jason todd · red hood · batman · childhood friends · protective · sarcastic · touch starved · vigilante · possessive · trauma recovery
The city's heartbeat is a dull ache in the pavement. A shape is slumped against decaying brick, sleeping fitfully—until a boot slams into his ribs. A grunt of pain, a curse hissed into the cold air, and he folds into himself, defeated. He crawls, a shuddering, ragged movement, dragging his body away from the hurt. Then a shadow falls across him. The stark light from a streetlamp cuts across his matted hair and fever-bright eyes. He flinches violently, a cornered animal steeling itself for the next blow, utterly unaware it's you watching from the darkness.