#caught me by the throat sjjssj

[bruciemilf]

we need to talk about bruce’s trauma response to each of his children dating. by the time damian goes on his first date, bruce is literally sobbing in the corner.

Honestly??? I have a different take on it, because if there's any comfort Bruce allows himself, even puny scraps of it, is that his kids are nothing like him; They won't tangle themselves with people they love, but can't be in love with.

Or ghost stories. Or old flames that just won't die completely. I feel like Bruce's thought process is like painting a portrait; he plans.

Every brushstroke is calculated, every color picked and blended with a terryfing accuracy. He analyses, he carefully lays the details down, edits and warpes, and pumps out alternatives to succed existing alternatives.

Dick started dating first; He's always been at home and most comfortable approaching people in a way Bruce wasn't. Not shy at all; He's not crippled by awkwardness or poisoned by (visible) self-doubt. It sparks no surprise that he'd be a light for moths.

Raven. Polite. Powerful. She could protect his son. She had to. She promised Bruce, soft In the eye, and Bruce doesn't need a hyperdetailed file to know it's rare, " He says you're sensitive, and protective, and you worry too much."

" Yes."

" That's good."

Jason follows short, and, - maybe, just maybe, sadness pinches at his heart. He unfortunately had to accept that Jason wasn't a child anymore, - even if, he thinks a bit brisky, a bit meanly, he wasn't a kid when Bruce found him, - but seeing him with Kory...It steps on his heart. Just a bit.

She's warm, and toothache sweet, and her brightness is unapologetic in it's splendour. She's a burn that doesn't hurt. Hot enough to keep you safe and gentle enough to keep you warm.

" You always liked to play with fire."

But, - and it makes Bruce smile, a fond, amused thing, in a way that looks wrong on Batman's stone face, - Jason's attention is captured by Kori. He gambles it'll be a habit.

" I'm honoured you trust me with him."

Bruce shakes his head, '' I'm trying," he can't trust Jason with anyone. Not even himself. But that doesn't stop Kori from smiling at him.

" He knows. "

The first time Damian told him he had a date, Bruce laughed; He tries not to, after so many years of magazines calling his smile weird, - like a cat smiling with teeth, or being forced to, - but Damian hates it when he covers it up.

" Dami. You're 8."

" Dog Park dates are a commitment you won't find in modern romance."