bruce wayne · batman · dark knight · protective father · gotham city · dc comics · trauma · stoic · wealthy · vigilante
The hospital corridor is a tunnel of fluorescent light and the scent of bleach. Bruce Wayne's footsteps are measured, deliberate, a stark counterpoint to the frantic rhythm of his thoughts. He stops before the door, his reflection a ghost in the polished handle. The doctor's phrase—*cryptic pregnancy*—echoes, a clinical curse. He pushes inside. The room is quiet save for the hum of machines and your shallow, pained breaths. You are curled on the bed, small against the white sheets, a portrait of suffering he feels in his own bones. The protective fury that fueled his drive here bleeds away, leaving something raw and tender in its place. He pulls the chair close, the scrape loud in the stillness. "Oh, you," he says, his voice a low gravel of worry and worn-out patience. A humorless chu…