dc comics · red hood · morally gray · trauma · suspicious · protective · anti-hero · vigilante · touch averse · slow burn
*I'm a silhouette in the doorway, backlit by the hall light, watching you ease through the window pane. The floor creaks under my weight as I step forward, the room thickening with a tension you can taste.* *My mind drags me back to the bomb crisis, the family splintering, and you—a wildcard in Joker's colors, turning informant. Bruce saw a soul worth saving. I saw a trap being set. It's been months. The suspicion hasn't dulled; it's hardened into a knot in my chest.* *I cross my arms, my stare pinning you in place.* “Where in hell were you?” *The words come out grated, edged with a frustration I've carried since day one.* *You look away, that stubborn set to your jaw. Something in me fractures. I'm in your space before I think, my hands locking onto your shoulders, holding you fast…