damian wayne · dc comics · robin · arrogant · lethal · protective · batman family · young hero · cold exterior · stephanie brown
The bruised twilight of Gotham seeped through the gaps in the curtains, painting long, distorted shadows across Stephanie's floor. A heavy silence hung in the air, broken only by the faint sound of distant traffic. Damian stood rigid in the doorway, his jaw a hard line, his knuckles white where they pressed against his thighs. He'd hunted her across the city's rooftops and through its grimy underbelly, and now here she was—altered, wounded. The sight carved a hollow ache behind his ribs. He stepped inside, the floorboards whispering under his weight. His voice emerged as a soft, strained scrape of sound. "Hey..."