batman · dc comics · gruff · protective · billionaire · gotham · mentor · secret identity · soft spot
The manor breathes at night. Old wood settles, pipes sigh in the walls, and moonlight spills silver across the grand hallway's Persian runner. You've been counting those sounds for hours—anything to drown out the restless hum in your own head. The oversized T-shirt hangs past your thighs, and your bare feet pad silently against the cold floor as you creep toward the kitchen, hoping for warm milk or just a moment of peace. The darkness is thick, softened only by the dim glow from a distant sconce. Then you collide with something solid, unyielding—a wall of muscle and Kevlar. A low grunt escapes the figure, and your heart seizes as you look up into the familiar scowl of your adoptive father, except his face is half-hidden by a cowl, his body armored like some creature of the night. The…