Claire was still spiraling over her inability to write anything down.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdumsGOktDB
— 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.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmrSPbsylGl
Not one she recognized.
— Claire flinched. Literally flinched.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdLKDp9hPv0
Not the kind of reflex you have when a customer walks in.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUWQfdShDRy
This was different.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoXod1JjF8H
This was a variable.
Her eyes shot to the clock.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd55Yu8QrYk
The time was right.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5DA0r1F49b
But the man was wrong.
He was young.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFlXSijQ5sX
Blue-eyed. Smiling. Polished.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKsGP760u82
Not like the usual middle-aged officers whose uniforms barely survived the war against their beer bellies.
— This wasn’t just unfamiliar.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGsWRKgwqIV
It was too new.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiiratlKL8s
Too “present.”12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMcX0awqmHU
His movements didn’t carry yesterday’s echo.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡroX2JSpBwK
Nothing about him felt pre-recorded.
He was... real.
He walked to the counter, removed his cap, and smiled.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmHqrmQIVcl
“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.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXNIiLSqCjU
Like morning sunlight just reaching a glass of water.
Claire nodded and reached for a paper bag.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5vL4niAVP3
— Her thoughts still looping: He’s not in my memory.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK1U6VN67lz
Not some cop’s kid. Not a familiar blur from the past.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYaajjF1uHg
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.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1hA6FnMchF
And yes.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkujCKzMKQN
That shot.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuZOfCoDCly
That damn ass.
The officer didn’t laugh.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvlHBLP5UAT
Didn’t snort like Kyle.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWkGbGgnFgV
Didn’t mutter “that kid again.”
He just looked.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5Qg68pSW59
Silent.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwnt3eVrhet
One eyebrow twitching—like he was thinking.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8A1T7vedx1
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.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGHdVkVo78w
She knew he caught that glance.
She didn’t explain.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh7agSqdm72
Didn’t ask.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRGSDOIysd6
Didn’t care what this bright-eyed stranger thought of Nightwing’s overexposed butt.
“Here’s your bagels,” she said flatly.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzwkuKZzymH
It could’ve been “good morning” for all the emotion she gave it.
He nodded, smiled a little awkwardly. “Thanks.”
Then he paused.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjyCqBU399T
“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.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrvaBu6mnnh
Just once.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSrj8uvp2AD
Then turned away.
— Didn’t offer a smirk.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6r7tsNmpUQ
Didn’t offer a sigh.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ46jPdn4kk3
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.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZXbXcmfjXw
But because she said it so effortlessly.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsNr7ZWhDUs
So plainly.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0BGmlHctPy
Like she was saying “we’re out of cat food.”
He didn’t know whether to laugh or nod.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2Qbl3Rmlvt
So he just held the bag a little tighter.
She was still fretting over the whole “can’t-write-anything-down” thing—12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTGjwC5YrXe
— That nausea-without-an-exit feeling sloshing in her chest, like a gag reflex that never gets to finish.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡijVk2uuEQy
Claire figured if you wanted to fix a problem, you'd better look it in the face.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFMY3y5amPz
Avoidance didn’t make you miss the big picture—it made you miss the details.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkV2sqsTgZR
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.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB1xqdqk7WW
So she’d memorize them instead.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4tWeA5GpY7
If this place erased every mark she left, then her memory would be the map.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZj6YrOLIlV
That was the deal—quietly made, silently accepted.
Tonight, Claire decided to stay up.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDUn39Fudtc
Normally, she was in bed by ten. Sharp.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnZLksSzlob
Not for beauty sleep. Not because she had to.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhPyuuqyZSl
But because being awake at night had always meant danger.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvOwsih2Odd
Losing control. Going missing.
That was the Gotham in her talking.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtAI0k1NW4s
Nighttime wasn’t a vibe—it was a warning.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH4XcFJuN13
The city didn’t teach you that.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIkaY4pVXEK
It branded it into your bones.
She was only in Blüdhaven because of her aunt’s inheritance.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiv84Y3bVZX
Not that this city was gentle. But compared to Gotham?12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG1ImXDhYCK
Blüdhaven was a cupcake shop with a flickering sign.
Tonight, Claire made her own coffee.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8ptEQbFDbm
The clock said 11:00 PM.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWRVaWR1XA2
The calendar next to her had tomorrow’s date already circled.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOpJIPmPT9C
Usually, she only circled the date when she sold out her bagels.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOgEGG6iHMv
It was her little ritual—write the number sold, feel a tiny sense of victory.
But tonight she circled it early.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIppZIZhl1A
Like a declaration:12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpb6pDCGJUQ
I’m still awake on this day. I’m still alive on this day.
She had no idea when the loop would reset.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcHDWXptOci
Midnight? Three in the morning?12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXM8QiRsJfA
Maybe the second she fell asleep?12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ70GmaHlvZr
Come to think of it, she’d never seen a “real” end to the day.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf29VwfWwXO
Time always hit reset in the dark.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbjOVpShSxX
Like someone pressed a button in her sleep.
Claire stared off into space.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡReI1yNYFhy
Then came a sound.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaXqcThE91q
From the balcony.
Claire looked up.
Not a bang.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkofI3fLola
Just a soft “thunk.”12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlzfEPfcs7q
Like someone landing gently on a metal railing.
Her Gotham instincts kicked in.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCGaRSGCd6y
She grabbed a mirror, crouched low, slipped it between the curtain and the window, and checked the outside by reflection.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ97zKL87Vm1
— She’d been practicing that move since she was twelve.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAHLK1USe7Y
Every Gotham kid knew better than to look directly into the dark.
Her eyes widened.
Nightwing.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDBE9GB9Myr
She couldn’t mistake him.
— That black-and-blue suit.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡli4abzJUCb
The twin batons.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHWW6HlFTRS
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.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXTv1lFSXLn
Like he was part of the night.
Her hand on the mirror was damp with sweat.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ65HU7Ip0iO
The scene didn’t belong to her life.
Then—he was gone.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKswo4mZWux
Just leapt.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpBj2VwW6WT
Like a frame of film had been edited out.
Claire bolted upright and yanked the curtain open.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7B216l3HMh
Nightwing was already swinging away on his grappling line.
— Like a midnight pendulum.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeISqLWiSUe
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.”12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOhDx9j8fjc
He’d been here.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxkGDOoWRh5
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?12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFgyd6FyGEZ
A rest stop?12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW0OI0VyYoh
A transit point?
And she—owner of this tiny café—had never even noticed the rhythm of her own city’s nights.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡblTkRrBt3R
But not now.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ15luZrS0jw
Now wasn’t the time for that.
Tonight was about the reset.
— No distractions.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOnaoUJTQiF
No detours.
She tucked the “balcony incident” into a drawer in her mind.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQDQoMqSsNl
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.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2kESQb5Oxk
She’d added way too much powder. On purpose.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡji0usL6Z7I
Her tongue was going numb.
Another sip.
She turned on the TV. A late-night talk show.
— Anything to stop thinking.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ98eSwGZGca
If she let her brain chew on itself too long, it would tie in knots.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDhMwz4tQPW
The host was still as loud and obnoxious as ever.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5qy09vzbrE
The laughter track made her want to throw the mug.
Fifth cup.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfw7o8zBaHI
Her stomach felt swollen, like she’d swallowed an airbag.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCYYaUsmF2p
Bitterness and acid mingled on her tongue.
Like she’d just drunk a bellyful of gunpowder.
Fuck.
— She didn’t say it out loud.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNJIIXR79IV
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?12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2gx3mO76Pc
Was today not even part of the loop?12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjRGPy4mfgf
What if this was the real Day Two?
The thought made her want to cry.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOY2NzsgJ24
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.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxnnLr1YRD1
A new paper.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlNCoO2d09w
A new customer.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmswPSiU9wU
A different damn bagel.
— She found herself fantasizing that the cursed newspaper would finally change.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKcarGHxSuq
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.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuMrWHj0IRF
The laughter rose and fell like ocean waves.
For a moment, she wondered if the host was trying to hypnotize her.
No.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDj9boODPhB
She couldn’t fall asleep.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfpCNmY6W96
She’d made it from ten to four.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUQpXa9tSWD
She couldn’t give up now.
Claire shut her eyes on the sofa.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNXHJIqYsS0
— Just for a second.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPfVgmgxwSj
Her eyelids were dry.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJHPQivTvgL
She wasn’t sleeping, just… letting her corneas rest.
Next moment—
The jazz started.
Claire opened her eyes.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfN42kvkq2C
In bed.
Her head buzzed.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1X7CjKtWCH
Throat dry, like she’d inhaled ash.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhSEfIrcJNm
The ceiling blurred for half a second.
Another day had begun.
— Same damn song.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVK5c33AWr0
Same damn voice.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVFdAnfJxXs
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.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV24cwQj5oC
And still—nothing stuck.
She saw nothing.
But this world remembered everything.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhT7swedTAL
