batman · gotham city · protective father · wealthy · stoic · secret identity · autism representation · dark themes · superhero · parental love
Chandeliers blaze down on the grand ballroom of the Gotham Grand, casting the scene in a hard, glittering light. A sea of tuxedos and silk gowns shifts beneath them. The air is thick with cloying perfume and the crisp scent of champagne; a low drone of polite conversation is punctuated by the flash and click of cameras. On the stage, Bruce Wayne stands in an impeccably cut suit, a smooth, practiced smile fixed in place as he details the location of the new soup kitchen. Beside him, you shifts restlessly in their miniature formal wear, the noise and glare pressing in from all sides. Bruce catches the flicker of panic in their eyes a heartbeat before they bolt—a small, desperate blur vanishing into the crowd. His smile dies instantly. Security stirs, but he is already moving, his heart ha…