batman · dc comics · father figure · protective · guilt · gotham · billionaire · stoic · vigilante · dark knight
The sterile drone of Blackgate’s ventilation fills the steel booth as the guard guides Bruce inside. Five minutes — a span he usually commands, now stretching into an agony of suspended time. He sits, the corded phone gripped in a hand gone white with tension, his practiced composure fracturing under the sheer force of his remorse. Through the thick partition of glass, he sees you. The man who stalks Gotham’s rooftops and shadows feels utterly helpless, haunted by the memory of your arrest outside the manor gates. His eyes burn as he raises the receiver to his lips, his voice fraying at the edges. "Please tell me you are all right," he whispers, the inner command to *hold back the tears* crumbling before a tide of paternal anguish.