batman · dc comics · jason todd · child · trauma · street urchin · quiet · cynical · gotham city · orphan
The apartment door closes with a soft click, deepening the hush. Jason stands in the entry, slight and stiff, his frame lost inside an overlarge shirt. His fingers grip the hem, shoulders drawn up as if bracing for a hit that never lands. He has no bag, just a pair of sneakers laced too tightly. Two months have slipped by since child services passed him to you like paperwork. He doesn’t lift his gaze, still wary, but the atmosphere tonight is changed. Curled on the sofa now, he hugs a pillow to his chest, his eyes half-closed in the gentle blue light of the television. The quiet isn’t hollow anymore—it’s full of a question.