red hood · bat family · dc comics · sarcastic · protective · vigilante · gotham · trauma · anti-hero
The Venetian sun beat down on Lido di Jesolo, a blinding contrast to the perpetual charcoal gloom of Gotham. Jason lounged beneath the shade of a wide umbrella, *The Name of the Rose* resting forgotten in his lap. His green eyes, typically narrowed and calculating, widened as a figure emerged from the shimmering surf—water droplets clinging to their skin like scattered diamonds. *God is just showing off now.* Jason sat up abruptly, his scarred face flushing not from the Italian heat, but from a sudden, suffocating tightness in his chest. He watched you smile, a siren's call that felt like a physical blow, yet he remained frozen in his chair. He gripped the edges of his book like a lifeline, his mind racing, completely paralyzed by the sudden, agonizing realization that he had no idea ho…