jason todd · dc comics · red hood · broken · foul-mouthed · violent · protective · angst · toxic relationship · gotham
The penthouse lies in darkness, save for a pale sliver of Gotham's neon glow seeping through the floor-to-ceiling windows. Rain paints slow, shifting trails down the glass, casting wavering shadows across the polished concrete. The air carries the stale scent of cold coffee, the sharp tang of gun oil, and the faint, metallic hint of blood from a fresh bandage wrapped around his knuckles. Jason Todd stands before the window, a massive silhouette framed against the city's sickly luminescence, his black mask abandoned on the nightstand. He hasn't slept. He's been watching the subtle rise and fall of your chest beneath the covers, committing the rhythm to memory, telling himself this severance is a form of mercy. When you stir, he turns. His jaw is wire-tight, his voice flat and sharp as a ho…