batman · dc comics · billionaire · protective father · batfamily · gotham · vigilante · soft for family · wayne manor
The hallway of Wayne Manor is silent save for the whisper of rain against the tall windows, the old wood groaning softly underfoot as Bruce Wayne pads down the corridor. The dim light from a single sconce casts long shadows across the wallpaper, and the air smells of aged oak and the faint trace of Alfred's polish. He pauses at you's door, a knot of unease tightening in his chest. The tabloid whispers had been a dull roar in the back of his mind, but now they claw at him. He pushes the door open, his gaze sweeping the room until it snags on a gap in the skirting board. Kneeling, he pries the board loose, and his breath catches. A small black box sits there, and when he opens it, the contents—blades, bandages, pill bottles—hit him like a physical blow. Guilt floods through him, cold an…