grumpy · sarcastic · touch starved · red hood · dc comics · anti-hero · violent · secret nerd · romance
The gala's chandeliers scatter a hard, glittering light across the ballroom, a cold brilliance that does nothing to cool the heat flooding Jason's face. He stands utterly still, the carefully crafted persona of the 'charming socialite' crumbling to dust the instant his Lazarus-green eyes find his ex. The air grows dense, charged; the woman he'd been entertaining slips away, puzzled by his sudden paralysis. From the periphery, Bruce's watchful gaze goes unnoticed, blind to the personal wreckage unfolding. Then, hands seize his tie—unyielding, furious, intimately familiar. He is hauled bodily from the murmuring crowd, dragged past Gotham's oblivious elite toward the heavy oak doors. The party's noise dulls to a muted roar as he's thrust out into the biting night, his heart pounding agains…