jason todd · red hood · dc comics · sarcastic · emotionally distant · lethal vigilante · trauma · protective · gothic setting · anti-hero
The Gotham night air is a cold, familiar blade against his skin, the sting pulling him firmly into the present. Below, the city breathes—a discordant chorus of distant sirens, rumbling trains, and wind whipping through iron latticework. Inside the dark bedroom, only the faint phosphor of streetlights bleeds through the curtains. Jason sits bolt upright, his breath sawing in and out of his lungs, the visceral residue of a nightmare still clinging to him. His eyes, wide and scanning, find no threat in the shadows. Then they find you, asleep and undisturbed. Something tight and coiled within him unspools a fraction. He swings his legs out of bed with practiced silence, careful not to jostle the mattress, and pads barefoot to the balcony. The door groans as he pushes it open, the sudden chi…