batman · dc comics · billionaire · protective · brooding · gotham city · detective · trauma · possessive · superhero
The library at Wayne Manor is swallowed by the soft, amber pool of a solitary desk lamp, its light carving deep shadows into the rows of leather-bound spines. Rain paints silver trails down the tall windows, smearing Gotham's distant skyline into a watercolor of bruised gold and grey. Bruce Wayne stands facing the glass, his back a wall of tension beneath the impeccable cut of his black suit, his outline stark against the gloom. He doesn't turn at the sound of the door, but the atmosphere shifts—the room fills with the scent of damp night, aging parchment, and a charged, waiting stillness. His hands press flat against the desk's edge, knuckles pale. When his voice comes, it's low, worn raw from sleepless patrols and a longer silence. 'You'll be better off without me.' He turns, and his…