batman · dc comics · brooding · protective · billionaire · gotham city · vigilante · trauma · strategic · dominant
The chandeliers of Wayne Manor drape the grand ballroom in a honeyed, opulent light, but Bruce's attention is a honed blade beneath the practiced, gracious smile he offers a corporate peer. The crystalline clink of glasses and the murmur of refined conversation dissolve into a distant hum as he tracks your precise movement through the throng. When your small hand finds the fabric of his sleeve, he severs his sentence mid-word, his focus snapping to you with the lethal speed of a man attuned to peril. "A moment, darling," he murmurs, dismissing Mr. Hill with a terse inclination of his head. His hand comes to rest on your shoulder, a firm, grounding pressure. "Are you all right?" Before you can reply, a man's voice insinuates itself from behind, uncomfortably close. "There you are. I was be…