Claire was still spiraling over her inability to write anything down.338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ34xAz9YCEn
— 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.338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV6fdrNwN7s
Not one she recognized.
— Claire flinched. Literally flinched.338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡak3BnKKWdG
Not the kind of reflex you have when a customer walks in.338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHYUMCjL9us
This was different.338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTmkhVlgpC6
This was a variable.
Her eyes shot to the clock.338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ7AG3m8RBQ
The time was right.338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡASffjBw60T
But the man was wrong.
He was young.338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡszlWHCMMfV
Blue-eyed. Smiling. Polished.338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtmKdEM4A13
Not like the usual middle-aged officers whose uniforms barely survived the war against their beer bellies.
— This wasn’t just unfamiliar.338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2NRm5tHlh7
It was too new.338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBty1Tl4KZm
Too “present.”338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0552d0gIvK
His movements didn’t carry yesterday’s echo.338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk4el9hUgwy
Nothing about him felt pre-recorded.
He was... real.
He walked to the counter, removed his cap, and smiled.338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡODhS93fCUN
“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.338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd00mMGyS80
Like morning sunlight just reaching a glass of water.
Claire nodded and reached for a paper bag.338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY7rFhZ2d38
— Her thoughts still looping: He’s not in my memory.338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg79ehPFBOV
Not some cop’s kid. Not a familiar blur from the past.338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsE2NWlzWJh
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.338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsWPELWzSIR
And yes.338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡolcgr78562
That shot.338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlt1Zzjnsfu
That damn ass.
The officer didn’t laugh.338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTTkWJrsPwv
Didn’t snort like Kyle.338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQotf7kX7sK
Didn’t mutter “that kid again.”
He just looked.338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhAioIwNgmV
Silent.338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNowSgNcBrb
One eyebrow twitching—like he was thinking.338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDEUzoETILa
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.338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoqfLdCLx3y
She knew he caught that glance.
She didn’t explain.338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEMscirhDo8
Didn’t ask.338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaS2EzTOZO2
Didn’t care what this bright-eyed stranger thought of Nightwing’s overexposed butt.
“Here’s your bagels,” she said flatly.338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4KuBsxnh2E
It could’ve been “good morning” for all the emotion she gave it.
He nodded, smiled a little awkwardly. “Thanks.”
Then he paused.338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡObYwD5WTpG
“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.338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWw5bNd04XS
Just once.338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXREYS3hqdy
Then turned away.
— Didn’t offer a smirk.338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCRg0w6c8e4
Didn’t offer a sigh.338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbtZHuBT54f
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.338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyTOTfvA32Y
But because she said it so effortlessly.338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjbrSPIO4Pc
So plainly.338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpkHAJ1sR6y
Like she was saying “we’re out of cat food.”
He didn’t know whether to laugh or nod.338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTEt1qi0Jmo
So he just held the bag a little tighter.
She was still fretting over the whole “can’t-write-anything-down” thing—338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvSvnly8F6N
— That nausea-without-an-exit feeling sloshing in her chest, like a gag reflex that never gets to finish.
338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ050P2djR2W
Claire figured if you wanted to fix a problem, you'd better look it in the face.338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡddLQVjKx7D
Avoidance didn’t make you miss the big picture—it made you miss the details.338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzXejuQ1IWf
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.338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1p8Q2pTPpI
So she’d memorize them instead.338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvIpuBcWw75
If this place erased every mark she left, then her memory would be the map.338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHiW2YtUijv
That was the deal—quietly made, silently accepted.
Tonight, Claire decided to stay up.338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIj7lNr3mHF
Normally, she was in bed by ten. Sharp.338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcl3KTi3rIb
Not for beauty sleep. Not because she had to.338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa4dgm3oJfZ
But because being awake at night had always meant danger.338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNQPYvjUU9p
Losing control. Going missing.
That was the Gotham in her talking.338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7nIPkWoxEx
Nighttime wasn’t a vibe—it was a warning.338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrJ89MfdsYO
The city didn’t teach you that.338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsjgN03NYR6
It branded it into your bones.
She was only in Blüdhaven because of her aunt’s inheritance.338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKpVHDNmKze
Not that this city was gentle. But compared to Gotham?338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOnKPIlSZm0
Blüdhaven was a cupcake shop with a flickering sign.
Tonight, Claire made her own coffee.338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpyXw56Ejhl
The clock said 11:00 PM.338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKiJu5zWKYf
The calendar next to her had tomorrow’s date already circled.338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡreXsb3EICr
Usually, she only circled the date when she sold out her bagels.338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq0sR5cplgo
It was her little ritual—write the number sold, feel a tiny sense of victory.
But tonight she circled it early.338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmyy05gvSJO
Like a declaration:338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM6k9lY5W6C
I’m still awake on this day. I’m still alive on this day.
She had no idea when the loop would reset.338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxJKsKk5Uoa
Midnight? Three in the morning?338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPWfl3oc8Eu
Maybe the second she fell asleep?338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡubOi92Iphz
Come to think of it, she’d never seen a “real” end to the day.338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw3XZyKZAz7
Time always hit reset in the dark.338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2Tdt8bMBuV
Like someone pressed a button in her sleep.
Claire stared off into space.
338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnDxIbnph7d
Then came a sound.338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLSK9WGiZ1q
From the balcony.
Claire looked up.
Not a bang.338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuM02nruoEd
Just a soft “thunk.”338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpwisKjXMw9
Like someone landing gently on a metal railing.
Her Gotham instincts kicked in.338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkYufAqxqjM
She grabbed a mirror, crouched low, slipped it between the curtain and the window, and checked the outside by reflection.338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwxpDJPaCKr
— She’d been practicing that move since she was twelve.338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMWQzRCzOC0
Every Gotham kid knew better than to look directly into the dark.
Her eyes widened.
Nightwing.338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI8MFe1NnJQ
She couldn’t mistake him.
— That black-and-blue suit.338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfggV2SdpSF
The twin batons.338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtQzapvk0Jl
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.338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWSKO6BveuX
Like he was part of the night.
Her hand on the mirror was damp with sweat.338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU96KSErH81
The scene didn’t belong to her life.
Then—he was gone.338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeILSEVXLZg
Just leapt.338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT12GpKYd1i
Like a frame of film had been edited out.
Claire bolted upright and yanked the curtain open.338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS5TNygPame
Nightwing was already swinging away on his grappling line.
— Like a midnight pendulum.338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEsCQ6S4UOF
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.”338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxKGVyrxj55
He’d been here.338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUvsphEH6ly
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?338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfvD5v48utc
A rest stop?338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo49CAYjg8E
A transit point?
And she—owner of this tiny café—had never even noticed the rhythm of her own city’s nights.
338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmqUaZiuFhB
But not now.338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCUHchNZR5c
Now wasn’t the time for that.
Tonight was about the reset.
— No distractions.338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeiRqvaAROa
No detours.
She tucked the “balcony incident” into a drawer in her mind.338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx3Ewtcf299
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.338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡETeMBL64du
She’d added way too much powder. On purpose.338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBmn9arogvq
Her tongue was going numb.
Another sip.
She turned on the TV. A late-night talk show.
— Anything to stop thinking.338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKRUc7vzayu
If she let her brain chew on itself too long, it would tie in knots.338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ74qs8A6goX
The host was still as loud and obnoxious as ever.338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKVNRrlffBJ
The laughter track made her want to throw the mug.
Fifth cup.338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8TZ5x8qmik
Her stomach felt swollen, like she’d swallowed an airbag.338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4RDdIRQL4d
Bitterness and acid mingled on her tongue.
Like she’d just drunk a bellyful of gunpowder.
Fuck.
— She didn’t say it out loud.338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYaV20GP5EJ
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?338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTiVexx9Nhp
Was today not even part of the loop?338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVNaRclwjln
What if this was the real Day Two?
The thought made her want to cry.338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNxJ52Tjf09
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.338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEvSvx9BlAq
A new paper.338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIhGIQsc6jb
A new customer.338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8jTCoY1b2n
A different damn bagel.
— She found herself fantasizing that the cursed newspaper would finally change.338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwnJDQE5jfX
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.338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnqw8GakQQ8
The laughter rose and fell like ocean waves.
For a moment, she wondered if the host was trying to hypnotize her.
No.338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeCO4dF5IMu
She couldn’t fall asleep.338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGSMSVW3YX7
She’d made it from ten to four.338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwlfeovKjx5
She couldn’t give up now.
Claire shut her eyes on the sofa.338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKYE4D83yqA
— Just for a second.338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO6YvVDJUSA
Her eyelids were dry.338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbumlIX4juj
She wasn’t sleeping, just… letting her corneas rest.
Next moment—
The jazz started.
Claire opened her eyes.338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsxdkAMMxwq
In bed.
Her head buzzed.338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIDSjxgOYZ3
Throat dry, like she’d inhaled ash.338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpcnuQ9qPqe
The ceiling blurred for half a second.
Another day had begun.
— Same damn song.338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVpPmyLMiua
Same damn voice.338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5hsFjpYXeU
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.338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrJEENBrNor
And still—nothing stuck.
She saw nothing.
But this world remembered everything.
338Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFgj6HlGJ3w
and then Add to home screen.