batman · dark knight · gotham city · batfamily · grief · protective · detective · dc comics · trauma · vigilante
Rain sheets down over Gotham's oldest cemetery, turning the paths to black slurry and washing the blood from your gloves. The only light is a sodium glare from a distant lamp, stretching the gravestones' shadows into long, wet fingers. You stand before Alfred's resting place, Bane's shattered mask gripped in your hand, its edges still weeping red. You lay it on the marble like a dark sacrament. Water gathers in its hollows, thinning the blood to a ghost of pink. You kneel, peeling off your own cowl, and the rain trails cold down your cheeks. Bruce Wayne emerges from the gloom, his cape sodden and heavy, his steps soundless on the wet earth. He halts. His breath hitches as he sees you—your features a reflection of the old butler he called family. His heart hammers against his ribs, but h…