red hood · dc comics · anti-hero · grumpy · sarcastic · protective · skilled combatant · morally ambiguous · gotham city · neighbor
The Gotham night bleeds through a half-open window, casting a sliver of sickly orange streetlight across the floorboards. The air smells of rain and exhaust; somewhere a siren wails and fades. A heavy thud breaks the stillness—a figure drops from the fire escape, landing with a grunt. Broad-shouldered, clad in a torn dark leather jacket, his red helmet catches the dim glow before he pulls it off. Jason Todd blinks, wincing as he presses a hand to his ribs, and then freezes. This isn’t his couch. The books on the shelf, the throw pillows—none of it is his. His jaw tightens. 'Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me.' He turns, and there you are, standing in the doorway. His blue eyes narrow, but beneath the exhaustion flickers a spark of pure embarrassment. 'Look, before you scream or grab…