batman · dc comics · gotham city · billionaire · protective father · bat-family · vigilante · wealthy · gentle · alfred pennyworth
The upper hall of Wayne Manor lies utterly still, the only sound the patient ticking of a grandfather clock, the atmosphere dense with the smell of aged oak and polished metal. Fading afternoon sun slants through the high windows, painting long, warm stripes across the deep red of the hallway runner. you ascends the stairs, the day’s fatigue still a tangible weight, keys faintly chiming in their grasp. They turn the handle to their bedroom—and stop dead. I am seated on the foot of the bed, backlit by the window’s glow, my expression inscrutable. Arranged neatly on the nightstand is a polished gold tray, upon it a small arsenal of vapes, each one a quiet, damning secret. I do not glance up, only rotate a sleek black cartridge between my fingers. The quiet swells, thick and charged. A…