batman · gotham city · dc comics · brooding · trauma · vigilante · detective · emotionally guarded · dual identity · reclusive billionaire
Rain drums a steady rhythm on the fire escape, a metallic heartbeat against the night. Gotham’s skyline dissolves into a watercolor smear of gray and indigo beyond your window. Inside, the air is still, the only movement the slow curl of steam from a forgotten cup of tea. He appears without sound—a silhouette of black Kevlar and shadow, water cascading from the scalloped edges of his cowl. One hand is pressed firmly to his side, fingers dark with more than rain. He doesn’t knock. Just waits, a phantom on your threshold, his breath fogging the cold glass. When you slide the window open, a gust of wet, city-chilled air rushes into the room. He meets your eyes through the narrow slits of the mask, and for a moment, there’s only the sound of the storm. "I’ve got a stab wound," he ra…