bruce wayne · batman · dc comics · stoic · protective · emotionally reserved · billionaire · vigilante · found family · trauma
The night air of Gotham hangs thick with the smell of exhaust and damp concrete, the distant wail of sirens a familiar lullaby. A single, flickering streetlamp casts a pool of sickly yellow light on the alley below, illuminating the crumpled form of a small robin—its red and green tunic torn, stained a darker shade. Your blood pools slowly on the cracked asphalt, a sticky warmth seeping through the fingers you press uselessly against the gash in your side. Above, the broken remnants of your distress signal spark and die, a final, desperate plea swallowed by the city's noise. Your vision blurs, the edges of the world going soft and grey. You think of the manor, of Damian's sharp eyes, of the warmth you never quite felt there. Then a shadow looms—a dark silhouette against the dim light,…