Claire was still spiraling over her inability to write anything down.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU5iTBDApKP
— 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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdBBLxb1EcO
Not one she recognized.
— Claire flinched. Literally flinched.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡESP7KTKoAW
Not the kind of reflex you have when a customer walks in.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV36elA8mkL
This was different.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ53S1kIsGUU
This was a variable.
Her eyes shot to the clock.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm0eFtmVQvQ
The time was right.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtvicN2B6f7
But the man was wrong.
He was young.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkSZSiLAbHd
Blue-eyed. Smiling. Polished.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2vlvO5A051
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnx5yxMHSGL
It was too new.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVuSe1GjLiC
Too “present.”9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsBCPauRvGA
His movements didn’t carry yesterday’s echo.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGuz6WdAs07
Nothing about him felt pre-recorded.
He was... real.
He walked to the counter, removed his cap, and smiled.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEEAKyREp0B
“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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbzwwMrgPJz
Like morning sunlight just reaching a glass of water.
Claire nodded and reached for a paper bag.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBnMCRXZsMy
— Her thoughts still looping: He’s not in my memory.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUM2amKF73r
Not some cop’s kid. Not a familiar blur from the past.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8yN3GuFLr2
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcIuJMfXJwQ
And yes.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLRB9YYSDOG
That shot.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk2rj3AfkOh
That damn ass.
The officer didn’t laugh.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy8sV5hvrda
Didn’t snort like Kyle.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuOcy28t3qa
Didn’t mutter “that kid again.”
He just looked.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡccwcrHtm14
Silent.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡravkDUOCei
One eyebrow twitching—like he was thinking.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc4nBWQK05r
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMtP2VFYjWG
She knew he caught that glance.
She didn’t explain.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqah4S5GIAx
Didn’t ask.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNI1CtcK0dM
Didn’t care what this bright-eyed stranger thought of Nightwing’s overexposed butt.
“Here’s your bagels,” she said flatly.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVILW3QTUC2
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn4YvEWBygA
“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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPcxFnRmn9e
Just once.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUvxDNaZg1R
Then turned away.
— Didn’t offer a smirk.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmV5uTCWOMA
Didn’t offer a sigh.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6OwNsm9zzV
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyofahfEt6v
But because she said it so effortlessly.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvl7yhFjZjt
So plainly.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdlNEgQOL5O
Like she was saying “we’re out of cat food.”
He didn’t know whether to laugh or nod.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6mAUzdHRzH
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaHS6N042vW
— That nausea-without-an-exit feeling sloshing in her chest, like a gag reflex that never gets to finish.
9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlXBmDvPPGd
Claire figured if you wanted to fix a problem, you'd better look it in the face.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9CfjA81zbv
Avoidance didn’t make you miss the big picture—it made you miss the details.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡccUqnlSaYD
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRj20OJrHUm
So she’d memorize them instead.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK4N29MQXvu
If this place erased every mark she left, then her memory would be the map.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFDWfR1XoO5
That was the deal—quietly made, silently accepted.
Tonight, Claire decided to stay up.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7txjg3xjxq
Normally, she was in bed by ten. Sharp.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVnH22PuYlc
Not for beauty sleep. Not because she had to.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyBNolunOzu
But because being awake at night had always meant danger.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVeFhouQDyn
Losing control. Going missing.
That was the Gotham in her talking.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1tloWUtBrq
Nighttime wasn’t a vibe—it was a warning.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqoU9TNpcG6
The city didn’t teach you that.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlWjzoqqgT4
It branded it into your bones.
She was only in Blüdhaven because of her aunt’s inheritance.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgmqK3iu5Mz
Not that this city was gentle. But compared to Gotham?9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCh2GXhQumW
Blüdhaven was a cupcake shop with a flickering sign.
Tonight, Claire made her own coffee.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJcPRkx4FSl
The clock said 11:00 PM.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiVAVr1tv01
The calendar next to her had tomorrow’s date already circled.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ69AebXAaOD
Usually, she only circled the date when she sold out her bagels.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9Qe5qHleSS
It was her little ritual—write the number sold, feel a tiny sense of victory.
But tonight she circled it early.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvfSPAEIf6E
Like a declaration:9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQgfqlQlVPJ
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJOuaLOu2GZ
Midnight? Three in the morning?9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfUCENQ9dUR
Maybe the second she fell asleep?9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpbjKl8JWEU
Come to think of it, she’d never seen a “real” end to the day.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfRTFkSZ6bp
Time always hit reset in the dark.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡumTOIYuuni
Like someone pressed a button in her sleep.
Claire stared off into space.
9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCaoSiI3cuy
Then came a sound.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRs0sKF6ERL
From the balcony.
Claire looked up.
Not a bang.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw3UfBV8Pkj
Just a soft “thunk.”9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxg4Rvs0vQR
Like someone landing gently on a metal railing.
Her Gotham instincts kicked in.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNdVtgxveFt
She grabbed a mirror, crouched low, slipped it between the curtain and the window, and checked the outside by reflection.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt9CxobBya6
— She’d been practicing that move since she was twelve.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhXCc5SZ3YW
Every Gotham kid knew better than to look directly into the dark.
Her eyes widened.
Nightwing.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDdrgwm5yNU
She couldn’t mistake him.
— That black-and-blue suit.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs7uxjzxAkN
The twin batons.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxGeTLwDJXA
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbaQyoxUoZx
Like he was part of the night.
Her hand on the mirror was damp with sweat.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7no4Vk6qAT
The scene didn’t belong to her life.
Then—he was gone.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm0iT2D7cFl
Just leapt.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkebChQMpW0
Like a frame of film had been edited out.
Claire bolted upright and yanked the curtain open.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡscUZw2Eu9r
Nightwing was already swinging away on his grappling line.
— Like a midnight pendulum.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgKWt5Gi5VV
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq1ESTH9Ko9
He’d been here.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxdjdKXwqDy
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQj94FFyLGZ
A rest stop?9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhcAt6ak18L
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3IhRrZGMtY
But not now.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsXNYRHx87b
Now wasn’t the time for that.
Tonight was about the reset.
— No distractions.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHfjSAvCMpF
No detours.
She tucked the “balcony incident” into a drawer in her mind.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBSw76a1Sum
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhoW9MzBWiU
She’d added way too much powder. On purpose.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO76nqIMZi2
Her tongue was going numb.
Another sip.
She turned on the TV. A late-night talk show.
— Anything to stop thinking.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQd9XR2Wc1G
If she let her brain chew on itself too long, it would tie in knots.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKvuJXcrfvf
The host was still as loud and obnoxious as ever.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd9wqWeRrze
The laughter track made her want to throw the mug.
Fifth cup.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp1wpNnK7bF
Her stomach felt swollen, like she’d swallowed an airbag.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡepPYGSL9Mq
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIu9RFZj2R9
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmJQewq25wO
Was today not even part of the loop?9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTAS7nKCB8C
What if this was the real Day Two?
The thought made her want to cry.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEXyYECAfRr
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfLMr7WDPpr
A new paper.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK6Ij3Tmbaw
A new customer.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmRw9TWk9Xi
A different damn bagel.
— She found herself fantasizing that the cursed newspaper would finally change.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZsKJGnYo9V
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU1nqYESXWK
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtFsjl88TTc
She couldn’t fall asleep.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEsUL518u1k
She’d made it from ten to four.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtZbZYujkLr
She couldn’t give up now.
Claire shut her eyes on the sofa.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM7DUmGUrms
— Just for a second.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcCibqQmsbj
Her eyelids were dry.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5QMhAqe6qY
She wasn’t sleeping, just… letting her corneas rest.
Next moment—
The jazz started.
Claire opened her eyes.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi4BCBJrwaw
In bed.
Her head buzzed.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcgrshK18Vd
Throat dry, like she’d inhaled ash.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuIHQMLEziW
The ceiling blurred for half a second.
Another day had begun.
— Same damn song.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi4dVPWivvl
Same damn voice.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnirmXp2ReV
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFFwAcg2yHH
And still—nothing stuck.
She saw nothing.
But this world remembered everything.
9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqDPJUMnpjL
