Down the pit - part 5
So list part of Bane and his wife ! I still have some stories for the big guy coming !
Tag : Â @jaxitaxibolehlaf
Three years.
Three years without any news. Not a call, not a letter, nothing.
Y/N could have tried to reach them, but she knew it was useless. Oh, they would have come back, she had no doubt about it. She had no doubt that they truly loved her.
But it would have only started this vicious cycle again, where she wanted Bane and Talia to have a normal life, and where they wanted her to join them in the League of Shadows.
She cherished every moment she had been able to spend with them, in the Pit, then during these almost two years when they had found each other again.
But all things, good and bad, had to end.
Y/N continued to live, because even if it was not the life they would have wanted, they wanted her to live anyway. That was why they had fought to survive in the Pit.
It was probably stupid, but after thinking about all this, she didn't move, staying in her small apartment in Gotham. Joy mixed with pain when she remembered Talia sleeping, Bane discovering what a hair dryer was, moments together on the couch.
This self-torture was ridiculous, but Y/N didn't want to lose everything.
So she locked herself into a simple routine, get up, work, errands, shower, sleep, start over.
Her colleagues tried several times to set her up with someone. To please them, she accepted a few dates, but never went further than dinner.
The men she met were all charming. Sweet, funny.
But not tall enough. Not strong enough. Not kind enough. Not knowing at all what she had experienced, and who could never understand it. Unable to hold her close by calling her Habibi.
Sometimes, alone in her bed, Y/N wondered if she should have agreed to follow Bane. Even if she didn't believe in the League, even if she would never have been truly happy at the Temple, at least they would have been together.
She ended up falling asleep after crying and calling his name in vain, stupidly hoping that he would be there the next day, without her wish ever being granted.
Yet, he was there, all the time, with her, like a heavy shadow on her shoulders. Even at the supermarket. As soon as she saw strawberries, Y/N couldn't help her sad smile, remembering how he had almost lost his mind when he tasted this fruit for the first time. She always took them when it was in season.
When the woman's hand touched hers as she tried to grab some, Y/N quickly apologized. Not the woman, who took her hand when she wanted to release it, forcing her to look at her.
Time seemed to freeze.
In the Pit, she had saved a little girl. When she opened the door to her apartment, she found a teenager. She was now a young woman in front of her, but her eyes remained unchanged.
"Talia !" she screamed, dropping her bag to take her in her arms, startling the other customers.
They stayed like that, in front of the strawberries, until Y/N had finished crying, Talia remaining calm, but still holding her tight and caressing her back.
"I want to know everything. Come, I'll invite you, do you want a coffee ? A tea ? Are you okay ? Oh, if your fatherâŚ"
"My father is dead."
Y/N froze, looking the young woman in the eyes without knowing what to say. She wasn't sorry, she had never loved Ra's, but he was still Talia's father, who had protected her, who had cherished her, who had another vision of the future for her.
As if she perfectly guessed the reason for her confusion, Talia shook her head, indicating that she didn't need to talk. On the other hand, she did want some tea.
Since her father's death, she had been the head of the League of Shadows. It took a lot of her time and energy, but today, she had decided to take a day for herself.
And she had decided that she wanted to see Y/N.
"Normally I shouldn't talk to you. But I promised not to come back to the apartment and not to contact you first. Technically, it didn't happen."
"Your father's ordersâŚ"
"No. Bane's."
It had been several months since Talia had become leader, making her loyal protector her right-hand man. Together, they reformed the league, making it less aggressive, less punitive.
For example, the plan to completely destroy Gotham was abandoned. It had been postponed for a long time anyway, since there was no way they would touch the city as long as Y/N lived there.
All this time, nothing would have stopped them from finding her, if Bane hadn't been a stubborn idiot. Talia's words.
"He thinks you won't want to see us again after what happened. That we don't deserve your forgiveness and that you'll be happier without us. I don't agree, but when it comes to you, he refuses to listen to me. Maybe he will listen to you ?"
"You mean⌠He's here ?"
"He has an important mission in Germany. But I told Barsad I was going here, without telling him it was a secret, so I guess Bane jumped on the first plane. He'll say it's for my protection, but it's mostly to make sure I'm not with you."
"He'll be furious."
"No. No, he must be crying in a corner while admiring you with reverence. You are the most precious thing to him. His wife."
Since the Pit, this title had sometimes been mentioned, quickly, with a certain embarrassment and the fear that it would become a sort of obligation. But for Bane, Y/N was his wife, forever and ever.
Their arguments had been hard for him. He heard everything she said, he understood and he wanted her to be right, finding himself in an impossible situation.
Unable to take Talia without putting them all in danger, he had stayed with the league, filling himself with changrin, regrets and rage. Until Ra's died.
Then all the faithful and the young girl had thought that he would immediately run to join Y/N.
But obviously his stupidity was as immense as he was. Too ashamed and having convinced himself that she would never forgive him, he had ordered that she be left alone. So she could finally have the normal life she wanted.
"He thinks about you every day. I know it, I see it in his eyes when he stares into the distance. He whispers your name in his evening prayers, low enough in the hope that no one but the gods will hear."
"⌠Why didn't you come sooner ?" Y/N asked, trying not to sound angry at Talia.
"I wondered if he wasn't right. If you didn't deserve a normal life, after everything you'd been through. But I missed you too ! And after watching you, I knew you'd want to see us again, so here I am. I'm the leader, I know what's right."
"But what if you're wrong ? What if he doesn't want me anymore ?"
"Barsad says you're both ridiculous. For once, we agree."
If she wanted to be cruel, Y/N could have said that Bane was right, especially after all this time. She could have refused to see them again, even though they could have come back earlier, even though they continued to watch her without giving her any news.
But Y/N wasn't cruel, and she loved them more than anything. They could have waited for years, they could have done horrible things, she would never have been able to chase them out of her heart.
That didn't mean Bane wasn't going to be stubborn. To avoid upsetting him, Talia decided to give some time to this big idiot to gather all his courage to come and apologize.
And if he didn't succeed, she would drag him to Y/N's place herself. To prove her good faith, she gave him a number and an address, allowing her to come to them if she wanted, or to call her to tell her if she had changed her mind.
They parted after a last hug, still not caring about the customers' looks.
Y/N went home, convinced that she wouldn't be able to sleep at night, with the fear that Bane would refuse to come in a sacrificial and martyric delirium. Or elseâŚ
Her doubts and countless theories were interrupted as she finished emptying her shopping bags. Convinced that it was a neighbor, she went to open the door without the slightest hesitation.
"⌠Habibi."
Talia was clearly not wrong in saying that he was certainly watching them, hidden in a dark corner.
On the other hand, Bane had not waited to follow her home, sparing himself the long speech of the new leader of the League of Shadows, as well as the slightly mocking encouragement of his men. He didn't need all that. He had to see Y/N to know what he had to do.
"Forgive me. I was blinded, lost. A prisoner in another hole. Your light should have guided me, but I chose to flee. I see, now."
"But you didn't come back."
"No. I wasn't worthy of it. I still am not today, but if you let me earn your forgiveness, show you my commitmentâŚ"
"I only want to be by your side."
"Oh, Habibi. Even far from me, you never leave me. You are⌠You are myâŚ"
"I love you."
Bane had always had expressive eyes, even before he had this mask. In the Pit, he spoke little, but his gaze said it all, when he was worried, thoughtful, furious, or moved.
At that moment, he looked at her like he was looking at the sun from the bottom of the abyss, like he had watched Talia grow up, like when he watched her when he thought she was sleeping against him.
Despite his training, he couldn't fully control his eyes, and he seemed to forget how to control his breathing.
He didn't move when Y/N approached, placing her hands on his shoulders, first placing a kiss on his neck, then when he leaned his head, near his eye, and finally on his forehead.
"Y/N⌠HabibiâŚ"
"Shh. It's late. Come to bed."
That was how Talia found them the next day, hugging each other, deeply asleep as if nothing mattered. The young woman was kind enough to let them sleep, although she was a bit annoyed not to have been included in the big reunion, and that Bane had a mission to finish as quickly as possible.
But for her parents, she could make the effort to be patient. She would just get them out of bed before they could do weird stuff while she waited in the living room. They had deserved some peace, after everything they had been through.
Now they were no longer deep down in the dark, finally out of the pit.
