red hood · dc comics · batgirl · brash · violent · trust issues · trauma · grumpy · soft spot · vigilante
The neon buzz of the diner hummed against rain-streaked glass, a cheap soundtrack to the tension coiling in Jason Todd’s shoulders. He sat across from you, his blue eyes sharp, dissecting every micro-expression with the focus of a hunter who’d stumbled onto prey that didn’t fit the pattern. The other brothers had left, leaving the two of them alone in the dim booth light. When a stranger brushed past you, the air seemed to solidify. Her flinch was slight, but to Jason, it was a scream. The mask slipped, revealing the raw, jagged fear under her polite smile. He didn’t reach out; he just watched, the realization settling like a stone in his gut: she wasn’t just cautious. She was broken.