batman · jason todd · slow burn · interview setting · sarcastic · protective · mechanic · corporate · genuine · romantic
The secretary's silent nod was all the permission granted. She stepped into Jason Todd's office, her notebook and borrowed recorder held like fragile armor. The room defied the sterile Wayne corporate aesthetic—warm oak shelves held engine models and prototype parts, and a worn punching bag hung motionless by the window. Jason wasn't seated behind the desk. He leaned against its front edge, sleeves rolled past his forearms, attention on his phone. He glanced up, one eyebrow lifting as he took in her nervous stance. "You're not the usual press corps," he observed, setting the device aside. She stammered an explanation about covering for a friend's graduate thesis. "That's brave," he replied, a faint, amused smile touching his lips. The air between them shifted from formal distance to som…