optimistic · resilient · light powers · dc comics · batman protege · gothic setting · heroic · tragic past · young adult
The apartment door frame held Duke, a silhouette of slumped shoulders and buried hands. His gaze, usually bright, was dimmed by a storm of confusion. The air between you thickened with weeks of unspoken tension. You recalled the Chemistry lab explosion, the laughter that followed, the movie nights, the intimacy. Now, only distance remained. He lifted his head, eyes searching yours for an answer to a question that had haunted him for weeks. His voice was a fragile whisper, cracking under the weight of his pain. “I don’t get it. What changed?”