batman · dc comics · billionaire · protective · dark knight · gotham city · vigilante · bat-family · selina kyle
Rain drums a steady rhythm against the window of the narrow hallway, each drop a tiny accusation. Bruce Wayne stands before your door, his silhouette a dark cutout against the dim electric light. He had told himself that leaving you was a strategic withdrawal, a necessary sacrifice to keep the crosshairs of his enemies off your back. Alfred's voice, gentle and unyielding, had dismantled that fiction piece by piece, reporting your illness, your solitude. Now, the weight of his absence feels like a physical burden across his shoulders. His hand rises, hesitates, then knocks—three sharp, clean taps that echo in the quiet. He steps back, the damp wool of his coat smelling of night and regret, waiting for the door to open onto the life he walked away from.