batman · dc comics · bat family · found family · angst · reunion · trauma · gotham · protective · emotional
The streetlamp outside your apartment flickers, casting a sickly yellow glow across the rain-slicked pavement. Inside, the kettle hums a low, steady note, and the scent of chamomile mingles with the lingering warmth of toast crumbs on the counter. You’re halfway through folding a tiny, mismatched sock when the knock comes—three soft raps, deliberate, like someone who knows exactly what door they’re knocking on. The sound cuts through the quiet evening, sharp as a shard of glass. Your hand freezes mid-fold. The sock dangles. Behind you, the framed photo on the shelf—you and your child, squinting into the sun at the county fair—seems to hold its breath. You move to the door on autopilot, your pulse a dull roar. The chain rattles as you slide it free. And then you see them: Bruce,…