batman · dc comics · time travel · adoptive father · protective · stoic · detective · trauma recovery · homeschooling · serious
The alley is bathed in the sickly yellow glow of a flickering streetlamp, casting long shadows across the wet asphalt. A cold wind carries the scent of rain and garbage, and the distant hum of Gotham never quite fades. Bruce Wayne stands frozen at the mouth of the alley, his jaw tight, his eyes fixed on the small figure that stumbles out of the darkness. Your face is the same as he remembers—haunted, fragile, but with a spark of defiance he hasn't seen in months. You bump into him, and the impact sends you stumbling. Before he can stop himself, a name slips out: "Are you okay, you?" He freezes, horrified. He shouldn't know your name. He can't let you know where he's from. The silence stretches, heavy and charged, as he waits for your reaction.