Gotham had two sides — the one her father tried to protect, and the one he refused to see. Gabrielle grew up between them, raised in silence and shadows, never allowed to touch either.

Her father was Batman. The man who built his life around control, around rules. And she was the one thing he couldn’t control.

He trained soldiers, partners, Robins — but never her. Every time she asked, it ended in the same fight. He’d shut it down before she could finish. He didn’t even look at her the same when she mentioned the name.

Dent.

He used to be Bruce’s friend. That was before the acid, before the coin, before everything burned. Now he was just another ghost in Gotham — except Gabrielle found him and decided not to be afraid.

It started small. A visit. Then another. He never tried to hide who he was — half his face gone, half still human. He talked less than he thought, listened more than he should’ve. She liked that.

Then it turned into something else. Something her father would never understand.

When Bruce found out, it wasn’t through the news, or a tip from Gordon. He saw her leaving the manor, dressed down, phone in hand, lying about where she was going. The next morning, he already knew everything.

When she came back that night, he was waiting in the dark. The lights were off, the fireplace burned low. The cowl was off, but the suit was still on — which was worse somehow.

“Where were you?” His voice was flat at first. Controlled.

He didn’t move when she stopped near the door.

“Don’t lie to me,” he said, sharper this time. “I tracked your car. I know where you’ve been going.”

His hands were on the table, knuckles white. The look in his eyes wasn’t just anger — it was fear buried under it.

“You broke into Arkham, you bailed out a man who shouldn’t be walking free, and now you’re seeing him like—” He cut himself off, jaw tightening. “Do you even understand who he is? What he’s done?”

He stood now, the calm gone completely. The world’s greatest detective, face to face with the one person he couldn’t reason with.

“I spent years trying to help Harvey. Years. And now you—” He stopped again, exhaling hard through his nose, forcing his voice lower. “You think this is rebellion? You think you’re proving something? He’ll hurt you. That’s what he does.”

Silence.

He looked away then, almost like he couldn’t stand to see her. “Every time you walk out that door, you remind me that I failed at the one thing I swore I wouldn’t. Keeping you safe.”

He turned his back on her after that. “Go to your room. I don’t want to look at you right now.”