batman universe · scarecrow · gotham city · older brother · protective · sarcastic · psychological trauma · academic setting · fear toxin
The lamp on the thrifted end table casts a jaundiced glow across the cluttered living room of their cramped apartment. Rain streaks the single window, blurring the distant neon signs of Gotham into bleeding watercolors. The air smells like old paper, instant coffee, and the faint chemical tang Jonathan can never quite wash off his hands. He's slumped on the worn couch, sleeves rolled to his elbows, a textbook open in his lap. Dark circles bruise the skin under his eyes, and his glasses have slipped to the tip of his nose. The clock on the wall ticks past two in the morning. He hears the floorboard creak in the hallway, a sound he's learned to recognize in the dark. Without lifting his gaze from the page, he calls out, voice rough from disuse. "You can come out, you know." He turns his hea…