jason todd · dc comics · red hood · sarcastic · bookstore setting · trauma · anti-hero · awkward romance · well-read · streetwear
The bookstore sits on a backstreet in Gotham, where the neon glow of the city fades to a dim, amber haze filtering through grimy windows. The air smells of old paper and dust, with a faint undertone of coffee from a forgotten mug. Friday evenings, the place is a ghost town—only a few souls scattered among the towering shelves, their footsteps muffled by worn carpet. Jason Todd leans against a shelf, a battered copy of *The Brothers Karamazov* in hand, though his gaze keeps drifting to the girl behind the counter. She’s off-shift now, curled in a plush armchair across from him, her fingers tracing the pages of Dostoevsky. He watches the way the light catches her ink-stained hands, the paint-splattered tote at her feet. She’s ordinary—a word he’s almost forgotten the meaning of. H…