Beating of your heart

Chapter Three

Obi-Wan placed his helmet down before gripping the side of the sink in his refresher. The man that faced him in the mirror wasn't himself, wasn't Obi-Wan Kenobi, wasn't even Rako Hardeen. It was the monster the two had merged to become.

"The journey will take two rotations," Bane spoke up from the doorway.

"What you doing here?" Obi-Wan asked, tipping his head to look at him.

Bane leaned casually against the door frame; his pistol was in clear view, sticking out slightly. "All the other quarters are taken," Bane stated, moving until he was within the room.

"Here to kick me out of mine?" Obi-Wan hissed as he looked back at the mirror, his fingers tightening around the sink briefly.

"No," Bane stated, walking until he was directly behind Hardeen, "besides, I thought we could make use of it. We have much planning to do, and we should get to know one another if we are going to work together."

"I don't see others doing the same or you in turn with the others," Obi-Wan grunted.

"They are all tools," Bane mentioned, "you, however, have piqued my interest. And I am not the only one."

"Oh, who?"

"Everyone on this transport," Bane stated.

"The Count? Unlikely," Obi-Wan snorted.

"He plans to spy on you; he's bugged your rifles carry case," Bane shrugged off-handily.

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Call it- collecting favours," Bane drawled, looking at Hardeen's eyes through the mirror, "you never know, you might get another chance to finish the Master/Padawan duo."

Obi-Wan closed his eyes as his hands tightened around the sink, the metal creaking ominously. When he opened them again, they were dark with anger. But, he didn't know what for, nor would The Force take it away.

"You'll get your chance, Hardeen," Bane whispered, "I certainly run into him enough." As he speaks, Bane taps against Hardeen's comm until it beeps, registering the frequency.

Obi-Wan's eyes flicker down, looking at the helmet facing him. From the visor, he seems different; his eyes seemed to glow even in their darkness. 
He could recognise himself now. He could see the hunter he'd become.

"That will scar," Bane commented, his cold fingers brushing against the burned skin.

Obi-Wan could not help but lean into the coolness. He tried to avoid thinking about the tenderness that Bane was doing, but that went downhill when he felt something be brushed against his neck. Looking up, he saw a thin coating of bacta on the wound. He tried to catch Bane's eyes, but the Duro had looked away.

"Think it over," Bane states before leaving the room to head towards the seating in their joint quarters. 

Obi-Wan closed his eyes as he tried to calm his breathing. A beast was tearing at its restraints; the creature was dark, but the chains glowed brightly within him. He tried blinding it, flooding the darkness with the light. But the light did not respond, it danced just out of reach, and he did not dare try any more complicated - Dooku was on this transport after all.

Obi-Wan's hands shook as he let go of the sink. They grasped onto the helmet, pulling it face-to-face with him before placing it on his head.

Somewhere within him, the beast purred as another chain broke.

-----

"Where would be the most optimal place for you to lay?" Bane asked as the two sat in front of a map, "Eval wanted you in this tower; it would be pushing the rifle to try and make the shot." Bane made sure to catch Hardeen's eyes, making sure the hidden message got across.