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Everything was perfect.108Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkzLL4SnWu9
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.108Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmYHQdMrH6u
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.108Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUg7S2UHIbY
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.108Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU2Ogz8wnXY
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.108Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeKxxFy4ZeT
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.108Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc8ErMbSReK
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.108Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4KffMSTnco
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.108Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAVAany6NW4
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.108Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡItsl5OTf3u
Hot, bitter, perfectly strong. The flavor bloomed down his throat in a fragrant wave.
Nora only allowed him three cups a day.108Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqfZ2qhl66D
She always said too much caffeine made people irritable, and ruined sleep quality.
So he bought bigger mugs.108Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHSx0LtnVDd
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.108Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgCeFim1a7e
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.108Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1UkxCD8m91
The mouth didn’t snap shut.108Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN5jFOAti4r
In the silence, there was a soft click, but no bite.
Before Finn could celebrate, Nora pressed a tooth too.108Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMdptvu0vPm
No reaction again.
Finn—108Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5RUKC2kC3D
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,108Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu0yBVMxZ1I
lips pushed out, eyes full of existential doubt—but not quite crying.
Tim smiled and turned back to his screen.108Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdLD1WUTCK0
His fingers resumed dancing across the keyboard. The scent of coffee still lingered. Everything was perfect.
Until he typed the word "apocalypse."108Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj9j5MrCJgz
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.108Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEyHA5jI8af
Quiet, but clear. The kind of sound that split the calm like a hairline crack in glass.
Tim’s heart jumped.108Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR9Z1K3JrAR
He looked up.
A chill crawled down his spine, but he didn’t yet understand why.
What he saw in that moment—108Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjSR3pXH0Yv
he would never forget it for the rest of his life.
It was like someone had hit a stop button in his brain.108Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr92iodre7s
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.108Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMW8vsCYkRM
He didn’t understand yet. Blinked, waiting for her to speak or move.
Tim set his laptop down.108Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcl8miNWytx
Not thrown. Not dropped. Just placed, gently, like he was handling something fragile and sacred.
He walked toward her.108Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIjzaggZlK8
He should have run, but he didn’t.108Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJKQiDl0F0Y
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.108Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAyVeIsWMnT
Like a shell whose soul had been stolen by time.
He reached up, brushing blond strands from her face.108Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCYQuKyg3WZ
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.108Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHXmq0s22Iw
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.108Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrIUksaJLSh
Tim didn’t move. Only his fingertips still trembled.
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His shaking hand reached for her neck.108Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS9paefHaZk
For a pulse.
Nothing.
No heartbeat.108Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ25uFXwws7b
No breath.
The warmest, brightest light in his world—108Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDl2jrzCppc
had gone out in the quiet of their living room.
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<<End of Part One.>>
ns216.73.217.114da2
and then Add to home screen.