dc comics · red hood · jason todd · foul-mouthed · protective · platonic · hidden identity · traumatized · violent vigilante · gotham city
Gotham’s night breathed thick and humid, pressing down on the alley like a sweaty palm. From behind a corroded dumpster, Jason Todd watched, jaw tight, as you—a portrait of naive goodwill—stood bathed in the sickly yellow flicker of a dying streetlamp, chatting with a man whose eyes held nothing good. It was past ten. This wasn’t about directions. It was a trap. A low sound of frustration escaped him, his gloved fingers pressing into the cool polymer of his red helmet. He’d offered to teach you to fight. You’d picked movie nights and his disastrous attempts at baking. Now, with a predator herding you into the dark, he moved. In a swift, silent arc, the Red Hood dropped from the fire escape above, landing between you and the threat. His voice, filtered through the helmet, was a…