Claire was still spiraling over her inability to write anything down.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX42bfeZDii
— 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.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCofSxPEFw7
Not one she recognized.
— Claire flinched. Literally flinched.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBKQNjITLu5
Not the kind of reflex you have when a customer walks in.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzxIt1nVwQv
This was different.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6pQCc2R2Ye
This was a variable.
Her eyes shot to the clock.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5rp33Eg0of
The time was right.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQMDV7VO4Xb
But the man was wrong.
He was young.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtnZkF95cyT
Blue-eyed. Smiling. Polished.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoSUKtplUGB
Not like the usual middle-aged officers whose uniforms barely survived the war against their beer bellies.
— This wasn’t just unfamiliar.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEhj1SxANoW
It was too new.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbnkntLlFeZ
Too “present.”11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ85xClhex5x
His movements didn’t carry yesterday’s echo.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDp8cvYtySb
Nothing about him felt pre-recorded.
He was... real.
He walked to the counter, removed his cap, and smiled.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlskOmX1EsM
“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.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzXHtfBr4Rm
Like morning sunlight just reaching a glass of water.
Claire nodded and reached for a paper bag.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcpUqD0gAcM
— Her thoughts still looping: He’s not in my memory.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJyHdcdBrlf
Not some cop’s kid. Not a familiar blur from the past.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcvxnMMnbYB
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.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMqZL8idpbE
And yes.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqnbkKvfc5T
That shot.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq4ogY5Yp6V
That damn ass.
The officer didn’t laugh.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡutnD3tRmDz
Didn’t snort like Kyle.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeQPgyjF8Sd
Didn’t mutter “that kid again.”
He just looked.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmD4YGeznsC
Silent.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg8aCKS5yOT
One eyebrow twitching—like he was thinking.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhAqnQD42b5
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.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGCjCAodzE7
She knew he caught that glance.
She didn’t explain.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJcuepLMqtK
Didn’t ask.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwShdKa9Aye
Didn’t care what this bright-eyed stranger thought of Nightwing’s overexposed butt.
“Here’s your bagels,” she said flatly.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi97ZjEINhQ
It could’ve been “good morning” for all the emotion she gave it.
He nodded, smiled a little awkwardly. “Thanks.”
Then he paused.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz10ly3qFwl
“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.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmKDn94bHRn
Just once.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtzsaJxdex0
Then turned away.
— Didn’t offer a smirk.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ21MQnTJP84
Didn’t offer a sigh.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTLnU7whxVh
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.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡncl58tNKvf
But because she said it so effortlessly.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYpFBIFhu04
So plainly.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo7NenyH8ez
Like she was saying “we’re out of cat food.”
He didn’t know whether to laugh or nod.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOxzqOIFUof
So he just held the bag a little tighter.
She was still fretting over the whole “can’t-write-anything-down” thing—11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiQ5y2u7TJ4
— That nausea-without-an-exit feeling sloshing in her chest, like a gag reflex that never gets to finish.
11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7FEdkw73Rv
Claire figured if you wanted to fix a problem, you'd better look it in the face.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj2BZKzkmmW
Avoidance didn’t make you miss the big picture—it made you miss the details.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgvihZKGIca
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.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPGWrC6a54h
So she’d memorize them instead.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0LsDIuXKOW
If this place erased every mark she left, then her memory would be the map.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6SOnKFm7Pt
That was the deal—quietly made, silently accepted.
Tonight, Claire decided to stay up.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzrjuPlIRfO
Normally, she was in bed by ten. Sharp.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy03L3JGfT4
Not for beauty sleep. Not because she had to.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtAmPZ11fbX
But because being awake at night had always meant danger.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVwFBWM3ylu
Losing control. Going missing.
That was the Gotham in her talking.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCeaOiIeXxB
Nighttime wasn’t a vibe—it was a warning.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlSTSpwZJ4e
The city didn’t teach you that.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj7YfPViN4t
It branded it into your bones.
She was only in Blüdhaven because of her aunt’s inheritance.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpTJgIKdMSm
Not that this city was gentle. But compared to Gotham?11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgWnUWIxDNC
Blüdhaven was a cupcake shop with a flickering sign.
Tonight, Claire made her own coffee.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkOCcSOxAD2
The clock said 11:00 PM.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVM1TLpSuve
The calendar next to her had tomorrow’s date already circled.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmdlEl5NGAo
Usually, she only circled the date when she sold out her bagels.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKhQzhGMHgW
It was her little ritual—write the number sold, feel a tiny sense of victory.
But tonight she circled it early.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyHvcgGyYZF
Like a declaration:11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKaFytmqkyo
I’m still awake on this day. I’m still alive on this day.
She had no idea when the loop would reset.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJe9sQvaTHK
Midnight? Three in the morning?11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡESaM4GqXKs
Maybe the second she fell asleep?11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDMsOc70VOk
Come to think of it, she’d never seen a “real” end to the day.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbBeDg1PbhA
Time always hit reset in the dark.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcM19sbIJNJ
Like someone pressed a button in her sleep.
Claire stared off into space.
11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnuTrdWwJro
Then came a sound.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡehC44xXedA
From the balcony.
Claire looked up.
Not a bang.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqrnJ8QgWWs
Just a soft “thunk.”11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUU5en0CNsh
Like someone landing gently on a metal railing.
Her Gotham instincts kicked in.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKGqifFg1qr
She grabbed a mirror, crouched low, slipped it between the curtain and the window, and checked the outside by reflection.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX2sCi5qlXS
— She’d been practicing that move since she was twelve.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCJNBEi3kfD
Every Gotham kid knew better than to look directly into the dark.
Her eyes widened.
Nightwing.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1UWks4yzxp
She couldn’t mistake him.
— That black-and-blue suit.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3N56hUYHvS
The twin batons.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgJOwLxTEar
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.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1TO9fdf6dk
Like he was part of the night.
Her hand on the mirror was damp with sweat.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfqUMRmekbm
The scene didn’t belong to her life.
Then—he was gone.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7dRzlLFiK6
Just leapt.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBizNe3eJlV
Like a frame of film had been edited out.
Claire bolted upright and yanked the curtain open.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBRlexeowXc
Nightwing was already swinging away on his grappling line.
— Like a midnight pendulum.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkgszXF3HqS
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.”11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoFlmtTVR9j
He’d been here.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡciUh50LwN6
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?11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqqlQwvbVGj
A rest stop?11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbDgZ7DJyud
A transit point?
And she—owner of this tiny café—had never even noticed the rhythm of her own city’s nights.
11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSFR5Loawcv
But not now.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQLUS8MSgkS
Now wasn’t the time for that.
Tonight was about the reset.
— No distractions.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUtZwhUq6xw
No detours.
She tucked the “balcony incident” into a drawer in her mind.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOtsS4HHZ6N
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.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsmyR4Lbc62
She’d added way too much powder. On purpose.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0tFNm5k4wE
Her tongue was going numb.
Another sip.
She turned on the TV. A late-night talk show.
— Anything to stop thinking.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpKcnJAMB6H
If she let her brain chew on itself too long, it would tie in knots.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm6zOBukERp
The host was still as loud and obnoxious as ever.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUo9VI8OLBd
The laughter track made her want to throw the mug.
Fifth cup.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyunR0oileV
Her stomach felt swollen, like she’d swallowed an airbag.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9gcBkcw242
Bitterness and acid mingled on her tongue.
Like she’d just drunk a bellyful of gunpowder.
Fuck.
— She didn’t say it out loud.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmQa9XF0G0m
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?11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8fvSZzPnIg
Was today not even part of the loop?11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpZzxlGzeCM
What if this was the real Day Two?
The thought made her want to cry.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1leLm4zumE
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.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV8X7D2ZGRo
A new paper.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaQzHDCQoM5
A new customer.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe6Yj2ib5pA
A different damn bagel.
— She found herself fantasizing that the cursed newspaper would finally change.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7c5WOkynUx
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.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOBrTE23964
The laughter rose and fell like ocean waves.
For a moment, she wondered if the host was trying to hypnotize her.
No.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtLCk7UIk1J
She couldn’t fall asleep.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ15bWvrOOk1
She’d made it from ten to four.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLcrOXhb8Io
She couldn’t give up now.
Claire shut her eyes on the sofa.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb439B6kb9E
— Just for a second.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmLZAomwOrR
Her eyelids were dry.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQw3aMoKd1a
She wasn’t sleeping, just… letting her corneas rest.
Next moment—
The jazz started.
Claire opened her eyes.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEzzHSvhCnV
In bed.
Her head buzzed.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡryOJeArwS0
Throat dry, like she’d inhaled ash.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZak1js8z2e
The ceiling blurred for half a second.
Another day had begun.
— Same damn song.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN1Srj5gg55
Same damn voice.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYxUaCWtpJW
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.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ629sipYiwW
And still—nothing stuck.
She saw nothing.
But this world remembered everything.
11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa3GdxPVET4
