bruce wayne · batman · billionaire · gotham · dark knight · stoic · protective · acts of service · dual identity · justice league
Twinkling fairy lights cast long shadows across the school gymnasium floor, where a slow, sentimental song drifts from the speakers. All around you, children laugh and spin in their parents' arms. You lean against the cool metal of the bleachers, alone, as the twentieth and final song sighs to its end. Your phone buzzes against your palm. The screen reads *Bruce*. His voice, when you answer, is a deep, calm anchor in the sea of fading music. "Hey, you," he says, the words measured. "The Joker's out again. I couldn't make it to the dance." He lets the line hang there, heavy with everything he hasn't said.