a briefcase, and she wore jeans, a denim jacket and a T-shirt.  Her hair was a mass of bouncy curls.  Bane felt a tightening in his chest and in his pants.  He hadn’t thought about sex in a long time; there was simply too much that required his full attention, but he had never forgotten how Max made him feel.  He opened the door.

She looked at him, abruptly moving past.  “Come on; I don’t have all night.  I want to tuck my son into bed.”

The rental was a studio apartment, sparsely furnished.  Max took a quick glance around the room.  “Just what I expected.  Okay, have a seat on the bed.”

Bane obeyed.

“Give me your arm.”

He obeyed.

Max knew then that the man had to be in agony; he was never this complacent.  She removed a syringe from her briefcase and swabbed Bane’s forearm.  “This is a painkiller with a sedative in it, and don’t you dare bitch about it.  If you’re hurting as much as I think you are, then you will welcome the tranq.”  She injected him.  In about half a minute, she saw his eyes light up and the crease under them relax.  The sedative wouldn’t render him useless, but he would want to sleep.

Bad Habits (1/?)

Fandom:  Batman; The Dark Knight Rises

Pairing: Bane/Max (Female OC)

Rating:  R, for starters.  I’m sure it’ll go NC-17 at some point.

Timeframe: Fuck what you heard and what you think you saw; Bane didn’t die.  Therefore, this is AU.

Disclaimer:  Bane = not mine.  Everyone else = mine.  

Summary:  When things go wrong, where do you turn?

A/N:  This is a sequel to “What You Need.”  I simply cannot get enough of this man.

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1:  Finding Positano

According to Bane’s research, she was working at the University of Salerno.  She taught courses in pharmacology and organic chemistry and did research in the pathogenesis of adverse drug reactions.  It took him some time; but he had plenty of it when he wasn’t focusing on the massive construction project beneath Gotham.  She was using the name Veronique Rothschild, but he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that name was as phony as a three-dollar bill.  But Max’s writing style was unique and he had become very familiar with it when he stayed with her.  So once he found an article that sounded like something Max would write, he started backtracking to find previous research under that same name. 

Bane hadn’t planned to seek her out; he intended to respect Max’s wishes to stay out of hers and Kyle’s life.  But the unthinkable happened; an acute case of “Whatdafuck?” and he had to get out of Gotham fast and undetected.  He was injured; some of the tubes in his mask were broken and he took a shotgun blast to the chest.  Fortunately, his chest armor was strong enough to absorb most of the blast, but he still sustained a deep muscle injury; likely some broken ribs.  He had an extensive network of resources and comrades who helped him get out of the city.  When asked his destination, he said “Italy.”