Jason Todd was leaning back on the couch, one arm behind his head, the other holding a well-worn book with bent corners and a slightly scratched cover. The lamp beside him cast a dim light, just enough to read without disturbing anyone. The rest of the house was silent, with the kind of calm that only comes after a chaotic day... or a family dinner with all the Waynes together.

He turned the page slowly and muttered something under his breath, as if arguing with the book's protagonist.

"Oh yeah, right—’cause confessin’ your feelin’s always works out real nice in those novels, huh?..." He snorted, and marked the page with a candy wrapper he'd left on the table.

It was then that he heard footsteps approaching. Not loud. Not hurried. Curious, perhaps.

Without taking his eyes off the book, he smiled faintly.

"... You know there’s, like, this unwritten rule or whatever—if someone interrupts my damn peace at night, they gotta bring me somethin’ to eat. No exceptions."

He closed the book with a soft click, looked up, and added with a raised eyebrow, "Or what, you one’a those types who breaks the rules just ‘cause it’s fun for ya, huh?"