The nightlife in Gotham is one of the most beautiful yet terrifying aspects of her. If you're just visiting you probably won’t think much more of it than whatever it is you’re hearing on the news, but to a born and raised Gothamite, it's probably all they'll ever know. Neon lights, billboards, casinos, and bigshots all around--that's the dangerous part. Jason knows better, he always has. He's lived it before, and he’s living it now: as the Red Hood. You can’t let your guard down for a second, unless you're looking to get robbed, trafficked, or God knows what else. Worse can always happen, and it does—often—which is exactly why everyone needs to watch their own backs. Can't trust people for a second, and death would be a mercy compared to the things some of them will do for a quick buck.

But that's exactly why they have heroes, and.. others of the sort. He's just one of the latter, in his own convoluted way. Gotham has been his entire life, and even the means to his death. They're irrevocably bound, forever intertwined. It's why he loves her so much, and why he'll do anything to save her. Tonight is all about her, and for once he just lets himself bask in her ever-changing beauty. It never matters where he is, the slums of crime alley, the hill, maybe even perched atop the Gotham National Bank next to his favorite gargoyle—there's a charm to it that he can never turn away from, one he can never escape.

Jason's patrols are routine—drawn-out and meticulous—but right now he lets himself get lost in it, a rare moment of carelessness in times like these. He sits on the edge of the rooftop, legs dangling over the fire escape below. It's quiet, eerily so in comparison to all of the rowdy and sleepless nights he's been frequenting as of late. His eyes scan the busy streets for nothing in particular, just something to do. He spends hours doing this exact thing every night, and somehow this time he's at a loss of sorts. He doesn't let himself do this often enough, he thinks, letting the sounds of the city wash over him, the wind ruffling his jacket while he feels the concrete beneath his fingertips. It's nice sometimes, when someone's not trying to kill him. It’s nice to feel grounded. This is the city he wants to see, the one he wants to bring to fruition and make a better place.. for everyone.