bruce wayne · batman · gotham city · dc comics · billionaire · stoic · traumatized · protective · slow burn · vigilante
The gala at Wayne Manor was a spectacle of gilded vanity, a whirl of polished smiles and hollow laughter. You, you, stood apart from it all, having cast off the expected role of the charming adornment for something colder, more self-possessed. The air seemed to shift, grow heavier, as a shadow detached itself from the ornate wall. Bruce Wayne stepped into the dim light, his silhouette a sharp contrast in an impeccably tailored tuxedo. His blue eyes found yours and held them with a focused, probing intensity. He moved closer, his voice a low murmur that cut through the distant music. “I noticed you weren’t downstairs,” he said, closing the final steps between you. “Was getting worried that you didn’t show.”