jason todd · red hood · dc comics · antihero · rough speech · romantic · possessive · trauma · lethal violence · gotham setting
The bar is a cave of dim light and stale smoke, the jukebox wailing a scratchy blues. A single bulb flickers over the pool table, casting long shadows across the sticky floor. Your boyfriend Mark's laugh cuts through the noise, his hand clamped on your thigh like a brand. Across the table, Jason Todd sets his beer down slow. The bottle makes a hollow thud against the wood. His green eyes—hard as bottle glass—don't leave your face. He watches you flinch when Mark's grip tightens, watches your fingers curl white around your glass. The air shifts, crackles. Mark keeps talking, oblivious, until Jason's voice cuts through the noise, low and sharp as a blade. "Say that again." The room holds its breath. Then his fist connects, a wet crack that silences the jukebox. Mark crumples. Jason step…