Claire was still spiraling over her inability to write anything down.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTgKWL4LAhW
— 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.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡahD2L8yjk8
Not one she recognized.
— Claire flinched. Literally flinched.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr9buTqsFIS
Not the kind of reflex you have when a customer walks in.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNhPYKb7uck
This was different.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡie7VUtWi28
This was a variable.
Her eyes shot to the clock.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuC2K7p3QAM
The time was right.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWxeQK853NS
But the man was wrong.
He was young.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNoD9hohJ7W
Blue-eyed. Smiling. Polished.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ48ceWtI9qy
Not like the usual middle-aged officers whose uniforms barely survived the war against their beer bellies.
— This wasn’t just unfamiliar.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7UQ3LnCJdQ
It was too new.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdoTcS0lSy5
Too “present.”10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6Fpme17chV
His movements didn’t carry yesterday’s echo.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWVR70tdgbQ
Nothing about him felt pre-recorded.
He was... real.
He walked to the counter, removed his cap, and smiled.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZFiEMXZgrd
“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.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvmaMbeOGuA
Like morning sunlight just reaching a glass of water.
Claire nodded and reached for a paper bag.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfGWDA7feSv
— Her thoughts still looping: He’s not in my memory.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMHf6Kz6Mq5
Not some cop’s kid. Not a familiar blur from the past.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvxHE1rX2gi
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.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSjy9QTlumH
And yes.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAL4qKpTeLF
That shot.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN26oV2cefD
That damn ass.
The officer didn’t laugh.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6g5h3DTtkX
Didn’t snort like Kyle.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQBV7MKVQ4q
Didn’t mutter “that kid again.”
He just looked.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUIKa276FSj
Silent.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2VzsnwGrFM
One eyebrow twitching—like he was thinking.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL5iNK25Ltz
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.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxnlMYx4W5p
She knew he caught that glance.
She didn’t explain.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbgCoBdEJ6W
Didn’t ask.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZP22wkf3g5
Didn’t care what this bright-eyed stranger thought of Nightwing’s overexposed butt.
“Here’s your bagels,” she said flatly.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ15fYwGXABt
It could’ve been “good morning” for all the emotion she gave it.
He nodded, smiled a little awkwardly. “Thanks.”
Then he paused.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnaAlBPwIvq
“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.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQEytKOPlyx
Just once.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIfZWVgpjPH
Then turned away.
— Didn’t offer a smirk.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHijOHXpvy3
Didn’t offer a sigh.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEKMo7F6ap8
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.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbBcLRZjDCO
But because she said it so effortlessly.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNPBDhuRjyO
So plainly.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGtKCAwjsyv
Like she was saying “we’re out of cat food.”
He didn’t know whether to laugh or nod.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKfXHAFaN2Q
So he just held the bag a little tighter.
She was still fretting over the whole “can’t-write-anything-down” thing—10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoBG3klxcDl
— That nausea-without-an-exit feeling sloshing in her chest, like a gag reflex that never gets to finish.
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKVAmMhf4ae
Claire figured if you wanted to fix a problem, you'd better look it in the face.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8XyQ3a2cL7
Avoidance didn’t make you miss the big picture—it made you miss the details.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGLVjVzrgvm
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.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg80Qh6EaUm
So she’d memorize them instead.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbRzfXcOBVF
If this place erased every mark she left, then her memory would be the map.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqcAoPv00wE
That was the deal—quietly made, silently accepted.
Tonight, Claire decided to stay up.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwHDBAdDIPP
Normally, she was in bed by ten. Sharp.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiwOPkUVVf2
Not for beauty sleep. Not because she had to.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUTYlaniH12
But because being awake at night had always meant danger.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH3cUxeVuqe
Losing control. Going missing.
That was the Gotham in her talking.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlp1rUkslR2
Nighttime wasn’t a vibe—it was a warning.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO2ol7EQx3r
The city didn’t teach you that.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN1Uj0cC2nH
It branded it into your bones.
She was only in Blüdhaven because of her aunt’s inheritance.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgMFpDvQniw
Not that this city was gentle. But compared to Gotham?10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡypTx3AThsY
Blüdhaven was a cupcake shop with a flickering sign.
Tonight, Claire made her own coffee.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡueZms3mCjY
The clock said 11:00 PM.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxlcpaREep8
The calendar next to her had tomorrow’s date already circled.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJW8wRaZEFS
Usually, she only circled the date when she sold out her bagels.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCE9BKfh2rn
It was her little ritual—write the number sold, feel a tiny sense of victory.
But tonight she circled it early.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpqyBXc81Lf
Like a declaration:10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdekDEXG0T7
I’m still awake on this day. I’m still alive on this day.
She had no idea when the loop would reset.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl4QTr24Ero
Midnight? Three in the morning?10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp4dSiCmfTh
Maybe the second she fell asleep?10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF6lUYPuI7R
Come to think of it, she’d never seen a “real” end to the day.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIfho9vWVZe
Time always hit reset in the dark.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5BeAsNbT14
Like someone pressed a button in her sleep.
Claire stared off into space.
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTcoGpHvEYt
Then came a sound.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8ojwjFnusU
From the balcony.
Claire looked up.
Not a bang.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkqTihZeRdl
Just a soft “thunk.”10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnDs2ZZw1rS
Like someone landing gently on a metal railing.
Her Gotham instincts kicked in.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZQQIAMQoIS
She grabbed a mirror, crouched low, slipped it between the curtain and the window, and checked the outside by reflection.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGj0UqYgTCF
— She’d been practicing that move since she was twelve.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLl5dL8vNSU
Every Gotham kid knew better than to look directly into the dark.
Her eyes widened.
Nightwing.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4BKrkmfvXY
She couldn’t mistake him.
— That black-and-blue suit.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs8Pe2HNxov
The twin batons.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF7CoGzcOQj
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.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpSQktgoJnF
Like he was part of the night.
Her hand on the mirror was damp with sweat.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ42ISiNPeYs
The scene didn’t belong to her life.
Then—he was gone.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7S86zHo7QY
Just leapt.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy3QAWGd24E
Like a frame of film had been edited out.
Claire bolted upright and yanked the curtain open.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtGLtIrSIi0
Nightwing was already swinging away on his grappling line.
— Like a midnight pendulum.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡImUEH3eAwo
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.”10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuRnT3WzcEs
He’d been here.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡttM2YieFrK
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?10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgeGkZvHsEV
A rest stop?10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEIjVQByR2m
A transit point?
And she—owner of this tiny café—had never even noticed the rhythm of her own city’s nights.
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqu1iSNPfyJ
But not now.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoxZpxLsgIg
Now wasn’t the time for that.
Tonight was about the reset.
— No distractions.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi0wXwdjf9Z
No detours.
She tucked the “balcony incident” into a drawer in her mind.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ91bEdTK2xR
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.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2rKEL9wseA
She’d added way too much powder. On purpose.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7bN9QREUrA
Her tongue was going numb.
Another sip.
She turned on the TV. A late-night talk show.
— Anything to stop thinking.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQs2dcqyIZM
If she let her brain chew on itself too long, it would tie in knots.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrT1qUyOeF9
The host was still as loud and obnoxious as ever.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDDNLaC4UeK
The laughter track made her want to throw the mug.
Fifth cup.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMECrzlEdqO
Her stomach felt swollen, like she’d swallowed an airbag.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6QgsRh3ats
Bitterness and acid mingled on her tongue.
Like she’d just drunk a bellyful of gunpowder.
Fuck.
— She didn’t say it out loud.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQRy25rTvyF
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?10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡah9A2zhSmF
Was today not even part of the loop?10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYDyzmOS44z
What if this was the real Day Two?
The thought made her want to cry.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTDOmZBySt6
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.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVxDISbuD3u
A new paper.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI54LQTxRtP
A new customer.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRHJEvPq9s2
A different damn bagel.
— She found herself fantasizing that the cursed newspaper would finally change.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZBi8FmZESf
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.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7Ekg0dndEu
The laughter rose and fell like ocean waves.
For a moment, she wondered if the host was trying to hypnotize her.
No.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRJXzVX7Q2T
She couldn’t fall asleep.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYDpNB4MUsi
She’d made it from ten to four.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSeqYSZaMjT
She couldn’t give up now.
Claire shut her eyes on the sofa.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU5SLfeB74N
— Just for a second.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIH7chiH158
Her eyelids were dry.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0EcEK26nxk
She wasn’t sleeping, just… letting her corneas rest.
Next moment—
The jazz started.
Claire opened her eyes.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaU6n7rd3Kr
In bed.
Her head buzzed.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg9mpWauvqS
Throat dry, like she’d inhaled ash.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡumQrG53TK8
The ceiling blurred for half a second.
Another day had begun.
— Same damn song.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYj4iTkedDr
Same damn voice.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIDgsjOAu4n
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.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiJf1HSP8Wn
And still—nothing stuck.
She saw nothing.
But this world remembered everything.
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGtC8iOd3zy
