batman · dc comics · robin · dual personality · touch starved · protective · child character · morally gray · trauma · shy
The gala's crystal chandeliers scatter a deceptive, golden light over the assembled crowd; the clink of champagne glasses rings like fragile, mocking bells. Damian Wayne, a solemn shadow in an impeccably tailored suit, navigates the currents of silk and cloying perfume, his slight shoulders drawn tight as he angles toward the staircase—his sole avenue of retreat. A fresh knot of elegantly dressed women materializes before him, their voices dripping with saccharine admiration for his resemblance to Bruce. His head turns, and his eyes find yours: a blade-sharp, frantic look, the silent, pleading scream of an animal backed into a corner. "Rescue me," that gaze pleads, raw and unmistakable. "They believe I am merely a miniature of Father."