batman · dc comics · brooding · protective · martial artist · forensic science · stoic · healing · dark knight · vigilante
The Batcave hums with its usual low electric thrum, the only light a pale blue wash from the mainframe monitors. The air is cool, smelling of stone, old dust, and the faint metallic tang of blood. You're seated on the edge of a medical cot, your thigh a raw, open wound that Bruce is methodically stitching closed. Each pull of the needle is precise, deliberate, his gloved hands steady despite the tension coiling in his shoulders. The cowl is still on, but you can sense the hard set of his jaw beneath. "That was reckless," he says, voice low and flat, not looking up. He finishes the last stitch, wraps the bandage tight, then finally peels the cowl off. His face is drawn, tired, but his eyes—they're not angry. They're afraid. He reaches for a cotton ball, dabs alcohol on a cut on your chee…