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Everything was perfect.106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKK2p0DCnSq
Tim was in the living room, typing up a report. His laptop rested on his knees, a coffee mug beside him. The sound of keystrokes tapped out a light, steady rhythm—like proof that everything was going just right.
All he had to do was lift his head, pause for a moment, draw his gaze away from the words on the screen—and he would see Nora and Finn in front of him.
Nora sat on the carpet with her legs folded to the side, dressed in her loungewear, body casually leaning against the sofa. Her pose looked like something out of a spontaneous sketch.
Finn lay on his stomach, eyes fixed in concentration, hands gripping the edges of the Crocodile Dentist toy like he was solving some kind of life-or-death puzzle.
They were playing the classic game, and Finn couldn’t decide which tooth to press without getting bitten. That big plastic green mouth stood wide open, each tooth looking like a possible trap. He hesitated for ages, finger hovering indecisively in mid-air.
He’d already been bitten five times. Usually, Finn had to win at least once before he’d let a game go.106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsZAMhtu2yc
Each time he got bitten, he’d jump up in frustration, pry open the mouth again, and insist on a rematch.
Little cheater, Tim thought.106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcWoieRmJ9i
He kept typing, but couldn’t help smiling. The corners of his lips tugged up involuntarily.
He looked at Nora’s back. Her blond hair was down, spilling across her shoulders like strands of golden thread catching the light.106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHoWNkZOGga
The overhead lamp cast a soft angle, making it look like her hair had a language and warmth of its own, swaying gently with every small movement she made.
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He was writing a report for Batman.106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9xeDcXJ6B0
About Nora.
The words flowed across the screen, forming clean paragraphs, his tone a balance of professionalism and personal warmth—his usual style.
Truthfully, the report was more a formality now.106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZl7LLCVCbo
Nora’s place here didn’t need justification anymore. Her skills, her choices, her actions—they had already become part of this family’s unspoken understanding.
The Wayne family had accepted her.106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPaFkzwewfg
She was one of "us" now—on the battlefield and at the dinner table.
All Tim had to do was type it out for Batman to see.106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQcnUFEtTTv
A report that was, at most, a thin piece of paper recording a glimmer of light in the night.
Tim took a sip of coffee, feeling good.106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwqUnSZ0EMN
Hot, bitter, perfectly strong. The flavor bloomed down his throat in a fragrant wave.
Nora only allowed him three cups a day.106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4CfJZ1NgMp
She always said too much caffeine made people irritable, and ruined sleep quality.
So he bought bigger mugs.106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ5JesEVahP
That way, "three cups" meant three big cups. He felt a little smug about the loophole, though Nora had definitely caught on.
She rolled her eyes when she saw.106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkQ7vA2kmXO
But she never said much. Just smiled at the corners of her mouth and muttered, "So childish."
He heard a sound. Finn had finally made his choice, pressed a tooth.106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmUgTVujkSk
The mouth didn’t snap shut.106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo2hjXN1QB1
In the silence, there was a soft click, but no bite.
Before Finn could celebrate, Nora pressed a tooth too.106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ35fcgOJmVZ
No reaction again.
Finn—106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡselBBvTsHR
his face twitched, like a tiny old man thrown into a philosophical crisis.
From this angle, Tim could clearly see the kid’s scrunched-up expression,106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqaBTNIsf1S
lips pushed out, eyes full of existential doubt—but not quite crying.
Tim smiled and turned back to his screen.106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsrfaNIkaPf
His fingers resumed dancing across the keyboard. The scent of coffee still lingered. Everything was perfect.
Until he typed the word "apocalypse."106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCO38bZehII
And the words on the screen suddenly felt heavier. He paused, thinking about sentence structure, ready to revise—
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Thump.
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A soft sound, like something heavy hitting the carpet.106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUzEsNhrPnK
Quiet, but clear. The kind of sound that split the calm like a hairline crack in glass.
Tim’s heart jumped.106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhfwRnmLOFd
He looked up.
A chill crawled down his spine, but he didn’t yet understand why.
What he saw in that moment—106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡntoKzUT7aF
he would never forget it for the rest of his life.
It was like someone had hit a stop button in his brain.106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiiQmY8L5qd
Silence fell over the world.
It would become the nightmare he would carry forever.
Nora had collapsed.
Her golden hair spread across the carpet, shimmering still, but lifeless—no breath, no motion. Like a golden cloak silently fallen from her shoulders.
Finn looked at her, confused.106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2WuPzw4TLF
He didn’t understand yet. Blinked, waiting for her to speak or move.
Tim set his laptop down.106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhYoZZBPKWR
Not thrown. Not dropped. Just placed, gently, like he was handling something fragile and sacred.
He walked toward her.106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV2vpDjzpCD
He should have run, but he didn’t.106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRe7ZnpVfOD
He didn’t want to disturb the moment. Didn’t want to make it real.
He reached her, knelt down. One hand touched her shoulder, carefully turning her body.
She was still warm. But there was no response.106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFps67NZRt6
Like a shell whose soul had been stolen by time.
He reached up, brushing blond strands from her face.106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2lSljFiytV
Like pulling back a curtain, hoping the reveal would show it was all a dream, a prank.
Nora’s face was peaceful. Like she was sleeping.106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrdZK0qKG8Q
No signs of pain. No tension. As if she’d open her eyes the next second and tease, "Got you."
The two people who loved her most stared at her, silently pleading for those green eyes to open, to say it was all a joke.
Finn crept closer, step by step.106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoDaEn1MR7r
Tim didn’t move. Only his fingertips still trembled.
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His shaking hand reached for her neck.106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9MUIMTZQCY
For a pulse.
Nothing.
No heartbeat.106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQN04ryhkS9
No breath.
The warmest, brightest light in his world—106Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRU3YTfrCQL
had gone out in the quiet of their living room.
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<<End of Part One.>>
ns216.73.217.114da2
and then Add to home screen.