It had been a long day for both of you. Long needed chores were done, work was blowing up your phones about god knows what, and preparations for that night’s patrol had to be done. It seemed never ending.

“Tell me about it,” you sighed, eyeing the various choices laid out before you. Would you go for the iconic Batburger? Or maybe the Robin Nuggets? Something light like the Super Salad? Hell no, that wouldn’t be enough to fill the seemingly never ending pit in your stomach. “Can you order me the Batburger meal? Extra fries?”

“Done and done,” he smiled, shuffling forward as the customer in front of him finished paying and it was his turn.

As he rattled off your order to the cashier you looked around the restaurant. For once, it was a nice day in Gotham. The sun for the first time in forever was shining, crime was at an all time low, and even the people seemed livelier with the sunshine in the air.

It was a lovely day.

You eventually turned your head back to the conversation at hand, noticing Dick opening his wallet to pay. That’s when you caught it. There, in the clear laminated pocket of his wallet, there sat a smiling photo of you. Eyes shining, lips in a wide grin, hand in the air as you waved back to the camera. You don’t even remember when it might have been taken but it was clearly old, the corners folded in with age and love.

You were so lost in thought that you didn’t even notice Dick had finished his transaction, the man putting his hand on your back to move you aside and to a nearby booth. 

“You keep a photo of me in your wallet?” You blurted out as you sat.

“What?” He asked, moving to sit beside you once you were comfortable. His eyes then lit up with realization. “Oh, that, yeah! Of course I would. I want something nice to look at when you’re not around.” He winked.

You rolled your eyes. “Seriously, when did you even take that?”

Dick gasped, scandalized. “I’ll have you know that was on our first date thank you very much? Do you seriously not remember? When we had a picnic at the park?”

Oh yeah. Now that he mentioned it that did sound familiar.

It had been a day just like this one. The sky clear, the sun shining, a cool breeze to counteract its blistering heat. Dick had only just gotten the courage to confess to you a few days before that. Begging you to give him just one single chance to prove how good of a lover he could be. At just that confession you were already smitten, but of course you said yes.

“Ohhh,” you sounded, nodding at the memory.

“Yeah, oh,” he playfully scoffed. “Unbelievable. You might as well have forgotten our anniversary.”

You smacked his arm. “Don’t be so dramatic.” A smidge of guilt did fester within you, but it was quickly overturned by the swell of love you felt. The fact that he loved you so much that he felt the need to have a memento to keep close by.

Crucible by B.B. Reid

A dark Goldilocks retelling. A famous pop star gets sent off to her private property in Canada to be out of the public eye to reflect after starting some very messy drama. Her private plane crashes killing everyone on board but herself, using materials she finds in the wreckage she starts on a journey to find help in the very remote, very snowy mountains, where she finds a large cabin. Little does she know this cabins belongs to 3 men with sketchy pasts who have been isolated on this mountain for 9 years. No company but themselves.

CABIN RULES:

1: show us some fucking respect

2: we own you

3: swallow every drop

4: do what we tell you

5: have our dinner ready on time, or we'll have you instead

6: run, and we will let you die

thank you! ^^

I have been thinking about changing their hairstyle a bit though..

Scraps from the original draft or abandoned excerpts - this has been rewritten for a chapter, but i keep all of the first drafts, too, in case.

“Heh, thanks, Katheryne.” I grin accepting each bag she hands over, making them disappear into storage one after the other

“It is my pleasure, these are simply just rewards for your efforts in achieving successful missions” she smiles, a practised bow as she handed me the final satchel

I lift my sleeve, dusting over the numbers that blink and continue ticking upward, the giddy feeling of seeing the primogems accumulate.

“By the way, Katheryne.” I summon a gem to sit between my fingers “these, what are they used for exactly?”

“These crystals are used in prayer sermons, as offerings to the gods. Apart from that, they are not used for anything else of importance.” She says

“How fun” I mutter “can they be bought?”

Katherine Shakes her head “no, they only form when one displays pure intent and represents an attribute of the seven.”

I look at her blankly “attributes?”

She sighs “displaying irrefutable wisdom, an act of freedom or enacting justice among others”

“gotcha’” I wince “and people give them in commissions? As an attribute to contracts?”

“indeed.” Katherine smiles “is there anything else I can help you with?”