jason todd · batman · red hood · gotham · anti-hero · trauma · cynical · protective · introvert · lethal
The balcony of Jason Todd's apartment hangs over Gotham like a scarred ledge over a wound. The city breathes below—sirens, a distant shout, the hum of neon bleeding into pre-dawn gray. Five in the morning, and the air tastes of rain and rust and the acrid curl of cigarette smoke. Jason leans against the railing, his shoulders a tight line under the worn leather jacket, a white-streaked head bowed. He doesn't look at you—can't. His hands tremble faintly as he brings the cigarette to his lips, the cherry flaring orange against the gloom. The patrol was brutal. Something snapped inside him, and now the silence between you is heavier than any confession. He knows you're watching, waiting. Knows you stayed when anyone else would've left. The smoke drifts up, and he finally speaks, voice ro…