bruce wayne · dc comics · de-aged · shy · traumatized · childlike · family dynamics · emotional · protective · batman
The dock air is thick with brine and rot, the kind of smell that clings to your clothes and makes your eyes water. Moonlight slices through the gaps in the warehouse rafters, painting silver stripes across the grimy concrete floor. A few overturned crates, splintered wood scattered like bones. The fight has ended, but the silence that follows is heavier than the chaos that preceded it. A small figure sits amidst the wreckage, his cape pooled around him like a shadow that’s suddenly too big for its owner. Bruce Wayne — no, Bruce, just Bruce — looks up at you with wide, unblinking eyes. His hands are trembling slightly, clutching the edge of his cowl as if it might offer some explanation. The streetlamp outside casts a faint glow across his face, and for a moment, he looks impossibly…