Achilles

Roslyne wasn't sure when or even how she had managed to fall asleep, but she had, and when she woke up, it was to the sight of sunlight streaming through her bedroom blinds and Henry's shouts from the living room.

"What the fuck are you doing in my apartment?! You can't just barge in here? Who do you think you are?"

The brunette was out of bed in seconds, slipping on shorts as she nearly sprinted out of the room. If she wasn't so god damned irritated, the sight she was met with would have made her laugh: Henry, thin and wiry, standing in a wife-beater and boxers, waving his hands as he screamed at Bane who was completely calm as he leaned against the kitchen counter and held a cup of coffee in one large hand. Her brother's back was to her, and she could see Bane's perfect face, cold eyes growing warm as he saw her frazzled state.

"Hen!" She shouted, and the man wheeled around, eyes a little crazed. "Calm down. It's not like he just let himself in. He came home with me last night, you lunatic!"

"He... what? You brought him..." Roslyne's gaze flickered to her friend once more, her cheeks reddening as she guessed what was about to come out of Henry's mouth. "Did you-- You slept with him?"

She ran a hand through her tangled hair and shook her head. "No, Henry, not that it's any of your business. We just had a lot of catching up to do."

Henry's chest was still heaving as he tried to process the information. "A little heads up would have been nice. Maybe a text to wake up to or something?"

"Why do I need to give you a heads up about who I'm bringing home?"

"Cause it's my home, too, Rosie!" His voice escalated again, a vein on the side of his head beginning to pop out. Bane arched a scarred eyebrow menacingly, as if daring Henry to raise a hand against her.

"I've never demanded you tell me when you're bringing one of your skanks home, Hen, not even after one of them stole from me!"

"Okay, well none of those skanks are fucking terrorists, Ros!"

Roslyne narrowed her eyes at him but said nothing, simply holding a hand out to beckon Bane back to her room. The hulking man stood up straight and made his way over to her, brushing passed Henry without saying a word.

"I could have killed you, you know. I almost came out here with my gun."

Bane smirked and looked over his shoulder. "Of course you would have,” he said in a sing-song sort of tone.

Henry bristled as his boss walked into the bedroom, door closing loudly behind him. Roslyne could hear a very brief exclamation of, "Fuck," on the other side and rolled her eyes before turning to her friend.

She studied him, all high eyebrows and pursed lips. "You could have woken me up before you went out there, you know."

The man smiled sheepishly, plump lips pulling back to show those adorably crooked teeth as he took a seat on the edge of her bed. "You've not been sleeping well. I wanted to give you at least a few more minutes."

Roslyne raised her hands and dug the heels of her palms into her eyes in an attempt to get rid of the ache that resided behind them. "I appreciate that, but–“ she was silenced by Bane holding out the cup of coffee. "For me?" He nodded. Of course it was for her. Bane barely had to eat, thanks to the venom, so there was no way he needed coffee to wake up. "Sweet as the gesture is," she said, taking a sip. "This cup of coffee could have cost you your life."

He rolled his eyes, sitting on the edge of her bed. "Your brother would not have killed me. Protective as he is of you, he is also scared of me."

Roslyne took another sip, savoring the taste, almost black, just a touch of creamer. "Men," she breathed out, then smiled at him. "Anyway, I have to be at the hospital at eleven, so I'm gonna take a shower."

"I should be leaving as well."

A pang of disappointment hit Roslyne right in the gut. "Oh, yeah, okay. Um... When..."

Bane saw right through her and took the cup from her, leaning over and setting it on her dresser so that he could hold her hands in his. "When will Dr. Crane be letting you go tonight?"

Roslyne made a face, hoping he couldn't feel her pulse the way she could. "It sort of depends. Some nights I leave at six, others at midnight."

His brow furrowed for only a moment, and Roslyne took a second to really appreciate their position. She stood over him, looking down at the way he gently held her hands. It would have been so easy to just kick her legs over each of his and straddle him, hips to hips, to hold him tightly, to feel his body against hers. Christ, when did he start making her go weak at the knees? It's because you were deprived a real teenage experience, she reasoned with herself. No real crushes. Until now apparently.

"Is something troubling you?" He asked softly, snapping Roslyne out of her musings.

"No, it's nothing." She dropped her hands to her sides and showed a tight-lipped smile. "I'll just come by your new place after I get off, yeah?" To anyone listening, it would have sounded like she’d be stopping by a little house or apartment that he owned, but that kind of normalcy did not exist with Bane.

He nodded, standing up as she took a few steps back. "That would be acceptable."

"Maybe we can spar or something?"

He grinned, really grinned, and nodded. "I would like that. We can see if your skills have atrophied over the years."

She let out an indignant noise. "Please. It's like you don't even know me."

His eyes shined brightly, and he joked, "Well, you did have quite the teacher."

"Suppose I did."

They sat there for a moment, just staring and smiling. It was so good to be with him again.

Roslyne cleared her throat and blinked. "So yeah, shower." She slipped back out of the room and into the small bathroom she shared with her brother. Making sure a fresh towel was hanging on the rack, the brunette turned the water on, waiting until it was just below scalding before she shed her ratty pajama shirt and underwear. Goosebumps rose on her skin when she stepped under the spray, and Roslyne wet her hair, shivering and pondering how she was going to get through a full work day knowing that she was going to hang out at the new compound afterward. She scrubbed at her skin hard, a little annoyed at how excited she was to have her friend back. Is that all you’re excited about, though? She scoffed at herself, scratching her scalp roughly as the sweet smell of her shampoo permeated the humid air.

She wasn’t surprised to find Bane gone when she returned to her room, but she was slightly disappointed. Towel drying her hair, Roslyne moved about the room, gathering what she needed in terms of clothes and accessories. She donned a cream button up and pinstriped slacks. After drying her hair the rest of the way, she put on the minimum amount of makeup deemed appropriate for the workplace, then slipped on some conservative black heels. It was ten when she finished getting ready, and Roslyne spent the last few minutes before the drive to the hospital putting together a bag of workout clothes and finishing her now cold coffee.

“See you later, Hen,” she called as she walked out. There was no response, and Roslyne could easily assume that it was because he had no interest in talking to her.

When she got to her desk, Roslyne found a second cup of coffee waiting for her, though this one was iced and more expensive than the coffee at her apartment. She let a small smile curl her lips and took a sip, tasting caramel and extremely strong espresso. She let out a laugh, setting her bag down before making her way to Dr. Crane’s office. She found him sitting behind his desk, hunched over paperwork, but he looked up at the sound of her clicking heels.

“Roslyne, good morning.”

“Morning, Dr. Crane, any particular reason you’re dosing me with espresso this morning?”

He smirked and nodded, “Ah, so you can taste it.”

“Um, yes, it’s pretty distinguishable. Better watch out, I’m going to be absolutely manic by the time I finish this cup.”

“It will be quite the sight, I’m sure. We do have a very busy day ahead of us, though. I’ll try to get you out of here at a reasonable time, but I can’t make any promises.”

Roslyne’s stomach dropped a bit, but she supposed staying occupied would at least make the day pass faster.

“Alright, what’s on the itinerary?” She took another long sip from her coffee as the thin doctor in front of her straightened his papers and slid them into a folder, then his briefcase.

“We have three meetings today, one with the great Mayor Garcia himself. A new patient is also arriving at two, and I would like for you to take notes during my examination of her. Lastly and most importantly, I begin a clinical trial for a new drug today and will be out of my office from five to seven, so I need you to handle all of my calls.”

“Meetings, new patient, calls. Got it.”

“Thank you, Roslyne. I appreciate it.”

She smiled at him around her straw, and Crane held her gaze for just a second too long to be considered completely professional.

“Well then, shall we?”

“We shall.” They left his office, and Roslyne grabbed her planner from her own desk, then kept a brisk pace next to her boss as he briefed her on their meetings and the new patient. He did not, however, say anything else about his new drug trial.