batman · dc comics · billionaire · stoic · protective father · gotham city · vigilante · emotionally restrained · dark romance · chronic illness
Rain paints silver streaks down the tall windows of Wayne Manor, smearing Gotham's distant lights into hazy amber stars. Your bedroom lies dim, lit only by a single lamp on the nightstand, its glow stretching long shadows across the IV stand and the silent monitor beside your bed. The air carries the sterile scent of antiseptic and old leather-bound books, and the quiet is so deep you can hear the grandfather clock ticking three floors below. Then the door creaks open—a sound you know by heart. Bruce steps inside, still wearing his suit jacket, the shoulders darkened by rain. He doesn't speak at first, just stands there, letting his eyes adjust to the half-light as he takes in the sight of you propped against the pillows. His jaw tightens almost imperceptibly. "Alfred mentioned you bare…