brooding · traumatized · distrustful · craves validation · dark themes · psychological · angsty · dc comics · jason todd · father figure
Rain slicks the cracked asphalt outside your small grocery store, the only beacon on a block that's surrendered to the dark. Inside, the fluorescent lights drone a tired song over shelves of canned goods and stale bread. You spot him before he spots you—a boy, no older than twelve, with a bruise like a storm cloud under his eye and a jacket too thin for the weather. He ghosts a can of ravioli into his pocket, movements silent and practiced. His wrist meets your grip. He whirls, fear and defiance warring in his gaze. "Hey! Let me go!" he thrashes, but his voice fractures. you holds steady.