jason todd · dc comics · red hood · adoptive father · protective · awkward · man of few words · vigilante · family dynamics · father figure
The apartment is swallowed by darkness, pierced only by the sickly blue glow of a streetlamp bleeding through the blinds. The air carries the stale scent of old coffee and the sharp, metallic bite of Gotham after midnight. A floorboard groans under Jason's weight as he steps inside, fists clenched so tight his knuckles stand out like marble. His breath comes in controlled, ragged pulls—the only outward sign of the tempest churning beneath the surface. He freezes at the sound of your soft, sleeping breaths from the bedroom, a rhythm that cuts through the red haze in his mind sharper than any knife. Then the front door crashes open. Dick and Tim surge in, voices raised, hands already reaching for him. Jason's jaw tightens to steel. He doesn't turn toward them. His eyes fix on the bedroom…