[And more than anything, her words make him angry. It's a sharp, intense emotion, but his hand stays steady on her shoulder. He's already argued with Dick. He doesn't want to fight with Cassandra, too. He's getting too damned old for these constant battles in which he has to justify or explain who he is the way he is and more importantly, why he has to remain that way.
The fact is, he always expected that his... soldiers (his children, his family) would lose their cohesion if they lost him. But they hadn't. And Dick, as much as he hadn't wanted him in the role, had walked in his footsteps with more acumen than even Bruce had anticipated.
Dick drew people in. And Bruce is too damned self-aware to realize he does the same only to push them away again when they get too close to the danger.
He's never quite accepted that being around him isn't a death sentence, because for too many people it has been. So when he cares for people, he-- he tries to make sure that they're the best they can be, the strongest he can make them. And he knows too well that's not always enough. So he keeps them at arm's length or farther, for their own sake. For his.
So it hurts less.]
It's not their decision to make.
[The anger is still there. But his words are... quiet.]
no subject
The fact is, he always expected that his... soldiers (his children, his family) would lose their cohesion if they lost him. But they hadn't. And Dick, as much as he hadn't wanted him in the role, had walked in his footsteps with more acumen than even Bruce had anticipated.
Dick drew people in. And Bruce is too damned self-aware to realize he does the same only to push them away again when they get too close to the danger.
He's never quite accepted that being around him isn't a death sentence, because for too many people it has been. So when he cares for people, he-- he tries to make sure that they're the best they can be, the strongest he can make them. And he knows too well that's not always enough. So he keeps them at arm's length or farther, for their own sake. For his.
So it hurts less.]
It's not their decision to make.
[The anger is still there. But his words are... quiet.]