Pairing: Bruce Wayne x reader
Content: Fluff, a little of angst but pretty cute I think.
Sorry if there is any grammatical or spelling mistakes, English is not my first language and I'm writing because I want to improve, so be patient.
Today Bruce got late, as always. Being married to the Batman wasn't exactly what you planned for your life. Actually, you could never have imagined that you would end up deeply in love, much less married. And having a pretty difficult but happy marriage made the situation even more surreal for you.
The normal problems like money, love, or job time distribution weren't there, the Wayne name fixed all of it, making sure Bruce and whoever he chose get to avoid simple problems like those.
But life wasn't that good when you two would go out to fight crime, pretending it wasn't that bad. Coming home to patch yourselves up, trying not to die in the middle of the street, and balancing that life with your public personas. It was difficult to take care of a stubborn person. Being two stubborn people and being together in every aspect of your lives was incredible.
It was definitely recent, but it felt like it was an entire life together. It felt magical and tender.
Every day of your life through ten years has taught you how to survive, but Bruce has taught you how to be. Just that. Be yourself and live, not something you would expect from a man whose life was destined to control. With him, life seemed easier, happier, beside him, it was all simpler. What a thing love could be.
You both had found each other in the middle of the violence and darkness. Neither of you wanted to throw yourselves outta the world, but it happened. And when standing in the middle of the chaos, finding an equal made people feel like they weren’t that lonely. And that happened. You both, two nocturnal animals, one made up by himself, and the other being made by circumstances, align. Nothing could really keep you apart.
It started dramatically and was difficult, neither of you could really trust the other. Then, the feeling started to bloom, he first, then the sweet nectar landed on you. With it, the tension built up in your bodies, trying to hold It inside of you as far as you could go. Fortunately, it didn't last long, when, after a difficult night in Gotham, Bruce would decide love wasn't worth the risk.
He would take every little thing that reminded him of you and pack it in your bags.
No more anything that could put you in danger. Not when he spent so much time trying to help you understand that life was worth it.
You could resist the tears when he would ignore you while kicking you out of the tower. It hurt, not because you were being kicked, not really. But because he could even see her in the eye and repeat himself. When he wasn't able to answer her questions. When she cut the layers, keeping her unable to see what happened to him the night before.
The screaming and cries were renewed with much more intensity after seeing the consequences of being outside.
All the patches, the blood, the pain sent her down a spiral, which ended with her finally saying the words she would have wanted to keep like a secret as pirates kept their gold buried for centuries. Her forehead pressed to his, tears dried on her cheeks, and peace enveloped her from the inside out.
From then on, things would escalate pretty simply, working through the communication through the years, the intimacy growing stronger day by day, and shared loneliness would become a fierce and implacable love.
You had a hate-love relationship with the public persona Bruce was building at that time. Your relationship still was something fragile and secret, so he was trying to become some kind of Playboy without the Playboy behaviour. It was certainly difficult, so he decided to wrap up the act and finally show your relationship.
The press was insufferable and cruel at the beginning, calling you a gold digger, easy, and whore. They convince themselves that you were another PRETTY WOMAN in Bruce's life. The rumor calmed down a few months later when the wedding arrived.
You both shared an enormous wedding with the world, an event that was going to stay in Gotham's history as one, if not the most important wedding of the century.
During that time, you perfected your appearance and public persona in general. Going to parties, galas, and events as Mrs. Wayne. You both decided to 'enjoy the attention' as recently married by living a constant party, at least that was what you showed.
Then, your marriage would face one of the most difficult challenges of your relationship: adopting a child.
Dick Grayson came to stay, you knew that the moment Bruce brought up the topic after a long patrol. The possibility of becoming the tutor of this recently orphaned child. You instantly understood why he wanted to take care of the child, but you really weren't sure if you two were going to be able to raise a kid properly.
When he arrived, you remained distant, not wanting to introduce yourself so abruptly. You would see, analyze, and know every aspect of Dick's personality.
You would give advice from a secure place. not actively participating in the kids' adaptation. You felt the anger, you recognized the pain, and kinda knew how to control it. Bruce and Alfred, by the way, tried to suffocate the fire without knowing where it came from. Giving the kid the few things he wanted right away was a good parenting method, so one day, you chose to intervene.
From that day, Dick started to see you, not as a prison guard but a point of guidance. You grew closer, not fast but for sure closer. The years flew by, and one morning, you just went down to the bat cave when a colorful and joyful boy ran towards you, screaming, " Mom! " It went naturally, for him and for you, it was just how it was supposed to be.
All of a sudden, that same boy would be packing his bags, taking everything of his, not leaving even your or Bruce's hearts. But that was how life was supposed to be. He had to fly away from your nest, the same nest you had built with so much love for your Robin.
Not much time had passed when one night Bruce arrived with an expression that said too much for you, not to mention the little child that was standing behind his back.
That child wasn't exactly easy to approach. He hides himself in his bubble, not wanting to interfere with your lives. Not making noise, not making himself visible. Not like a child, not like Dick.
So you stayed close, but not too close. Not directly offering your hand, but not ignoring him as you did the first week with your first son. Talking loudly when it came to your own feelings about him and how you wouldn't mind him being louder. So did he. And it revealed a bright, funny, and cute boy who needed to be loved and cared for.
Mom spilled from his mouth one day when he was tired to the bone and a little hurt from patrol, and you have helped him make it to bed. He called you his mom in a completely normal and pretty vulnerable moment. He asked you to stay. You agreed.
Bruce was also his dad, not in words, even when it would have melted his heart, but in actions. He trusted in him even though he didn't have the same beliefs.
Dick wasn't exactly happy about him at the beginning. Seeing Jason more like a rival than a brother. Jason, to be honest, saw him as a star, just wanting to be exactly like him, not just physically but in personality. You tried to stop him in his attempts to be like Dick, because he was special as he was. He quit a little after that, starting to be himself, which you both loved, actually.
But one terrifying night came, and Jason didn't come back. You cried your lungs out. Not quite believing that your boys weren't with you anymore. He was so young, brave, and gentle. And now he was gone.
You didn't want to leave your bed, carry on as everyone told you to do. You didn't want to leave him there, buried in soil, it felt cold and lonely in your hands, too hard for your boy. But Bruce told you that he wasn't here anymore.
Those months were painful. You felt numb, not quite understanding what was happening around you. Bruce was there, helping you, holding you, the days you couldn't resist the pain while holding himself together. You felt selfish and weak. So, in your desperation, you left the manor to kill the Joker.
Years ago, you had made some ¿mistakes?, you took decisions that didn't align with Bruce's morals. Kill, torture. It didn't sound bad when talking about that lunatic, even if that didn't bring your child back to you.
You found yourself far behind him, with a gun directed at his head. Maybe you could shoot a couple of times at his body, let him bleed to death. But Bruce arrived, and he would have let you kill him, honestly, he didn't care that much when that criminal had taken his son apart. But he knew it wouldn't make you feel better. He saw his wife lost in pain with a gun in her hands and tears running down her face.
He didn't care about the Joker, but you. You were everything he had. His entire world, life, and soul itself. So he held you. You cried again, screaming and crying til your body couldn't move anymore. He, trying to protect you, pressed you against his chest as if it could take the pain.
After that night, everything seemed to be somehow easier, the pain was still there, but it didn't leave you numb. Maybe what happened allowed you to get through it feeling it entirely. Some days, you still have that knot in your throat and the heaviness in your body.
You and Bruce were pretty focused on taking care of Dick now that he was your only child. Even if it was difficult because he and Bruce argue almost every time they see each other. But you were there for him.
But again, life has other plans.
A thin and small child found himself asking to be the new Robin, claiming he had discovered who Batman was and his Robins. And having noticed how Batman was suddenly being more aggressive during patrol and his meaning to the city was more DANGER than PROTECTION, so he decided to help him to find his way back to the original Batman and help people instead of scaring the shit out of them, as it was his original purpose.
Alfred found him first, and he made the decision for you. You yelled and argued, trying to block the possibility of getting another child killed because of Gotham.
You lost the battle against whatever took over the place. And all of a sudden, the Robin uniform was on another child.
This time, it was different, he wasn't part of the family. Wasn't exactly a child but a teenager, with a family, a purpose, and a very bold way of doing things.
You remained out of the way, your relationship with Bruce was even stronger, but you couldn't help but see Tim as Jason. You would cry your eyes out after patrol, when both of them would come back home, and you noticed how different he looked from Jason.
A couple of months later, you would finally allow yourself to get a little closer to Tim, not as a mother but as someone who spends too much time in your home and has to communicate to understand each other.
But this new "normal life" didn't last. You cursed the day you met Bruce Wayne. But you wouldn't change it for anything, either. You certainly loved your Bruce, but his life was a mess.
Tim's parents were killed, and both Bruce and Tim will come to the Bat Cave. He was crying, silent and steady. Bruce will give you that look, and immediately, your feet will move towards Tim, embracing him in a hug. He cried on your shoulder, his grip in you tight enough to ground him into reality, not allowing him to get lost or pretend everything that had happened was a dream. You take him to bed, making sure to tug him like a baby. Reassuring him that everything would be okay.
It was a traumatic experience for him and for you, obviously, but having to solve your parents' murder was not an easy task.
After that, you would take care of Tim as your son, your weird maternal instinct kicking in to not let a child suffer alone.
Then, Jason came back. You felt your heart stop in your chest the first time you saw him, not quite believing he was alive. But the rage against Bruce, and a little against you, would prove him to fight. He wasn't there because it was his home, he was there to ask why you didn't do anything in revenge.
Yi tried to explain, the pain trying to cloud your mind as you talked to him. But it fell on deaf ears. He would attack Bruce, and you would instantly defend him. He was your husband, the man who held you together while the world seemed to collapse around you. You couldn't allow Jason to recriminate anything to him, treating him like he was garbage for not killing that man and taking in another kid.
He chose to hate both of you. But your heart was already broken. It was good to know that he was alive, even if he wasn't happy, or safe, or with you. But it was his choice.
But time heals all the wounds, ain't it? This time it helped. Jason would think better, trying to say sorry along the missions he shared with Bruce and Tim, even. He would see how he wasn't a replacement but support in a difficult moment.
He would call you mom again, coming to have dinner with the family sometimes, sharing patrols or information with Dick and Bruce. Trying to be a good brother to Tim, as Dick ended up being for him.
Until one day, the man of your life would reveal a secret son. You didn't cry this time, it was too much. How was it even possible?? The man you'd swear you knew better than your own hand. The man who was there for you in the darkest moments. The man you decided to share your life with was now standing in the bat cave with a boy with his eyes, whose look was certainly disdainful to you and Alfred.
A child who called him father and treated you like a temporal companion, even though you have been with him for over a decade. You decided to leave. The air turned heavy and sick, every part of your life seemed to be disappearing into this lie. He had cheated on you, and you wouldn't stay with a traitor.
He'd run after you. Saying sorry, that it wasn't his fault, that he didn't even know the boy existed. You wanted to believe him, your body wanting his touch for comfort desperately. He practically begged you to listen to his explanation. How his mother had used him without consent, how she used both DNA to create the baby in a lab. He was an experiment for Talia. That was all that happened.
You wondered whether to trust him or not. So you decided not to leave, but not to stay with him either. You walked to one of the guest bedrooms and slept in there.
This new dynamic didn't last much longer because the next morning, Damian would confirm Bruce's history by telling you he hoped you hadn’t made a problem out of it.
This new kid wanted in some way to make Bruce, and you find an end. His actions made you believe he wanted his parents together, even when they had never been together ever in their lives.
He treated you like a mistress, his selfishness and sharp words put right into your wounds. He was a formidable warrior, but nobody taught him how to be a child. So you decided to send him to school.
The press exploded with it. A biological child of Bruce Wayne meant there was a cheater and a mistress and a history to explore behind all of it. Months passed, full of gossiping and insecurities. It was difficult to believe someone like Bruce could be used like that.
He needed time to adapt, and now, having experienced too many transitions, taught you how to act having a difficult child. After all, he could think by himself, for sure, but those hurtful words were his mother's or grandfather's, not his.
School was difficult, he'd never shared any room with another kid before, and certainly none of those children had shared a room with the devil's heir.
But just like the others, he softened after a particularly difficult event, at which he started to appreciate his new life. Bruce was happier, and you too. Until one night arrived, nightmares would haunt him, he couldn't scrape his own mind. Bruce was out on patrol, and you couldn't see that kid suffering.
You ran to his room, shaking his little body until his eyes darted open. The nightmare must have been terrifying because he immediately hugged you. Your arm surrounds him warmly, protectively, while his head hides in your chest.
From then on, he would show more respect, maybe out of shame, maybe out of fond feelings.
So... that was the story of your big, weird, dangerous but lovely family. But for the moment, you were waiting for Bruce in the living room. For the first time in twenty years, he wasn't late because of Batman. He was late because of traffic, a human, normal thing.
Now you are older, your hair is as gray as his. Batman is history, just a myth that remains in Gotham's memory.
Your kids are now adults. With their families and their own cities to protect, even if that scares you.
You didn't have to wait longer, because Bruce arrived a couple of minutes after. His eyes found you in the ocean of gowns and suits.
His usual blue dress clung to him as it did at your wedding.
Your eyes shine the same way they did at your wedding.
But the nerves weren't there like that day. Now it was peace, love, and too much history just standing in front of you to take you out to a nice restaurant for your 40th anniversary. It wasn't recently, but it certainly felt like it was so new. Even if that sounds crazy.
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