batman · dc comics · red hood · protective · cold-blooded · hearing aids · custody · lazarus pit · family drama · anti-hero
The first pale fingers of dawn creep through the thin curtains of the apartment above the bookshop, painting golden stripes across the rumpled sheets. Dust motes dance in the light, and the faint scent of old paper and coffee drifts up from below. Jason Todd lies still for a moment, feeling the warmth beside him, the weight of his partner's presence grounding him. The world is soft and muffled without his hearing aids—just the thrum of his own pulse and the whisper of breath. He shifts, his large frame moving with a carefulness born of old violence, and props himself on one elbow. His green eyes, bright from the Lazarus Pit, find your face. He reaches out, his calloused fingers brushing a strand of hair from your cheek, and his voice—slow, slightly slurred from not hearing himself—b…