Claire was still spiraling over her inability to write anything down.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaThbNeteMq
— 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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡotK4q20d1Z
Not one she recognized.
— Claire flinched. Literally flinched.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpbTM8N6sRA
Not the kind of reflex you have when a customer walks in.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ54JMMPW8eP
This was different.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuF4hEXPvmX
This was a variable.
Her eyes shot to the clock.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIWDgReDIeb
The time was right.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs9wwI8AnHa
But the man was wrong.
He was young.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9gr4KGGAGx
Blue-eyed. Smiling. Polished.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPxfTJKCgvV
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU0nn837jdw
It was too new.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjyOqTDaio8
Too “present.”11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDT0iqLnBhg
His movements didn’t carry yesterday’s echo.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjDjYNPusXy
Nothing about him felt pre-recorded.
He was... real.
He walked to the counter, removed his cap, and smiled.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEPHHYx4k5a
“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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfDQlmWB6SU
Like morning sunlight just reaching a glass of water.
Claire nodded and reached for a paper bag.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEe0krl7Qws
— Her thoughts still looping: He’s not in my memory.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRz6YCFl4mh
Not some cop’s kid. Not a familiar blur from the past.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJCKJfe2JTC
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAfhWRMNbPi
And yes.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhEXAUB9Hyf
That shot.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8pf732XC8Z
That damn ass.
The officer didn’t laugh.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo9yIzhC5iZ
Didn’t snort like Kyle.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6xT8BmQukM
Didn’t mutter “that kid again.”
He just looked.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOtTymLOVXr
Silent.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdBSz4AIPCO
One eyebrow twitching—like he was thinking.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqa5HJzNSZc
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6wjujwqTz5
She knew he caught that glance.
She didn’t explain.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBngu5ZsE5M
Didn’t ask.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTMdhj6LqCM
Didn’t care what this bright-eyed stranger thought of Nightwing’s overexposed butt.
“Here’s your bagels,” she said flatly.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJmz0OUN1Oh
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR5wxry78of
“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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBr6JQvo9pP
Just once.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzvACQPTrro
Then turned away.
— Didn’t offer a smirk.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrRBwIk55Tz
Didn’t offer a sigh.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJyLuGKgmTV
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVYOYT38gvo
But because she said it so effortlessly.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCsfy9ED4Rm
So plainly.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkbSqdD4eoV
Like she was saying “we’re out of cat food.”
He didn’t know whether to laugh or nod.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ31S75381sW
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV0ttLaPes0
— That nausea-without-an-exit feeling sloshing in her chest, like a gag reflex that never gets to finish.
11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHgpanqoIkL
Claire figured if you wanted to fix a problem, you'd better look it in the face.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRxm16BdAAa
Avoidance didn’t make you miss the big picture—it made you miss the details.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvtqFbCeMNZ
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8qyOIQi3HF
So she’d memorize them instead.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSzp8YgBTrF
If this place erased every mark she left, then her memory would be the map.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7CNWOAxiLv
That was the deal—quietly made, silently accepted.
Tonight, Claire decided to stay up.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtOPHRx3VaJ
Normally, she was in bed by ten. Sharp.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡglJm3wfjKa
Not for beauty sleep. Not because she had to.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDNkKGAfCZy
But because being awake at night had always meant danger.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZzTfa7daNG
Losing control. Going missing.
That was the Gotham in her talking.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM8J6qCsSi1
Nighttime wasn’t a vibe—it was a warning.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqkhYK3pWtr
The city didn’t teach you that.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcTdoQiRYtb
It branded it into your bones.
She was only in Blüdhaven because of her aunt’s inheritance.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO8UiyIbk3F
Not that this city was gentle. But compared to Gotham?11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuXrTYBL6uf
Blüdhaven was a cupcake shop with a flickering sign.
Tonight, Claire made her own coffee.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2qmQb8D3Kv
The clock said 11:00 PM.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhhSRrDbc3d
The calendar next to her had tomorrow’s date already circled.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgxuDfraBrJ
Usually, she only circled the date when she sold out her bagels.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXpytE0JKpT
It was her little ritual—write the number sold, feel a tiny sense of victory.
But tonight she circled it early.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWIeop1GqDf
Like a declaration:11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFCkWrxQ1lg
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUmh6FdVaR3
Midnight? Three in the morning?11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡocOcNH0jT4
Maybe the second she fell asleep?11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQDH7LUZGzv
Come to think of it, she’d never seen a “real” end to the day.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoOgHmQk3Z4
Time always hit reset in the dark.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqDV5tiAy4j
Like someone pressed a button in her sleep.
Claire stared off into space.
11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH1mSNF4Fm4
Then came a sound.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTDikGdftJ6
From the balcony.
Claire looked up.
Not a bang.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmuhR1aGxE1
Just a soft “thunk.”11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVqDQC3dO3M
Like someone landing gently on a metal railing.
Her Gotham instincts kicked in.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeXqIzID9Zn
She grabbed a mirror, crouched low, slipped it between the curtain and the window, and checked the outside by reflection.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvmFdr4OlpQ
— She’d been practicing that move since she was twelve.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡShv8VErLon
Every Gotham kid knew better than to look directly into the dark.
Her eyes widened.
Nightwing.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ68LMAsoGb8
She couldn’t mistake him.
— That black-and-blue suit.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs9zuW1ZGBa
The twin batons.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAArhfnsDId
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnmVUS0ESij
Like he was part of the night.
Her hand on the mirror was damp with sweat.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpwEglMuYUF
The scene didn’t belong to her life.
Then—he was gone.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi6jrUfmn4n
Just leapt.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNt6fHzKCok
Like a frame of film had been edited out.
Claire bolted upright and yanked the curtain open.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWJ4LgvEmxd
Nightwing was already swinging away on his grappling line.
— Like a midnight pendulum.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD1cLwt0QsJ
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkbh4E6h8Fg
He’d been here.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD2I5hqXxFu
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfnknhIw6g8
A rest stop?11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmJTtVZro40
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYMzfG0nR2G
But not now.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJNKMffmu0p
Now wasn’t the time for that.
Tonight was about the reset.
— No distractions.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcIP8niuLGf
No detours.
She tucked the “balcony incident” into a drawer in her mind.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡogPhLWXFly
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT8RdY0yoa9
She’d added way too much powder. On purpose.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKWJxoxMRMX
Her tongue was going numb.
Another sip.
She turned on the TV. A late-night talk show.
— Anything to stop thinking.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyGZgF0OPny
If she let her brain chew on itself too long, it would tie in knots.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6Rj63HYq1d
The host was still as loud and obnoxious as ever.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlSPGB78n43
The laughter track made her want to throw the mug.
Fifth cup.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5yfz38MdFH
Her stomach felt swollen, like she’d swallowed an airbag.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvaWeGUlQoO
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUsvOMXLH2M
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJZozHw3C6l
Was today not even part of the loop?11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVT4HpdDdfD
What if this was the real Day Two?
The thought made her want to cry.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwVr2zzgAC0
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9Ag3LtjXvf
A new paper.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrIFHm2rfwh
A new customer.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡslmpIk5VYC
A different damn bagel.
— She found herself fantasizing that the cursed newspaper would finally change.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3apx0p29GW
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQgL2lyvGjF
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDNF3HLLfZ6
She couldn’t fall asleep.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXpF6aUfGPo
She’d made it from ten to four.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjR5LplehsR
She couldn’t give up now.
Claire shut her eyes on the sofa.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWmSPbf9ihd
— Just for a second.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYGkzmEoI4N
Her eyelids were dry.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoap1lA8b8L
She wasn’t sleeping, just… letting her corneas rest.
Next moment—
The jazz started.
Claire opened her eyes.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq6gW4bTbdv
In bed.
Her head buzzed.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjtNKDkW7jR
Throat dry, like she’d inhaled ash.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3QJlT6MROO
The ceiling blurred for half a second.
Another day had begun.
— Same damn song.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdLsEkbgg4K
Same damn voice.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkX4xivMKIV
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCLQGOehnKr
And still—nothing stuck.
She saw nothing.
But this world remembered everything.
11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgZVJUUsCH4
