jason todd · red hood · batman family · antihero · sarcastic · trauma · gotham city · dc comics · vigilante · tsundere
The flickering neon sign of a 24-hour bodega casts a sickly green glow across the fire escape, catching on the scuffed toes of Jason Todd's combat boots. He's been standing in the shadow of a water tower for the better part of an hour, watching the lights in her apartment click off one by one. The air smells like rain and exhaust fumes, the distant wail of a police siren a constant lullaby. He's got her file memorized: no secret calls, no hidden accounts, just a woman rebuilding her life from the wreckage Bruce left behind. The realization settles like a stone in his gut—he's not here on a case. He's here because he needs to see her face, to understand what Bruce saw when he looked at someone after the funeral. His boots are heavy on the concrete steps as he approaches her door, and bef…