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Everything was perfect.112Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmhI9Ex7QDF
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.112Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG5VwhJrNaA
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.112Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡirDZ1rtc8l
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.112Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB4ROcLDZhe
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.112Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSxe6O3XjV0
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.112Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOHcq19rIC9
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.112Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaIJUZEI9HO
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.112Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0c1OM34KtY
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.112Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8eMB0hE0fF
Hot, bitter, perfectly strong. The flavor bloomed down his throat in a fragrant wave.
Nora only allowed him three cups a day.112Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGE5AafMe4r
She always said too much caffeine made people irritable, and ruined sleep quality.
So he bought bigger mugs.112Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ7QWDBRDhC
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.112Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPR88DDnqKO
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.112Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz8foV5puvl
The mouth didn’t snap shut.112Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpTtBiY4lWC
In the silence, there was a soft click, but no bite.
Before Finn could celebrate, Nora pressed a tooth too.112Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmvfj2JN6la
No reaction again.
Finn—112Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdoOM8kqUtd
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,112Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx3JlFpfmjk
lips pushed out, eyes full of existential doubt—but not quite crying.
Tim smiled and turned back to his screen.112Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmz13puZBMi
His fingers resumed dancing across the keyboard. The scent of coffee still lingered. Everything was perfect.
Until he typed the word "apocalypse."112Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHv3Is5izWd
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.112Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqLpAKczWRl
Quiet, but clear. The kind of sound that split the calm like a hairline crack in glass.
Tim’s heart jumped.112Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBck2SeTqPp
He looked up.
A chill crawled down his spine, but he didn’t yet understand why.
What he saw in that moment—112Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBSap61qVA4
he would never forget it for the rest of his life.
It was like someone had hit a stop button in his brain.112Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyWJgLVpbax
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.112Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoBEkS1Z8uE
He didn’t understand yet. Blinked, waiting for her to speak or move.
Tim set his laptop down.112Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWDbTGZsCEz
Not thrown. Not dropped. Just placed, gently, like he was handling something fragile and sacred.
He walked toward her.112Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5gDn9mXpgG
He should have run, but he didn’t.112Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoZmFT0aLPB
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.112Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWTEVyuAq2d
Like a shell whose soul had been stolen by time.
He reached up, brushing blond strands from her face.112Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRa1Wu5XExu
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.112Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6nueJxqbnb
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.112Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFB5UAj5yGN
Tim didn’t move. Only his fingertips still trembled.
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His shaking hand reached for her neck.112Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCNuJZOyLOs
For a pulse.
Nothing.
No heartbeat.112Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6KyiAwTqeY
No breath.
The warmest, brightest light in his world—112Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡupyhA3sqmb
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.