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Everything was perfect.45Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHx95YYcXOe
Tim was in the living room, typing up a report. His laptop rested on his knees, a coffee mug beside him. The sound of keystrokes tapped out a light, steady rhythm—like proof that everything was going just right.
All he had to do was lift his head, pause for a moment, draw his gaze away from the words on the screen—and he would see Nora and Finn in front of him.
Nora sat on the carpet with her legs folded to the side, dressed in her loungewear, body casually leaning against the sofa. Her pose looked like something out of a spontaneous sketch.
Finn lay on his stomach, eyes fixed in concentration, hands gripping the edges of the Crocodile Dentist toy like he was solving some kind of life-or-death puzzle.
They were playing the classic game, and Finn couldn’t decide which tooth to press without getting bitten. That big plastic green mouth stood wide open, each tooth looking like a possible trap. He hesitated for ages, finger hovering indecisively in mid-air.
He’d already been bitten five times. Usually, Finn had to win at least once before he’d let a game go.45Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfJrWyT3zhU
Each time he got bitten, he’d jump up in frustration, pry open the mouth again, and insist on a rematch.
Little cheater, Tim thought.45Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbUTRlfKrvi
He kept typing, but couldn’t help smiling. The corners of his lips tugged up involuntarily.
He looked at Nora’s back. Her blond hair was down, spilling across her shoulders like strands of golden thread catching the light.45Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRBivK8GOIL
The overhead lamp cast a soft angle, making it look like her hair had a language and warmth of its own, swaying gently with every small movement she made.
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He was writing a report for Batman.45Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeu6oYYEaJx
About Nora.
The words flowed across the screen, forming clean paragraphs, his tone a balance of professionalism and personal warmth—his usual style.
Truthfully, the report was more a formality now.45Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdNDkZLTfTz
Nora’s place here didn’t need justification anymore. Her skills, her choices, her actions—they had already become part of this family’s unspoken understanding.
The Wayne family had accepted her.45Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIjp0hC6Apn
She was one of "us" now—on the battlefield and at the dinner table.
All Tim had to do was type it out for Batman to see.45Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTt5xAUrLVY
A report that was, at most, a thin piece of paper recording a glimmer of light in the night.
Tim took a sip of coffee, feeling good.45Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcAW9IGhseA
Hot, bitter, perfectly strong. The flavor bloomed down his throat in a fragrant wave.
Nora only allowed him three cups a day.45Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaxyqerlCwH
She always said too much caffeine made people irritable, and ruined sleep quality.
So he bought bigger mugs.45Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwFd6mEYzae
That way, "three cups" meant three big cups. He felt a little smug about the loophole, though Nora had definitely caught on.
She rolled her eyes when she saw.45Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6QEdGVFyHy
But she never said much. Just smiled at the corners of her mouth and muttered, "So childish."
He heard a sound. Finn had finally made his choice, pressed a tooth.45Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfDQs2X84u1
The mouth didn’t snap shut.45Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDRoya4XkKJ
In the silence, there was a soft click, but no bite.
Before Finn could celebrate, Nora pressed a tooth too.45Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡytfzYt6qFL
No reaction again.
Finn—45Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnmxq7Ohps2
his face twitched, like a tiny old man thrown into a philosophical crisis.
From this angle, Tim could clearly see the kid’s scrunched-up expression,45Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRDHkZB3Loq
lips pushed out, eyes full of existential doubt—but not quite crying.
Tim smiled and turned back to his screen.45Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWVACPNOa2E
His fingers resumed dancing across the keyboard. The scent of coffee still lingered. Everything was perfect.
Until he typed the word "apocalypse."45Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv3LpNAT8qK
And the words on the screen suddenly felt heavier. He paused, thinking about sentence structure, ready to revise—
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Thump.
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A soft sound, like something heavy hitting the carpet.45Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbSOwigqwhO
Quiet, but clear. The kind of sound that split the calm like a hairline crack in glass.
Tim’s heart jumped.45Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo9bnIvjRoL
He looked up.
A chill crawled down his spine, but he didn’t yet understand why.
What he saw in that moment—45Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNYB8KkG1Ry
he would never forget it for the rest of his life.
It was like someone had hit a stop button in his brain.45Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6JmBvdp33I
Silence fell over the world.
It would become the nightmare he would carry forever.
Nora had collapsed.
Her golden hair spread across the carpet, shimmering still, but lifeless—no breath, no motion. Like a golden cloak silently fallen from her shoulders.
Finn looked at her, confused.45Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmlcnApjt7w
He didn’t understand yet. Blinked, waiting for her to speak or move.
Tim set his laptop down.45Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe1TZpDuJrj
Not thrown. Not dropped. Just placed, gently, like he was handling something fragile and sacred.
He walked toward her.45Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRRG170VZmf
He should have run, but he didn’t.45Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnNLBfanirY
He didn’t want to disturb the moment. Didn’t want to make it real.
He reached her, knelt down. One hand touched her shoulder, carefully turning her body.
She was still warm. But there was no response.45Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRhBFZpwFfH
Like a shell whose soul had been stolen by time.
He reached up, brushing blond strands from her face.45Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGtNI30Inqa
Like pulling back a curtain, hoping the reveal would show it was all a dream, a prank.
Nora’s face was peaceful. Like she was sleeping.45Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLUjULVVwUb
No signs of pain. No tension. As if she’d open her eyes the next second and tease, "Got you."
The two people who loved her most stared at her, silently pleading for those green eyes to open, to say it was all a joke.
Finn crept closer, step by step.45Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcUtx0nmNEu
Tim didn’t move. Only his fingertips still trembled.
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His shaking hand reached for her neck.45Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLOABmNqTiW
For a pulse.
Nothing.
No heartbeat.45Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsyluESy74c
No breath.
The warmest, brightest light in his world—45Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgWeMsXma4o
had gone out in the quiet of their living room.
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<<End of Part One.>>
ns216.73.216.217da2
and then Add to home screen.