Claire was still spiraling over her inability to write anything down.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvWID1tI7fl
— 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.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhk0WRdu8mi
Not one she recognized.
— Claire flinched. Literally flinched.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdGj3vdh81n
Not the kind of reflex you have when a customer walks in.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGtJK6ik0wH
This was different.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdYSd2PT4mr
This was a variable.
Her eyes shot to the clock.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2ZikJcDazc
The time was right.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDxbf7yQyzd
But the man was wrong.
He was young.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4Ttz1ZDKRB
Blue-eyed. Smiling. Polished.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ294fN4vhSG
Not like the usual middle-aged officers whose uniforms barely survived the war against their beer bellies.
— This wasn’t just unfamiliar.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ10f9U4k3Mj
It was too new.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyeWLBVO7vi
Too “present.”9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjUtihBPQwy
His movements didn’t carry yesterday’s echo.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡscxAUbYfYX
Nothing about him felt pre-recorded.
He was... real.
He walked to the counter, removed his cap, and smiled.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzsSoCp0PKx
“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.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMQJfOiNTVn
Like morning sunlight just reaching a glass of water.
Claire nodded and reached for a paper bag.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAefCw9R4qJ
— Her thoughts still looping: He’s not in my memory.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡawI8zqLiet
Not some cop’s kid. Not a familiar blur from the past.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAcRWUyrPsg
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.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxA7SEKIizI
And yes.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA87yZ88s09
That shot.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4mczh8tcnV
That damn ass.
The officer didn’t laugh.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcrtLTsvg85
Didn’t snort like Kyle.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzpcHzsqxua
Didn’t mutter “that kid again.”
He just looked.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8HHRoHj11u
Silent.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsR6I1ccoKN
One eyebrow twitching—like he was thinking.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9HN8IeDFpa
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.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSSzsNRBidr
She knew he caught that glance.
She didn’t explain.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW3Hn1k0mvQ
Didn’t ask.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ42y3NUiwCc
Didn’t care what this bright-eyed stranger thought of Nightwing’s overexposed butt.
“Here’s your bagels,” she said flatly.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡISBTZijEhh
It could’ve been “good morning” for all the emotion she gave it.
He nodded, smiled a little awkwardly. “Thanks.”
Then he paused.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAATucohzn0
“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.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkFoYvYjkWB
Just once.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi4BNskQ3Cd
Then turned away.
— Didn’t offer a smirk.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpLZ1lyOUJ8
Didn’t offer a sigh.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoFdXBulCLd
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.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj6kuYq6qYG
But because she said it so effortlessly.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSZ6HmRD23G
So plainly.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCxFl5Xaviq
Like she was saying “we’re out of cat food.”
He didn’t know whether to laugh or nod.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZec2nLxc8I
So he just held the bag a little tighter.
She was still fretting over the whole “can’t-write-anything-down” thing—9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGnIeHeSD2l
— That nausea-without-an-exit feeling sloshing in her chest, like a gag reflex that never gets to finish.
9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjibYe9EuS1
Claire figured if you wanted to fix a problem, you'd better look it in the face.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP2KbIpSZLy
Avoidance didn’t make you miss the big picture—it made you miss the details.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8ASmTbTJpB
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.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡooiLXOy3XS
So she’d memorize them instead.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt6ZSdF3B5D
If this place erased every mark she left, then her memory would be the map.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5NJ73R1GxB
That was the deal—quietly made, silently accepted.
Tonight, Claire decided to stay up.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUXQFJRJjDY
Normally, she was in bed by ten. Sharp.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO4MvQ0iU64
Not for beauty sleep. Not because she had to.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3UGkVy5Qw9
But because being awake at night had always meant danger.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaHuCr3Emgy
Losing control. Going missing.
That was the Gotham in her talking.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡswU7Vtrj2N
Nighttime wasn’t a vibe—it was a warning.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLY25tKeF32
The city didn’t teach you that.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡteOtt8XD39
It branded it into your bones.
She was only in Blüdhaven because of her aunt’s inheritance.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMHs6FTetLI
Not that this city was gentle. But compared to Gotham?9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr8Q4zqGAXj
Blüdhaven was a cupcake shop with a flickering sign.
Tonight, Claire made her own coffee.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ32Dv7Xdinz
The clock said 11:00 PM.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAJJYigzgL6
The calendar next to her had tomorrow’s date already circled.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDpmBds8BJC
Usually, she only circled the date when she sold out her bagels.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlPMQfg2FFW
It was her little ritual—write the number sold, feel a tiny sense of victory.
But tonight she circled it early.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrBkr2h4ed7
Like a declaration:9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqDsnmOEvEn
I’m still awake on this day. I’m still alive on this day.
She had no idea when the loop would reset.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWBWCx4NW0N
Midnight? Three in the morning?9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3L2mS1tdan
Maybe the second she fell asleep?9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwq84p0lvmr
Come to think of it, she’d never seen a “real” end to the day.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJpovybRqBg
Time always hit reset in the dark.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU0E2N8Yh8P
Like someone pressed a button in her sleep.
Claire stared off into space.
9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBnc6BArxUJ
Then came a sound.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZJz1aLDVol
From the balcony.
Claire looked up.
Not a bang.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBMfdMzxFAi
Just a soft “thunk.”9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡup1OsMsLVf
Like someone landing gently on a metal railing.
Her Gotham instincts kicked in.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCGs6f3rIEY
She grabbed a mirror, crouched low, slipped it between the curtain and the window, and checked the outside by reflection.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmICKdi0y5S
— She’d been practicing that move since she was twelve.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUpngM2OBtN
Every Gotham kid knew better than to look directly into the dark.
Her eyes widened.
Nightwing.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuY1IthaeGH
She couldn’t mistake him.
— That black-and-blue suit.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlXIS7tydgE
The twin batons.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡquvcpIqMeD
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.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGBLXELU69z
Like he was part of the night.
Her hand on the mirror was damp with sweat.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNWgfpsMqOC
The scene didn’t belong to her life.
Then—he was gone.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDRPXqjjPTQ
Just leapt.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU3jUYSxAQ7
Like a frame of film had been edited out.
Claire bolted upright and yanked the curtain open.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMcD0U7fhws
Nightwing was already swinging away on his grappling line.
— Like a midnight pendulum.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPKp7v69Las
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.”9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj24nKZCYEt
He’d been here.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs34lVIFHyG
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?9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXtRwo6gW0p
A rest stop?9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlUUoRhWelX
A transit point?
And she—owner of this tiny café—had never even noticed the rhythm of her own city’s nights.
9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP29R6c4LEv
But not now.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEH9UKXON9y
Now wasn’t the time for that.
Tonight was about the reset.
— No distractions.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOEcqf3Zjkd
No detours.
She tucked the “balcony incident” into a drawer in her mind.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZMGQlVlqS7
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.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡii0M8Izyud
She’d added way too much powder. On purpose.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ6K70H19AT
Her tongue was going numb.
Another sip.
She turned on the TV. A late-night talk show.
— Anything to stop thinking.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVg2HndhUd9
If she let her brain chew on itself too long, it would tie in knots.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡICcnmtUcC1
The host was still as loud and obnoxious as ever.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuKY1NSisuw
The laughter track made her want to throw the mug.
Fifth cup.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8eQ9RJ85av
Her stomach felt swollen, like she’d swallowed an airbag.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSGzvGpdd7a
Bitterness and acid mingled on her tongue.
Like she’d just drunk a bellyful of gunpowder.
Fuck.
— She didn’t say it out loud.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZwTPtMVcsg
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?9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ05v1BLqxj
Was today not even part of the loop?9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxDHWUDLf96
What if this was the real Day Two?
The thought made her want to cry.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE6aXtyt5sH
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.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFMawCSlw0n
A new paper.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhdaVxuYU81
A new customer.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4PWeFZx71z
A different damn bagel.
— She found herself fantasizing that the cursed newspaper would finally change.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡix5vxzoXAr
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.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcP1qR8jgEo
The laughter rose and fell like ocean waves.
For a moment, she wondered if the host was trying to hypnotize her.
No.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu21Dp0mJd1
She couldn’t fall asleep.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXZlmM7qWCf
She’d made it from ten to four.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzXZraBGBTV
She couldn’t give up now.
Claire shut her eyes on the sofa.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAsfBSNlPmw
— Just for a second.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ37RLmvJOPX
Her eyelids were dry.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmKTPrvV70D
She wasn’t sleeping, just… letting her corneas rest.
Next moment—
The jazz started.
Claire opened her eyes.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKYTWNplCva
In bed.
Her head buzzed.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHvSulTpiI9
Throat dry, like she’d inhaled ash.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJeqE2h2Hqr
The ceiling blurred for half a second.
Another day had begun.
— Same damn song.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOOfHDLNGYb
Same damn voice.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdOjqGpMA5Q
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.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqdhmE4qYys
And still—nothing stuck.
She saw nothing.
But this world remembered everything.
9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnKRtlbL0Eu
