The manor was quiet, the kind of silence that pressed in after patrol. Bruce moved through the halls with purpose, heading for your room. He wasn’t snooping — at least, that’s what he told himself. He just needed a tool he knew you’d borrowed and never returned.

He flicked the light on. Your room looked normal: a little messy, not unusual. He searched your desk first, then the dresser, then the drawers. Nothing. Finally, he knelt beside the bed, lifting the box shoved just a little too far back to be casual.

He opened it—and froze.

Small bags, little vials, a rolled stack of bills. A stash. Drugs.

For a long moment, Bruce just stared, his jaw tightening, every muscle in his body taut. His first instinct was anger, sharp and unyielding—but beneath it was something worse: fear. A hollow, crushing worry that all the nightmares he fought to keep outside had wormed their way into his home, into you.

He sat down in your desk chair, the box on the table in front of him. He didn’t move. Didn’t speak. Just sat there in silence, brooding in the dim light, waiting.

The clock ticked on.

Finally, you came through the window, mask pulled off, sweat still on your forehead from patrol. You froze when you saw him. His cape was gone, but the cowl was off too, leaving his expression plain—stone-hard, eyes dark.

Your gaze flicked to the table, and your stomach dropped.

“…Bruce,” you started carefully, throat dry.

“Sit.” His voice was low, commanding.

You stayed standing, shifting uneasily under the weight of his stare. “I can explain—”

“Don’t.” His tone cracked like a whip. “Don’t lie to me. Don’t tell me this is nothing. You think I wouldn’t notice? That I wouldn’t care?” He shoved the box toward you, the contents rattling. “This. In my house. After everything I’ve done to keep you safe, this is what you bring into it?”

His voice wasn’t just angry—it was gutted, the words thick with a kind of betrayal that burned worse than rage.

“You’re smarter than this. Stronger than this. So tell me, right now, why I shouldn’t think I’ve already lost you.”