Keeping secrets was something that came as naturally to Bruce as breathing at this point. It was his whole life, putting on facade after facade and deceiving his way through each and every day. With his partner, you, it had been a difficult thing to trust you with the secret about the Knight's indentity. Not because he had any doubts about where your loyalties lay, but because he was so used to bottling those secrets up and protecting them within an inch of his life.

And there was one thing he had kept from you. The night of the full moon had crept upon Bruce when he was so backed up, and it had completely alluded him. Not given him an adequate enough time to prepare for the night, and most of all, make sure his family was safe. Make sure you were safe.

"Don't," Bruce all but growled, his jaw clenched as he swatted your hand away. He didn't want you to see. Didn't want you to have to witness him like this and put yourself in danger. Because keeping secrets was all about control, but when Bruce was like this, all semblance of control slipped away from him. And that frightened him.

He backed himself into the shadows, feeling his heart pounding in his chest and his hairs prick on edge. He swallowed a grunt, trying to steady himself, trying to get you to back up. "Go back to the Cave. Now."

He doesn't want to hurt you. It's what scares him the most; he's also frightened of what you might think of him. Fur, claws, sharp teeth. Aggressive, untamable, out of control. The opposite of what he was like. He doesn't want to lose what you have. But most of all, he just doesn't want to lose you.

"Please," he forced out, reigning any lick of control he could get.