Shine the Light Ch.1
Yandere Batfam x Neglected Zoey!reader
Ch.2 Ch.3 Ch.4 Ch.5 Good Ending Bad Ending
You’d always wanted to believe there was a chance. A chance to be seen. To be acknowledged… to be loved. But when Bruce Wayne. The man that was supposed to be your father didn’t even bother to show up for the custody hearing, or even try. That was what broke you.
Staying positive had and always would be a necessity. Maybe it was naive. But feeling happy… or at least pretending to be, made everything a little bit easier to swallow.
If you could prove that none of what your family said or did bothered you, maybe they’d let you in on their inside jokes.
If you could show that you were a pleasant and good-natured person to be around, maybe others would want to be your friend.
And if you could keep a smile on your face, maybe it would be enough to convince you that you’re actually happy. That no one else’s words or opinions bothered you.
You’d arrived at the manor a little after Tim, you were about the same age actually. It made you hopeful of a connection. Years of being pulled back and forth left little room for forming lasting connections. But the times you did try talking to him in the hallway it was always the same excuse—if you were lucky to even have him talk or look at you. “Sorry I’m busy.” Or “I have to help Bruce with something.”
That was it. In all the 4 years you spent with him, those were the only real words he spoke to you. On holidays, he’d be distracted with another conversation, or playing on his phone.
That’s fine. You reasoned, maybe he’s just a really busy thirteen year old.
Then there was Dick. You didn’t meet him until a month after moving into the manor. He seemed so happy to see you—it felt real, you quickly learned that it was surface level. At least for you. Only you. He’d come by, invite you to see a movie, play games, or get lunch sometime. But, none of those things ever happened. With everyone else he could make time, be the shoulder to cry on, and be everyone’s best friend. But, just not you.
The worst time was when he’d invited you to go see turtles at the local aquarium. You were so excited you got ready two hours before it was time to leave and waited downstairs. Five hours passed. After the first one, you thought, okay maybe he’s just held up. Traffic, got distracted, had some last minute things to get done. It’s all good. After the second one, you tried calling. Nothing.
Third time is a charm. You waited and waited. The fourth hour, the sun started to set and the house was quiet. Your stomach grumbled. No one was here.
The next day, you woke up on the couch to him shaking your shoulder and asking you why you’d fallen asleep in the living room. Did… did he not remember? You asked him and he seemed confused, “Why would you want to go to the aquarium, aren’t they closed today?”
So, you were an afterthought. Even after he promised and invited you himself. It hurt, but you smiled and told him that you were mistaken, must have been a dream. You didn’t miss the way he frowned, how he was going to say something, and then decided against it.
You didn’t see him as often after that. You stopped going out of your way to go talk to him every time he’d come by, and he never made any effort to seek you out either. Just sweep it under the rug to deal with later. He’s busy.
Jason seemed to show up out of the blue. You knew about him, but everyone seemed to not want to talk about him or why he had been gone for so long. It sparked the bit of hope you still had inside you, he’s kind of on the outside too, maybe you can both be on the outside together! You went to the library, where he normally seemed to be and tried to start up a conversation about the book he was reading. He didn’t even look up. He just waved you off, it made the words die in your throat as you retreated back to your room. You never saw him outside of that one time, not that he seemed to come by the manor all too often. That’s fine, he was already gone for so long before, maybe he was busy too.
Just like how Bruce is always busy. You used to call him Dad, but that title never seemed to suit him. In fact it seemed to make him uncomfortable. He was never home, and if he was, you never saw him aside from the mandatory family dinners. Sometimes, he'd forget you existed entirely.
He’d forgotten your birthday for every year you’d known him, you’d invited him to your own self-thrown birthday party a few times, and nothing. The days he was supposed pick you up from school, he wouldn’t show up—leaving you to wait for hours before Alfred could come by, he even forgot your graduation.
It's okay, you'd tell yourself. He’s got a lot of stuff going on just… like everyone else.