Claire was still spiraling over her inability to write anything down.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt6QxlNbvBd
— 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.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡghWu0D71vt
Not one she recognized.
— Claire flinched. Literally flinched.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaE44WPLyy4
Not the kind of reflex you have when a customer walks in.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXIIaRMpyEZ
This was different.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtQTEmY9IuP
This was a variable.
Her eyes shot to the clock.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyBijCkjugi
The time was right.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeDF6Wa9Jgv
But the man was wrong.
He was young.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiOUgu0n8Ih
Blue-eyed. Smiling. Polished.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFPps4X2gXN
Not like the usual middle-aged officers whose uniforms barely survived the war against their beer bellies.
— This wasn’t just unfamiliar.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡinJeg08VS0
It was too new.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIUDnv9P7xr
Too “present.”84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM4N6sYAkjE
His movements didn’t carry yesterday’s echo.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbmOYXdc3Y7
Nothing about him felt pre-recorded.
He was... real.
He walked to the counter, removed his cap, and smiled.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpzvVi3l2ps
“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.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSt2kWUuBzM
Like morning sunlight just reaching a glass of water.
Claire nodded and reached for a paper bag.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlV0ApToMR6
— Her thoughts still looping: He’s not in my memory.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGgMS03tes5
Not some cop’s kid. Not a familiar blur from the past.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsosYJKaTNv
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.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5vyxJFrB0y
And yes.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0ZW5bwLcGe
That shot.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHa4qpsn1lF
That damn ass.
The officer didn’t laugh.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUnuWF69a1m
Didn’t snort like Kyle.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8R1kQi5c2Z
Didn’t mutter “that kid again.”
He just looked.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6FwJaNhUon
Silent.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8k4Ow3QKZJ
One eyebrow twitching—like he was thinking.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ857iqsdvLk
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.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCJX24n6teR
She knew he caught that glance.
She didn’t explain.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU75lruiVMz
Didn’t ask.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC0AS7NNveZ
Didn’t care what this bright-eyed stranger thought of Nightwing’s overexposed butt.
“Here’s your bagels,” she said flatly.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3KWsf8hhCx
It could’ve been “good morning” for all the emotion she gave it.
He nodded, smiled a little awkwardly. “Thanks.”
Then he paused.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdzsz32J0Rp
“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.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpRqN77k0E5
Just once.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUmizu9FiVU
Then turned away.
— Didn’t offer a smirk.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0wt1Nkj9qC
Didn’t offer a sigh.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHKkq7DpXZU
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.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1EHHbgjBpu
But because she said it so effortlessly.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWeESdghZIi
So plainly.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgHZN04w7hK
Like she was saying “we’re out of cat food.”
He didn’t know whether to laugh or nod.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZz4FynANRB
So he just held the bag a little tighter.
She was still fretting over the whole “can’t-write-anything-down” thing—84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyz1hpVxOoQ
— That nausea-without-an-exit feeling sloshing in her chest, like a gag reflex that never gets to finish.
84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡso8HOSaUrb
Claire figured if you wanted to fix a problem, you'd better look it in the face.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsE1rWPn7ii
Avoidance didn’t make you miss the big picture—it made you miss the details.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ8rDZh8Z67
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.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYspqxIoFPH
So she’d memorize them instead.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8r4mghHg2Y
If this place erased every mark she left, then her memory would be the map.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4KAY625Ru7
That was the deal—quietly made, silently accepted.
Tonight, Claire decided to stay up.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdsMwkJSPz2
Normally, she was in bed by ten. Sharp.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaiq32svmfT
Not for beauty sleep. Not because she had to.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdnT0xiUM4e
But because being awake at night had always meant danger.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOa0savyI0v
Losing control. Going missing.
That was the Gotham in her talking.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLfQDAUenTZ
Nighttime wasn’t a vibe—it was a warning.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡadLhRSD8Lt
The city didn’t teach you that.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi4kSGOXZ00
It branded it into your bones.
She was only in Blüdhaven because of her aunt’s inheritance.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXviIrKpWRt
Not that this city was gentle. But compared to Gotham?84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM7zLMnWoRa
Blüdhaven was a cupcake shop with a flickering sign.
Tonight, Claire made her own coffee.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7q1ggBtRIK
The clock said 11:00 PM.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA8PsVY7UeM
The calendar next to her had tomorrow’s date already circled.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYMD7n3ZUW4
Usually, she only circled the date when she sold out her bagels.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcIu9NJ6aDm
It was her little ritual—write the number sold, feel a tiny sense of victory.
But tonight she circled it early.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9bF5SbrAgn
Like a declaration:84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXkbRahFx0g
I’m still awake on this day. I’m still alive on this day.
She had no idea when the loop would reset.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoIV84g1K5u
Midnight? Three in the morning?84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrqWdEr0zKJ
Maybe the second she fell asleep?84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcfNi4KGWUu
Come to think of it, she’d never seen a “real” end to the day.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ95u3CnGIgH
Time always hit reset in the dark.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr72bOVA4ek
Like someone pressed a button in her sleep.
Claire stared off into space.
84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXVADvAKbah
Then came a sound.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6E4ao0zfxp
From the balcony.
Claire looked up.
Not a bang.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5WYcdkp0F5
Just a soft “thunk.”84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡft38hd1L7G
Like someone landing gently on a metal railing.
Her Gotham instincts kicked in.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOJ9xlmezZV
She grabbed a mirror, crouched low, slipped it between the curtain and the window, and checked the outside by reflection.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ8F4X23L6b
— She’d been practicing that move since she was twelve.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6KlJPnkBRY
Every Gotham kid knew better than to look directly into the dark.
Her eyes widened.
Nightwing.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWgoJLqBGWx
She couldn’t mistake him.
— That black-and-blue suit.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSSTo9rTE4F
The twin batons.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlFvRGx7ysg
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.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVkcLI40ov6
Like he was part of the night.
Her hand on the mirror was damp with sweat.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6AT3yeGSfS
The scene didn’t belong to her life.
Then—he was gone.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw1gbpJRULJ
Just leapt.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzKPqErmeDY
Like a frame of film had been edited out.
Claire bolted upright and yanked the curtain open.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡneLrJpL9I0
Nightwing was already swinging away on his grappling line.
— Like a midnight pendulum.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpTCEnMdAWX
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.”84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiAZVpiSC8N
He’d been here.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWeSheFVVEe
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?84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJyiYqyh1io
A rest stop?84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoJv9f0lhBc
A transit point?
And she—owner of this tiny café—had never even noticed the rhythm of her own city’s nights.
84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi9cBJYRbeo
But not now.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡysp6pxzHHl
Now wasn’t the time for that.
Tonight was about the reset.
— No distractions.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCT6oSlJruI
No detours.
She tucked the “balcony incident” into a drawer in her mind.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXTMhuTviHw
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.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfpnpFAEfEL
She’d added way too much powder. On purpose.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRCmfDgAZKZ
Her tongue was going numb.
Another sip.
She turned on the TV. A late-night talk show.
— Anything to stop thinking.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡggep3GaXWi
If she let her brain chew on itself too long, it would tie in knots.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb3moZXjRQS
The host was still as loud and obnoxious as ever.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg1jrc1zQGh
The laughter track made her want to throw the mug.
Fifth cup.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡosmkVHEJuN
Her stomach felt swollen, like she’d swallowed an airbag.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxPG68atrKi
Bitterness and acid mingled on her tongue.
Like she’d just drunk a bellyful of gunpowder.
Fuck.
— She didn’t say it out loud.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjFIiHKe4uk
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?84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdh2bBpKY7s
Was today not even part of the loop?84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8MdlvOKKFc
What if this was the real Day Two?
The thought made her want to cry.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRfkrQpxGb6
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.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxcb2E1jBOm
A new paper.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg2RoiuXekV
A new customer.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTFyYfjhhyu
A different damn bagel.
— She found herself fantasizing that the cursed newspaper would finally change.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgwvu7m2jS4
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.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRRH5IH6qqQ
The laughter rose and fell like ocean waves.
For a moment, she wondered if the host was trying to hypnotize her.
No.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTlFIYalX18
She couldn’t fall asleep.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8dAgMaXgR9
She’d made it from ten to four.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVdpgQPcArB
She couldn’t give up now.
Claire shut her eyes on the sofa.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUl97bJw5j9
— Just for a second.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqyLnkPrXs6
Her eyelids were dry.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC1HvchVH5q
She wasn’t sleeping, just… letting her corneas rest.
Next moment—
The jazz started.
Claire opened her eyes.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2cqbj6rYDS
In bed.
Her head buzzed.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK9zQLL07I9
Throat dry, like she’d inhaled ash.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8sd0Z4jXMr
The ceiling blurred for half a second.
Another day had begun.
— Same damn song.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7UQg7zH83p
Same damn voice.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmrG8UJ4Iib
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.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeV1jfRrvM5
And still—nothing stuck.
She saw nothing.
But this world remembered everything.
84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh8D2lIHWGi
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