Claire was still spiraling over her inability to write anything down.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXXWbt7qpQk
— That as-soon-as-you-write-it-it-disappears kind of frustration twisted in her chest like the early warning of a vomit you know has nowhere to go.
Then someone walked in.
A man. In uniform.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKZBrdbvIlq
Not one she recognized.
— Claire flinched. Literally flinched.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUFzaMUPi6R
Not the kind of reflex you have when a customer walks in.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyVojbbfUI5
This was different.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmox5Ha8UJY
This was a variable.
Her eyes shot to the clock.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBte4SAk6t9
The time was right.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR2F8Ft5T8J
But the man was wrong.
He was young.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhSv6UmUj7v
Blue-eyed. Smiling. Polished.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDGGT1BST3C
Not like the usual middle-aged officers whose uniforms barely survived the war against their beer bellies.
— This wasn’t just unfamiliar.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXy6hwSYhOM
It was too new.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHmI1dpvBnX
Too “present.”87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJyppojW60g
His movements didn’t carry yesterday’s echo.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqhVuFfmdB2
Nothing about him felt pre-recorded.
He was... real.
He walked to the counter, removed his cap, and smiled.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRci5T6FHNX
“Hi, you’re Claire, right? Kyle said the bagels would be out late today. Sent me to pick up the order.”
— Even his voice had warmth.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp7B9lBvz3Y
Like morning sunlight just reaching a glass of water.
Claire nodded and reached for a paper bag.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp0K5pyPwXF
— Her thoughts still looping: He’s not in my memory.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdDTYXW1w9s
Not some cop’s kid. Not a familiar blur from the past.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXrkUeWFt0R
He was a new puzzle piece—and this world wasn’t supposed to have any left.
As she packed the bagels, the blue-eyed officer glanced at the newspaper on the counter—the same old Nightwing photo.
The one with the annoyingly cheerful mid-air leap.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEPAki025e8
And yes.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFMtDXm7JMq
That shot.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTEAy34xmxA
That damn ass.
The officer didn’t laugh.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNF2Zcn2RYm
Didn’t snort like Kyle.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHmaVCbCuRI
Didn’t mutter “that kid again.”
He just looked.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsCJBxKcfTr
Silent.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡktjcV0zncY
One eyebrow twitching—like he was thinking.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOyDbanq5TQ
Or recognizing something.
Claire stepped out from behind the counter and handed him the bag.
Her gaze flicked to the paper as she did, tracing the direction he had just been looking.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI2HZR5dcrO
She knew he caught that glance.
She didn’t explain.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHun8HqEVhr
Didn’t ask.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDTIl8kQCjZ
Didn’t care what this bright-eyed stranger thought of Nightwing’s overexposed butt.
“Here’s your bagels,” she said flatly.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrXLO0DPR1e
It could’ve been “good morning” for all the emotion she gave it.
He nodded, smiled a little awkwardly. “Thanks.”
Then he paused.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG5IWCcgnlV
“Hey… uh. Just wondering. What do you think of Nightwing? I mean, we work with him a lot. Curious what people think.”
Claire looked at him.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkNL2QJ1dk6
Just once.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo7aQhvcqJI
Then turned away.
— Didn’t offer a smirk.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡml7SAOdiLp
Didn’t offer a sigh.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtVg8k220VR
Just rolled her eyes with the weariness of someone who’s rolled them way too many times this week.
The officer would later swear he heard her mumble as she turned:
“Hope his ass falls off.”
He blinked.
Not because it was shocking.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKU53ewojxy
But because she said it so effortlessly.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFaAoGFRYqJ
So plainly.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfkO25kKOFw
Like she was saying “we’re out of cat food.”
He didn’t know whether to laugh or nod.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4QnDKoLdtE
So he just held the bag a little tighter.
She was still fretting over the whole “can’t-write-anything-down” thing—87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAUDX7rgBpq
— That nausea-without-an-exit feeling sloshing in her chest, like a gag reflex that never gets to finish.
87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVOljQzesjS
Claire figured if you wanted to fix a problem, you'd better look it in the face.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwUjTUdIeAR
Avoidance didn’t make you miss the big picture—it made you miss the details.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwPBtJGetBR
This wasn’t a movie. No last-minute plot armor. No chosen one moment. If she was going to survive this, she had to do it herself.
She couldn’t write things down.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE1mT9VMA7B
So she’d memorize them instead.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDwP8SfqvTd
If this place erased every mark she left, then her memory would be the map.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrFta5v0qg2
That was the deal—quietly made, silently accepted.
Tonight, Claire decided to stay up.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuCr53gOGQj
Normally, she was in bed by ten. Sharp.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9beZ8H6oKW
Not for beauty sleep. Not because she had to.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmVa80UERIR
But because being awake at night had always meant danger.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡexRl4KMuZ8
Losing control. Going missing.
That was the Gotham in her talking.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtJr0K8WE46
Nighttime wasn’t a vibe—it was a warning.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLD3B8fFE6M
The city didn’t teach you that.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmRh8wJ3SNC
It branded it into your bones.
She was only in Blüdhaven because of her aunt’s inheritance.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqBHDeUZ5tA
Not that this city was gentle. But compared to Gotham?87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMlvPVxXmAB
Blüdhaven was a cupcake shop with a flickering sign.
Tonight, Claire made her own coffee.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡruLXv0p3m6
The clock said 11:00 PM.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO8fo7PZGgi
The calendar next to her had tomorrow’s date already circled.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYbQ62wEKyd
Usually, she only circled the date when she sold out her bagels.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6LWi5iwOzm
It was her little ritual—write the number sold, feel a tiny sense of victory.
But tonight she circled it early.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡApR31jtNsa
Like a declaration:87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYbfxOSl8Th
I’m still awake on this day. I’m still alive on this day.
She had no idea when the loop would reset.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaAdlPUZOvd
Midnight? Three in the morning?87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4mcifgZ88F
Maybe the second she fell asleep?87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡygqKxy7Ohd
Come to think of it, she’d never seen a “real” end to the day.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡseajffoWKN
Time always hit reset in the dark.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0wpBOLxsIX
Like someone pressed a button in her sleep.
Claire stared off into space.
87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqhZXf1hrYP
Then came a sound.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcXU7eR0dnX
From the balcony.
Claire looked up.
Not a bang.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgaZZ6LHp1G
Just a soft “thunk.”87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZDoZd0dlTN
Like someone landing gently on a metal railing.
Her Gotham instincts kicked in.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDOXuDD4vLu
She grabbed a mirror, crouched low, slipped it between the curtain and the window, and checked the outside by reflection.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd429WOvATK
— She’d been practicing that move since she was twelve.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxCSmgzJp1a
Every Gotham kid knew better than to look directly into the dark.
Her eyes widened.
Nightwing.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvI0qsswjuW
She couldn’t mistake him.
— That black-and-blue suit.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM4SaT607n7
The twin batons.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi5NEI2PycN
That crouch.
She’d never been a fan, but she’d never expected him on her damn balcony either.
He was crouched on the railing, scanning the distance.
— His movement was smooth, breath quiet.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLvWzjUtsgB
Like he was part of the night.
Her hand on the mirror was damp with sweat.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5384b0s7kP
The scene didn’t belong to her life.
Then—he was gone.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYSfqwBTCrA
Just leapt.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4vYJ2OX4np
Like a frame of film had been edited out.
Claire bolted upright and yanked the curtain open.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2uSjfVjh2H
Nightwing was already swinging away on his grappling line.
— Like a midnight pendulum.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh6PY36uIEE
Here, then not.
So... he passed by her balcony around eleven?
Had he always come by?
Had she been asleep, missing it every time?
— A blank spot appeared on her mental “loop chart.”87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtszpob6iBV
He’d been here.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡklscaFq6yk
And she’d never known.
She shut the curtain, stunned, dropped back onto the sofa.
What if her balcony was actually part of some secret patrol route?87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU8nMMzrrhV
A rest stop?87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXtuag79AHA
A transit point?
And she—owner of this tiny café—had never even noticed the rhythm of her own city’s nights.
87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjfIEAcPifL
But not now.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiPOsg8ylTs
Now wasn’t the time for that.
Tonight was about the reset.
— No distractions.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA9HUmh0KI5
No detours.
She tucked the “balcony incident” into a drawer in her mind.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWuOKgnS37L
One she’d open later.
Tonight’s mission: figure out when this world restarts.
Claire stayed on the couch and sipped her coffee.
— Bitter. Too bitter.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7Jla0mTSkX
She’d added way too much powder. On purpose.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnuxrAou7rn
Her tongue was going numb.
Another sip.
She turned on the TV. A late-night talk show.
— Anything to stop thinking.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKMVVo0S0Dw
If she let her brain chew on itself too long, it would tie in knots.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcbpsMkah2P
The host was still as loud and obnoxious as ever.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBbXHdjfznZ
The laughter track made her want to throw the mug.
Fifth cup.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfEeZlM0FAg
Her stomach felt swollen, like she’d swallowed an airbag.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcelW0BDWAF
Bitterness and acid mingled on her tongue.
Like she’d just drunk a bellyful of gunpowder.
Fuck.
— She didn’t say it out loud.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ12MxHqQF9c
But it mushroomed in her mind like smoke from a silent bomb.
It was 4 a.m.
What now?
Was she supposed to stay up till sunrise?87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnu8V7PX5hc
Was today not even part of the loop?87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGVyzCk5EW2
What if this was the real Day Two?
The thought made her want to cry.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5VqAjfWGXB
Which immediately made her angry at herself for being dramatic.
Her head throbbed.
Maybe… maybe this would be the night that finally led into a real tomorrow.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHhkng1xI6h
A new paper.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ864W5A5NCK
A new customer.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5zin120jYy
A different damn bagel.
— She found herself fantasizing that the cursed newspaper would finally change.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFOxGcvX7Xi
Even if it still featured Nightwing’s butt, she’d settle for a different angle.
If that meant selling new bagels, she’d knead two extra batches as an offering.
The TV now sounded like a lullaby.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq1KlJej5oA
The laughter rose and fell like ocean waves.
For a moment, she wondered if the host was trying to hypnotize her.
No.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg41zyxjzRt
She couldn’t fall asleep.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgBTekFDGYU
She’d made it from ten to four.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyTQSsAcE3O
She couldn’t give up now.
Claire shut her eyes on the sofa.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeS5vClAuTQ
— Just for a second.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡipPcBMn2gk
Her eyelids were dry.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiUUhKv9i5L
She wasn’t sleeping, just… letting her corneas rest.
Next moment—
The jazz started.
Claire opened her eyes.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRiWCaXuGa3
In bed.
Her head buzzed.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ9vIrIjRXs
Throat dry, like she’d inhaled ash.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYXNENYTLak
The ceiling blurred for half a second.
Another day had begun.
— Same damn song.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT5RsVoxx82
Same damn voice.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXZCMX8W7pC
That same punch-in-the-gut familiarity that made her want to throw the clock across the room.
She’d failed.
She stayed up all night.87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc6cpejzJd9
And still—nothing stuck.
She saw nothing.
But this world remembered everything.
87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9SGVQvZp2A
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