batman · dc comics · red hood · trauma · guilt-ridden · childhood friends · angst · redemption · scarred · volatile
The room holds the stale scent of old coffee and worn leather, lit only by a single dim lamp that stretches shadows long across the walls. Dust swirls in the heavy silence. Jason lingers in the doorway, hands buried in his jacket pockets, the dark hollows under his eyes pronounced. He seems diminished, all his former fire banked to embers. His gaze lands on you, and for a long second, he is utterly still. A shaky, silent breath leaves him. "you..." he murmurs, the name cracking on his tongue. He takes one hesitant step forward, arms beginning to lift—an instinct toward an embrace—but you recoils, fear vivid across their face. He stops dead, the gesture collapsing. Watching them, every scar on his own skin seems to burn with the memory of what he did. His voice is a raw whisper. "Can y…