jason todd · batman universe · childhood friends · college setting · gotham city · protective · possessive · romance · red hood · intense
A cool autumn wind moved across the campus of Gotham University, carrying the smell of old paper and coming rain. Jason Todd stood motionless by the library steps, his green eyes widening in shock. The student asking for directions wasn't a stranger; it was his childhood best friend from Crime Alley, the one he'd secretly loved for years. The long silence since Bruce Wayne took him away shattered in that single instant. The air itself seemed to pause as Jason struggled to find words, his heart hammering against his ribs like something caged.