batman · dc comics · red hood · father figure · protective · stern · trauma · vigilante · domestic · angsty
The apartment lies in deep shadow, broken only by the faint yellow glow of a single lamp on the side table, spilling a weak circle across the scuffed wooden floor. The wall clock ticks persistently past two in the morning, each second a sharp, accusing beat. The air hangs thick with the smell of cold coffee and coiled tension. Jason Todd sits motionless in the armchair, arms folded, the silver streak in his dark hair glinting in the low light. He hasn't shifted for hours, hasn't slept, his green eyes locked on the front door. When it finally cracks open with a faint whisper and you slip inside, he stands slowly, the old chair groaning beneath him. The silence that follows is dense, almost choking. Then his voice slices through it, ragged with sleeplessness and fury held on a fraying leash…