"I hope he is all right," Viola remarked as they left the haunted house with workers rushing in to take the unconscious man out. Sebastian had really done him dirty when all the man had been doing was his job, but then he had genuinely scared the soul out of her body. She was still shaking and gripping Sebastian’s arm tightly.

"Next time, he will learn not to jump into people’s path like that. He should be lucky I didn’t wring his neck," he said in irritation, not seeing the point of a haunted house at all when he was aware all the people were fake ghosts. Only, he wouldn’t tolerate anyone scaring his mate in such a way.

Viola chuckled. "But he’s doing his job. I hope you won’t punch anyone again. It’s a fun experience to be scared like that."

Sebastian scoffed. "I can’t promise. I hope they don’t get in our way," he said, turning to slip her hand into his so he was holding her fingers clasped protectively in his.

"The heat is getting worse. Let’s get you cooled down, my darling." He steered her away from the rides to the stalls and cubicles at the sides, where different kinds of food and snacks were sold.

They bought ice cream, corn dogs, and ramen noodles from a stall, trying different flavors and spices under an umbrella table until they were both satisfied and laughing like teenagers when they had a competition to see who could endure the spiciest noodles better, and Sebastian won the challenge.

"My tongue is on fire!" Viola cried as she jumped up and down, fanning it with her hand while Sebastian laughed hard as he got her a milk drink from a cold drink store in the park.

"This will help put it out. Sit down. My poor baby can’t handle a little spice. You look so red," he teased, pinching her cheek, and she swatted at his hand before gulping down the drink.

Sebastian liked spicy food because he had grown up eating everything spicy, for his late mother couldn’t do without putting extra spice in everything she made, and the noodle’s spice barely affected him, unlike his adorable wife, who was far more sensitive to it.

He watched her drink with a warm expression on his face, feeling his heart light and free. Seeing her this happy was worth the embarrassment on the ride, and he thought he would endure far worse than that if it meant watching her smile like this. Moments like these were rare for her, and he found that he liked being the reason for them.

Afterward, Viola found herself lingering in front of a stall that had plush teddy bears on display, the kind you had to earn by fishing them out of a glass tank with a small hook.

"Do you want one?" He asked, noticing the way her eyes had fixed on it.

She smiled. "I thought it would look nice on my bed."

"Then I will get it for you." He took her hand and walked her over to the glass, and she felt her cheeks aching from smiling so much. She had never been this happy in her entire life, and being this completely happy was a frightening thing, because happiness like this could be lost just as easily as it had come.

As he worked on getting her the teddy bear, Viola watched him with stars in her eyes, her heart warm and her stomach fluttering quietly. He was so concentrated on catching the plush bear that when he lost his grip on it, he cursed under his breath and pushed another coin in to try again. How had she ended up this lucky? How had she ended up this happy? Would this happiness last, or were these stolen moments, the kind that eventually shattered?

The thought of it breaking tightened something in her chest and planted a quiet fear there. She didn’t want it to break. She didn’t want it to end. She wanted a forever after, like the ones in movies and books, she wanted to freeze this moment right here and never leave it. But she knew reality was waiting outside this place, and outside here, it wasn’t as soft and lovely as this.

She watched him try again and again, all the way to his twentieth attempt, until he finally won, and when the hook locked around the bear and didn’t let go, he let out a whoop and threw his hand up in victory before turning, scooping her up swiftly, and giving her a princess spin followed by a firm, warm kiss on the lips.

"I got you the plushie!" He laughed, setting her back down and taking it from the vendor, who recognized him immediately as their Alpha but was having a genuinely difficult time reconciling that fact with the image of the Supreme Alpha spending the better part of an hour trying to win his Luna a stuffed bear, and then celebrating like he had won a war when he finally managed it. Was this their Alpha, or a very convincing imposter?

He presented the reward to her with both hands, a big purple teddy bear, and said, "Your prize, my queen."

Viola smiled, feeling her heart tremble as she hugged it to her chest. "Thank you. I will treasure her for as long as I have her. She’s cute and warm."

"Or better yet," he said, leaning down to whisper at her ear, "you can save her for when we have our little princess. What do you think?" He kissed her earlobe, and she flushed all the way to the roots of her hair, and for the first time, the idea of having a pup with him didn’t feel frightening or impossible. It just felt warm.

They passed a tattoo stall on their way through the park and Sebastian stopped, staring at the place.

"Do you want to get another tattoo?" Viola asked, looking at him curiously.

"Maybe." He said, grinning as he pulled her along towards the entrance of the shop.

She waited for him in a comfortable seating area with air conditioning, grateful for the cool air after the heat of the afternoon, and helped herself to the refreshments while she sat. She couldn’t quite stop her eyes from drifting toward him, but his broad back was turned to her and whatever was being done was on his right upper arm. She sat with the sound of the machine humming until it eventually went quiet.

"Can I see it?" She asked eagerly the moment he stood up, since he had pulled his sleeve back down immediately without showing her.

"Not yet. I’ll show you later." He said, taking her hand. "Let’s go."

___

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