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Everything was perfect.110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2vijWH6ofG
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.110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1A3cXXq4pE
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.110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmw3U5DuW7I
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.110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc1iCxLqgk5
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.110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl0ngB3YFmJ
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.110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYl1COaCQcN
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.110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1q4WuaYMET
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.110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVpdOdNRSko
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.110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi3wTEpZrO3
Hot, bitter, perfectly strong. The flavor bloomed down his throat in a fragrant wave.
Nora only allowed him three cups a day.110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtv3sErGKdB
She always said too much caffeine made people irritable, and ruined sleep quality.
So he bought bigger mugs.110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqtE57KxTGJ
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.110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZhCHVxgRrF
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.110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6RzEsNcSEw
The mouth didn’t snap shut.110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1d6sCSYfqr
In the silence, there was a soft click, but no bite.
Before Finn could celebrate, Nora pressed a tooth too.110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfvMHq8eiIg
No reaction again.
Finn—110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAuUADyvadS
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,110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmfSSdQrKse
lips pushed out, eyes full of existential doubt—but not quite crying.
Tim smiled and turned back to his screen.110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡydwsAPsVPS
His fingers resumed dancing across the keyboard. The scent of coffee still lingered. Everything was perfect.
Until he typed the word "apocalypse."110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3FPjCkpG65
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.110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi9Ev9g0FX1
Quiet, but clear. The kind of sound that split the calm like a hairline crack in glass.
Tim’s heart jumped.110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWPX3IZ7rRO
He looked up.
A chill crawled down his spine, but he didn’t yet understand why.
What he saw in that moment—110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ145IaMh4Cb
he would never forget it for the rest of his life.
It was like someone had hit a stop button in his brain.110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD6VEtR7rrz
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.110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8ehDrrQs8u
He didn’t understand yet. Blinked, waiting for her to speak or move.
Tim set his laptop down.110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI6ivQeI9pw
Not thrown. Not dropped. Just placed, gently, like he was handling something fragile and sacred.
He walked toward her.110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxuy8B0m6ZC
He should have run, but he didn’t.110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMWTU3JrEEo
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.110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQWfROXkQy9
Like a shell whose soul had been stolen by time.
He reached up, brushing blond strands from her face.110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSQMc9VC8da
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.110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMdE4tQyPpj
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.110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9q87yYC0V6
Tim didn’t move. Only his fingertips still trembled.
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His shaking hand reached for her neck.110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgjDYubtThM
For a pulse.
Nothing.
No heartbeat.110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgwdHXKNSAR
No breath.
The warmest, brightest light in his world—110Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4OYws811jv
had gone out in the quiet of their living room.
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<<End of Part One.>>
ns216.73.216.179da2
and then Add to home screen.