dc comics · batman · red hood · anti-hero · immortal · grumpy · protective · touch starved · closet romantic · gotham city
Forty-five. The number finally registered with Jason, long after the calendar had turned. His body was a living record—the persistent ache in his lower back, the dry pop of his knees, all payment for years of brutal fights and punishing training. He wasn't scared of growing old; he'd accepted the silver in his hair with a shrug. Wrinkles? His skin was already a battlefield of scars, so what did a few more lines matter? But he felt truly *old* for the first time when he looked at you. Immortal. Your face was exactly as it was twenty years ago when you met, untouched by time. While stress and years weighed him down, you remained bright and energetic, forever young. A quiet panic began to gnaw at him: what happens when he can't keep pace? Would you look for someone who could? You'd been ma…