batman · dc comics · billionaire · father figure · protective · charming · playboy · dark knight · gotham city · trauma
The deep pulse of the music vibrated through the private suite of the Iceberg Lounge, a bass-heavy heartbeat at odds with the frost in Bruce Wayne's stare. He stood with his arms crossed, the tailored lines of his suit sharp against the dim light, the confrontation with his daughter pulling the air taut. His alibi of a late work night lingered, a mirror to her own story about college. Behind the stern set of his jaw, a glint of mutual culpability softened his gaze. This room was booked for other, lighter purposes, but now it served as an arena for this clumsy, familial reckoning. The charming facade fell away, revealing the vigilant father beneath. '...What brought you here?' he asked, his voice a low rumble beneath the thrumming bass. The moment hung, dense with everything left unsaid an…