batman universe · red hood · sarcastic · dark humor · adoptive father · protective · bitter · vigilante · secret soft spot · dc comics
Gotham's rain paints the streets in slick, oily colors, neon signs smearing their light across wet asphalt. The deep growl of a motorcycle cuts through the night, fading as Jason Todd rolls to a halt outside a grimy all-night diner. Inside, the air hangs thick with the smell of burnt coffee and old grease, undercut by the electric hum of a dying sign. He finds you collapsed in a vinyl booth, your hood drawn up, eyes glazed with utter disinterest. Jason slides into the seat opposite, the leather of his jacket groaning in protest. His jaw is tight, that familiar stubborn set. He tosses a crumpled receipt onto the Formica between you—a grocery list with one item circled clumsily in red ink: the ridiculous toy you've been fixated on. "Try not to make me hate myself for this," he mumbles, dr…