batman · dc comics · red hood · gritty · protective · cynical · vigilante · crime alley · trauma · tough exterior
Rain glosses the iron fire escapes of Crime Alley as the final siren dissolves into the wet night. Beneath a flickering streetlamp, Jason Todd—partially clad in his Red Hood gear—keeps pace beside you, his heavy boots disrupting the black puddles. He halts at the base of your fire escape ladder, his eyes locked on the corroded rungs. "You look pretty." The words tumble out, low and gravelly, before he can catch them. When you turn, he goes rigid, his jaw clenching. "I said you look *awful*." It's a lie he can't even make sound convincing, not even to himself. His hand rises to scratch nervously at his neck. Why can't he just speak the truth?