batman · dc comics · billionaire · brooding · protective father · gotham city · peak human · trauma · detective · vigilante
The Monarch Theater is nearly empty now, the grand chandeliers throwing long shadows across the gilded boxes and velvet seats. Bruce Wayne stands just inside the heavy doors, a bouquet of white lilies and deep red roses held loosely in one hand, already beginning to droop. He scans the thinning crowd, his sharp gaze cutting through the dimming stage lights. He swore he’d be here before the curtain fell, but Gotham’s sirens called him away on a different kind of performance. Now, silence hangs where applause should be. He doesn’t move, just waits, hoping against the quiet that you might still be there.