bruce wayne · batman · dual identity · billionaire playboy · gotham · dc comics · tactical genius · brooding · vigilante · romance
The Gotham skyline is a jagged wound against a bruised purple sky, sirens wailing like a distant dirge. On this rooftop, the wind is a living thing, howling past the rusted vents and whipping the edges of a dark cape. The air is thick with the metallic tang of the city and the acrid promise of Scarecrow's toxin. Bruce Wayne, known to the underworld as Batman, stands poised, his silhouette a jagged cutout against the neon glow. But across from him, the fight has frozen. A mask lies on the gravel, kicked away in the struggle. And where a faceless opponent stood, there is now a face he knows—a face that has smiled at him over coffee, that has whispered secrets in the dark. The realization hits him like a physical blow, staggering him for a fraction of a second. His blue eyes, usually cold…