Cad Bane - The Concept of Trust

First steps to trust

She woke up in a medical bay she did not recognize, laying on the bed with an assortment of wires and cannulas attached to her. When she opened her eyes the light was piercing her pupils , like she hadn't used her eyes for some time. She felt like a speeder gang had driven over her a couple of times. Every single inch of her body was aching, and her chest felt like it had been ripped into pieces. She groaned, attempting to cover her eyes from the all-too-bright radiance, and tried to focus on her surroundings.

"Mr. Bane. She's awake." She could hear Todo's voice, and saw Bane seemingly napping under his hat, leaning backwards in the chair. Bane raised the hat's brim, and watched her, expressionless, for a moment before getting up, and walking slowly next to her bed. The bounty hunter's shadow, as Bane towered over her, gave a welcomed rest to her eyes, though his demeanor was far from soothing.

"How ...long...?" her voice was hoarse and raspy, she had to fight to get the words out.

"Almost three weeks, and a lot of credits. You were a mess." Bane's voice was unreadable, but there was an undertone that she could not catch.

"I'll pay you back your credits..." she snorted, all too familiar annoyance stirring in her, as Bane brought up the credits.

It was as though a mask was lifted, and a flare of frustration and anger flashed across Bane's face. His voice was snarling, and full of spite.

"For someone who I know not to be stupid or blind you sure as hell act like you were!"

She looked at him dumbfounded, taken aback by the Duros' sudden outburst.

"It really didn't even cross your mind there might be odds that I would come after you?" Bane spat the words out of his mouth.

Her expression changed to genuinely puzzled.

"I did not expect-"

"So you keep telling me." Bane cut her off in mid-sentence, his voice sardonic. "Ain't there a little hypocrite talking, or what? You think I haven't noticed you covering my ass when we're on the hunt? Watching my back against all that you preach? Have you really missed me returning the favour, covering your rock-ribbed tail?"

She averted her eyes from his stare, but not before they betrayed the truth.

"So I thought... That, and everything else considered, you still think you cannot expect anything after these years? Really?" Bane's frustration was palpable. It seemed to have been simmering for a quite some time, waiting for her to wake up and be vented. Bane breathed heavily, trying to find out the next words to lash out at her with.

"You are one karking stubborn, annoying piece of work, you know that?" he hissed through his teeth, staring away from her.

There was an ambivalent expression on her face, as she was trying to find the words to explain herself to the riled Duros.

"I... I do not wish to expect anything from anyone. With expectations comes the trust. You start to rely, that you can expect something. You trust you can expect something. ...And then you will be betrayed. "It's easier to not even take that first step."

Something in the tone of her voice caught Bane's attention. Maybe it was the sheer pain that came out with every word, maybe the raw honesty behind them. Or, that it sounded like she was reliving the moment which had caused that belief, as she stared past Bane, an empty gaze in her eyes.

"...The scars?" Bane glanced over his shoulder.

"That Son of a Sow threw me right in front of the grenade to save his own skin... Right after I had saved his worthless hide once again, and had sacrificed too much when doing so." Her voice was full of anguish and bitterness. It was clear that this bastard hadn't been some random acquaintance.