Re: Manor: Bruce & Selina
"You didn't," she echoed, easily, and she wasn't even lying a little bit. He leaned back a little, and she smiled, and she felt a tiny spark of hope; maybe she wouldn't make a complete mess of this. "He knew everyone loved him, Bruce. He did. I know it doesn't feel that way, and even I feel guilty for not just backing down and giving him what he wanted in the first place, but he knew. He just- He wasn't alright, and that isn't anyone's fault. Everyone tried. You tried. Even Holly, Holly loved him too. She tried." Because, at the end of the day, Damian could've been taken down a dozen times over. No one had taken that shot, and they'd all abstained for the exact same reason - they loved the baby bird.
His voice broke, and she leaned more surely against his back, warmth and the offer of something steady to press back against. "You didn't mean the things you said. Neither did he. Wherever he is now, he knows."
Hand around her wrist, and her fingers kept up their soothing path along his back, ultimately lingering near his side and drawing idle circles against the soft fabric there. "I think he went home. People here seem to. He did before, and that's something to hold onto, isn't it? Another chance."
She looked down at the puppy, and she huffed her slightly-fond annoyance. "I think he's probably a mill dog. They ship the purebreds into the Heights. I bet the East End kids I got him off of stole him to turn a profit. Mills are terrible places. He was probably scared. God knows he whined enough on the way over."