Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the plot. Thanks and enjoy.

Happy Valentine's Day a Day Late lol

Valentine's Day

It was ten minutes until the end of Detective John Blake's shift. Just ten more minutes and then he could get the hell out of the squad room and head home. He'd gotten used to days like this, he reminded himself, days when the cops around him gave him suspicious looks or made snide little comments to make it clear what they thought of the fact that he was sleeping with one of the most dangerous suspected criminals in Gotham. He didn't expect them to understand his relationship with Bane, hell, half the time he didn't get it either. But at the end of the day he and his lover didn't mix business with pleasure and that was that. His division didn't operate in Bane's territory and neither of them talked about their work in order to avoid the other learning something they shouldn't know.

And technically Bane didn't have a criminal record, the man was just a living legend in the criminal underworld and was feared by pretty much everyone who encountered him. So while his fellow cops had heard plenty about him they didn't have any actual evidence since that tended to disappear as quickly as the man's enemies.

So yeah, hooking up with the guy hadn't been one of his smartest decisions, but he'd made worse. Probably. And it wasn't like he saw them as having a future, for Christ's sake. It would never work. That they'd lasted three months was a minor miracle.

The fact that he'd never had a relationship last this long was just the icing on the cake, Blake thought with a small sigh, his eyes once again being drawn over to the desk nearest his. Deena's husband had had the roses delivered that morning and the smell was almost driving him as crazy as why the man had sent them in the first place.

It was Valentine's Day.

When you grew up the way he had you learned not to give a shit about holidays, and part of the reason his track record dating wise was crap was because he was married to his job and didn't have a romantic bone in his body. And Bane had to be the same way, so there was no reason to think that the fact that they were getting together later required him to, in any way, shape or form, acknowledge the commercial holiday currently going on.

But what if the man was expecting something?

They'd only been having sex during Christmas so that hadn't been an issue. It was only in the last month that they'd actually started to spend the night together and keep each other company with clothes still on. They weren't really dating…but they sorta were too.

Dammit.

"So, Blake, got big plans tonight with your Quasimodo on steroids?"

Eyes narrowing ever so slightly Blake kept his cool and refused to rise to the bait. Sort of. "As a matter of fact BANE is coming to my place tonight. But no need to be jealous, McGreedy, I'm sure eventually you'll manage to save up enough to pay a human being to sleep with you. It should only take you a few more decades and hey, in the spirit of the holiday I'll chip in ten."

Blake wasn't even really surprised when the now red faced man threw the punch, maybe he'd been hoping for the chance to alleviate his tension so that Bane wouldn't notice it later. Either way he simply moved his head out of the way and didn't attack, knowing the man would look more foolish for it.

Drawing back his fist again McGreedy didn't get a chance to throw it, the cold voice of their commissioner slashing across the room like a nine-tailed whip.

Everyone straightening and coming to attention both men assured Gordon that nothing was the matter when he demanded to know what the hell was going on. Nothing they assured him, nothing at all.

"Then I think your shift is over now, Blake. Why don't you head on out."

"Yes, Sir."

)

Stepping out of the elevator Bane loosened the bright red scarf Talia had wrapped around him earlier, insisting that it was just the thing since it would not only cover up his mask but get him into the holiday spirit. She'd had a gleam in her eyes that he hadn't liked, especially when she'd told him to have a nice time with his detective. The two had never met of course, his connection to her couldn't be known to anyone outside the League, but he was beginning to think that Talia didn't like that he was involved with someone.

Which was foolish, his loyalty was absolute. There was no one more devoted to her than him. The relationship he had with Detective Blake was merely a sexual one that would no doubt end before the snow left Gotham City for the year. If not sooner.

Yes there was something about the man that…drew him, but that was because Detective Robin John Blake was a puzzle and one he had yet to solve to his satisfaction. The man kept pieces of himself hidden and guarded, refusing to show them to him. But he had most of them now and Bane was confident that it was only a matter of time before he could anticipate the man's every move instead of constantly being caught off guard by how different the man was in comparison to anyone he'd ever known.

As it was he was still trying to figure out why the dedicated and un-corruptible cop had propositioned him in the first place.

It had started at Inception, a bar his Talia owned and one that he enjoyed visiting on occasion. His little bird wasn't much for such places but had started coming somewhat regularly in October to walk one of the bar's waitresses, who was his neighbor, home at night due to a small gang that had been making trouble in their area.

The chemistry between them had been immediate that first night, when they'd both been scanning the room for trouble and had locked eyes instead. He would never forget that moment as long as he lived. And it had kept happening every time they saw each other, both intimately aware of the other and left shaken when one forced his gaze to drop away.

Naturally he'd known everything there was to know data wise on the man when Blake approached him, so he'd thought he knew who he was dealing with. Yet he'd never expected the man to ask him to bed, nor for the cop to go to his superiors once it became clear that one night would not be enough for either of them. Blake had made no effort to hide their relationship, taking the investigation by his internal police in stride and refusing to act as an informant when approached again and again to do so.

He had cops in his pocket of course, so he knew how his little bird was treated because of him.

Yet his detective never complained…and continued to see him.

He spent far too much time thinking about the man, Bane told himself, and not for the first time. But it seemed pointless to try and stop when he was about to see Blake again. When he was with his little bird the detective was all he could think about. Analyzing every move he made, ever word that left those soft looking lips that tempted him with their every quiver.

Shaking his head over those trivial thoughts Bane concentrated solely on studying the hallway he was walking down until he came to the correct door, knocking carefully since the wood was thin and would break easily enough under a normal man's strength.

)

Having been waiting for the knock Blake wasn't long in coming to the door, the delay coming from the necessary check through the Judas hole and then the undoing of the locks that he'd installed to at least give him some warning if someone came hunting for a cop. Though any criminal with brains would probably avoid him like the plague for fear of what Bane would do to him or her if they did harm a hair on his head. He knew word had gotten out about their relationship and that he was considered the property of the man who pretty much blocked the entire doorway once he'd opened the door.

A single blink was the only reaction Bane gave to the look on his man's face, knowing it well and not at all pleased not to be the cause. Or perhaps he had been, but had not been given the opportunity to be the direct cause. "You look well satisfied."

Making a confused sound Blake moved out of the way to let the much bigger man in, pondering the question. "Oh. Yeah. I have strawberry shortcake. I'm good." Not even the thought that he was considered Bane's bitch in the criminal world could dim that sugar high.

"Cake?"

"Strawberry shortcake." Blake corrected with a smile that brought his dimples out and made his eyes crinkle. "It's a major weakness of mine. I was just getting into my third piece when you knocked. It's from the bakery three blocks from here, and better than regular sex."

"Better than sex." Bane repeated, just the faintest hint of insult in his voice.

Blake grinned. "The heat we generate is anything but regular." Moving in the detective placed his lips against the man's neck over the pulse point, sucking on the skin there in long, slow pulls. It wouldn't even bruise noticeable, the man's flesh was that tough, but it was the closest thing he'd been able to come up with to replace actual kissing.

He'd never realized just how much foreplay and easing into a sexual relationship started with the meeting of lips until he'd started to sleep with a man whose lips he'd never even seen.

And understanding the gesture for what it was Bane lifted a hand to stroke his large fingers through the man's hair before cupping the back of Blake's head to keep him where he was. His way of returning the gesture.

When he pulled away Blake stroked Bane's cheek briefly before he turned to lock the door behind them, putting the multiple chains in place even though it really wasn't necessary given the other man's presence. He'd like to see some would be thief or murderer try to get past Bane to him. Well no, he wouldn't, but that was mostly because he didn't like the idea of his lover in danger. Or the idea of Bane killing the bad guy in front of him.

The two of them heading for the small apartment's even smaller living room Blake moved over to the table where he'd left his latest slice of cake. "I'll just put this in the fridge and be right back." He never ate in front of Bane, it just seemed wrong and impolite to do so.

"Finish it. I don't mind."

Good manners warred with greed, and Bane had given him the okay so…greed won.

Figuring that he could eat while Bane talked Blake asked the man about whatever book he was reading at the moment and then turned his attention back to finishing off his dessert, doing his best to listen and enjoy at the same time.

He had to be doing it on purpose, Bane thought as he kept his body under tight control, there was no way that dessert could be that good. The carnal pleasure the man was projecting, it was meant to seduce him. To entice him. Blake always seemed to enjoy their sexual encounters more when he felt that he had made him lose control after all. Naturally he'd pointed out how dangerous that was, though the bruises on the man's flesh should have been warning enough. Thus far neither warning had sunk in.

It was the spoon licking that had the large man grumbling through his mask that there was no need to put on such a show.

Following the man's pointed gaze Blake didn't have to wonder what Bane was talking about for long. Laughing he shook his head, dimples flashing again as he reminded the man that he'd said it was just that good. And seeing that he wasn't being believed Blake stuck the spoon in what was left of his treat and held out the plate. "Here. I'll go somewhere else and you can try it. Just call me when I can come back in."

"I have no need to pollute my body with some sugary concoction that does not benefit the body in any way."

"But it does have benefits." Blake argued. And since the man thought he was doing this just to seduce anyway…why not? Shifting over Blake carefully straddled one of Bane's legs, sitting on it comfortably while facing the man as he scooped up a little on his spoon and waved it teasingly in front of his lover's masked face. "It makes you feel good, just like sex." Pretend pause. "But if you don't want it...maybe you'd feed it to me instead?"

Being a master strategist Bane knew this was a trap. An idiot could see that. But his bird was watching him with such a playful, happy gleam in his eyes that Bane found himself taking the spoon from the detective, wanting to please him.

And annoyed by that urge Bane decided to annoy the man in turn by deliberately moving the spoon away from Blake when the man leaned in to take it into his mouth.

Unfortunately it didn't work that way, the younger man laughing instead as he braced his free hand on Bane's shoulder for balance as he tried to move fast enough to get his treat. Bane was faster though, his reflexes far superior and his timing impeccable. But Blake kept trying, both because he refused to admit defeat and because the leg he straddled felt so good as he rubbed against it with every movement of his body as he lunged towards the bait again and again.

Wanting both his hands free to touch Bane decided to let Blake get his treat, regretting the decision quickly as the detective punished him for making it easy by giving the spoon a blow job, sucking and licking at it in a way that had a great deal of blood leaving Bane's head and heading south to an area of his anatomy that would very much have liked to change places with that piece of silverware.

Pulling back when he was sure his point had been made Blake studied the man's eyes with pleasure, seeing just enough in them to know he had definitely hit more than a few of the man's hot spots. If he hadn't there would have been nothing to see in the man's eyes but steel walls.

Thinking that he'd give the other man another 'kiss' on the neck to soothe him a little Blake's eyes caught on something that had transferred to his lover's skin during their little game without either of them noticing. Hmmm, how convenient.

Bane tensed up at the shift in Blake's attention, wanting to know what had caught his interest.

"You got some of the cream on you." Leaning in Blake slid his tongue across the man's neck, very deliberately only lapping up a minute trace of the cream. Again and again he did that, drawing it out as long as possible as he tasted Bane's skin with just the faintest trace of the dessert he'd been snacking on. Then he nuzzled his face against his lover's neck, his nose picking up the faint smell of the medicinal gas coming from the mask. But that was just one more aspect that made up his lover's unique scent and he wanted Bane more than any sweet smelling treat.

Taking the basically empty plate from his bird with one hand Bane wrapped the other around Blake's waist as he leaned over to lightly toss the dish onto the nearby coffee table with the spoon before standing up, effortlessly supporting the smaller man's weight in his hands.

Even with his long legs Blake couldn't properly wrap them around Bane's waist as they headed for the bedroom, but he knew that Bane had him and so he turned his attention to the man's throat again, determined to try and leave a mark that would still be there come morning. It was a little annoying after all, that every morning he bore the marks of Bane's claiming while no one would know, to look at his lover, that he belonged to someone.

And okay, he knew Bane had someone special in his life who he basically worshipped and he wanted that person to know that the man was his too.

That the man belonged to him in a way Bane would never belong to her.

"You will be getting very little sleep tonight."

Shuddering deliciously at the threat Blake lifted his head just long enough to point out that that was sort of the point of Valentine's Day.

Bane almost stumbled, the hitch in his stride barely noticeable as years of training kept him on his feet as his mind tried to wrap itself around what Blake had just stated. Not being completely oblivious to the commercial holidays practiced by the materialistic masses he'd known the significance of the day, Talia had made sure of it, but it hadn't occurred to him that their scheduled rendezvous had been meant to mark the day that honored, in theory, lovers.

Naturally he'd never celebrated it. If someone gave you a heart in The Pit it had recently come out of someone's chest cavity.

"Parjarito…"

Lifting his head to meet Bane's gaze Blake let the whole calling him 'little bird' in Spanish go for the moment and answered the question he could read in the man's eyes. "You're taking me to the bed you bought me and intend to fuck my brains out till morning, right?" The bed was the only thing he'd allowed the man to buy him, and that was only because the man was directly responsible for the destruction of his last one.

"That was my plan, yes."

"Stick with the plan."