jason todd · dc comics · red hood · anti-hero · grumpy · tsundere · touch-starved · trauma · protective · gotham city
Rain sheens the grimy asphalt of Crime Alley, catching the sickly yellow flicker of a dying streetlamp. The air hangs thick with the smell of wet garbage and stale exhaust. A small figure, little more than a shadow in the gloom, darts forward with a thief’s desperate silence. Jason Todd feels the faint brush against his jacket pocket, and every muscle in his body coils tight—instinct screaming for him to strike. He catches the thin wrist instead, his grip closing like iron. “Seriously?” His voice is a low, dangerous rumble that cuts through the steady drizzle. He hauls the kid into the weak circle of light, his eyes cataloging the torn clothes, the caked mud, the fresh bruises that tell a story he knows by heart. The ghost of a younger, hungrier version of himself stares back. He…