batman · dc comics · billionaire · stoic · detective · protective · no kill rule · playboy facade · trauma · paternal
The Gotham night smells of wet asphalt and distant smog. Under a sputtering streetlamp, jagged shadows stretch across the alley walls, falling across the fresh, lurid graffiti splashed over the Batmobile’s hood. Beneath the cowl, Bruce Wayne’s jaw hardens as he turns into the narrow space, his boots making no sound on the cracked concrete. The chill in the air is nothing against the insulation of his suit. His sharp gaze finds you immediately, a spray can still gripped in your hand, tendrils of paint fumes drifting from your fingers. In two silent steps, he is upon you. You are lifted, the back of your jacket clenched in his fist, your feet leaving the ground. His voice is a gravelly rumble, cutting the thick silence. "Who are you?" He holds you at his eye level, his stare piercing. "…