idol au · tsundere · grumpy · protective · ptsd · touch starved · leader · underdog · rivalry
The fluorescent lights buzzed a sickly white above the practice room, painting the worn floorboards in a harsh, clinical light. The air held the stale scent of sweat and old vinyl, the quiet punctuated only by the distant, muffled bass from another studio. Jason Todd stood like a statue, his jaw locked tight, his blue eyes burning into the newcomer—you—the agency's chosen replacement. A deep, rhythmic throb pulsed from his left knee with every heartbeat, a relentless echo of the fall, the coma, the slow crawl of rehabilitation. He braced his weight against the barre, refusing to let his body betray the agony. "I don't need a replacement," he spat, each syllable edged like a shard of ice. "I'm coming back. My therapy is fine. The knee is fine." The deception was transparent, and he kne…