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Luca should have known.

He should have known that agreeing to anything with Damien meant signing up for inevitable chaos and suffering.

And yet, here he was, standing outside the biggest, flashiest amusement park in the city, regretting every decision that led him to this moment.

"You owe me," Luca muttered, shooting a glare at the man next to him.

Damien, looking positively smug, wrapped an arm around Luca's shoulders and pressed a kiss to his temple. "I know, sweetheart."

"You scammed me into this."

"I persuaded you."

Luca scoffed. "You bribed me with free desserts."

"Effective persuasion," Damien corrected.

Luca sighed, rubbing his temples. "I hate you."

Damien grinned. "No, you don't."

Luca groaned but didn't push him away.

Honestly, if he weren't so on edge, he might have enjoyed this. The bright lights, the sugary scent of funnel cakes, the sound of laughter—he liked amusement parks in theory. But in reality?

Two problems.

Problem #1: Clowns.

Problem #2: A very traumatic cotton candy overdose.

But he couldn't tell Damien any of that.

Because if Damien ever found out about the cotton candy incident, Luca knew he'd never hear the end of it.

So instead, he just scowled and trudged along while Damien beamed like a kid on Christmas.

Luca was this close to enjoying himself.

They had successfully avoided any horrifying clown encounters. Damien hadn't dragged him onto any death trap rollercoasters yet. And most importantly—Damien was so distracted by trying to win an overpriced plushie that he hadn't noticed Luca sneaking glances at him.

And okay. Maybe Luca liked seeing Damien like this—casual, carefree, happy.

Maybe Luca liked how Damien's eyes sparkled when he finally won the stupid plushie and immediately shoved it into Luca's arms like a proud idiot.

But he'd rather die than admit it.

"Alright, sweetheart," Damien said, slinging an arm around Luca's waist. "Now for the main event."

Luca frowned. "What main event?"

Damien grinned and pointed.

Luca followed his gaze and—

"Oh hell no."

Because right in front of them was a gift shop.

And displayed in the window... was an entire rack of bunny-ear headbands.

Luca turned on his heel to flee, but Damien caught him instantly.

"Come on, baby," Damien cooed. "Just one. For me."

"Absolutely not."

Damien pouted. "Please?"

"No."

Damien leaned in close, voice dropping to a whisper. "I'll make it worth your while later."

Luca shivered but held firm. "Still no."

Damien sighed. Then, before Luca could react, he scooped him up bridal style and marched straight into the shop.

"Damien!" Luca yelped, flailing. "Put me down!"

"Not until you try on the bunny ears."

"I will bite you."

Damien laughed, utterly unbothered, and only set Luca down once they were inside.

The next ten minutes were hell.

Because Damien—notorious bastard that he was—kept making Luca try on different bunny ear designs, snapping photo after photo and grinning like a lunatic the entire time.

By the time Luca managed to escape (wearing a pair of bunny ears because somehow Damien had convinced him it was the fastest way to leave), he was this close to murdering his boyfriend.

Luca thought he was in the clear.

He had survived the clowns. He had tolerated the bunny ears. Now, all he had to do was make it through the rest of the date without Damien uncovering his deep, dark, shameful cotton candy past.

Then, Damien ruined everything.

"Here."

Luca turned—and froze.

Because in Damien's hand was the biggest bag of pink cotton candy Luca had ever seen.

Luca swallowed hard. "Oh. Uh. No thanks."

Damien frowned. "What? But you love sweets."

"Not that one."

Damien narrowed his eyes. "Why?"

Luca turned away. "No reason."

And that was his mistake.

Because Damien knew when Luca was hiding something.

And Damien, being the demon that he was, immediately latched onto it.

"Luca," Damien purred, stepping closer. "Sweetheart. Love of my life. What aren't you telling me?"

Luca took a step back. "Nothing."

Damien smirked. "Oh? So if I buy this and feed it to you—"

"No."

Damien's eyes gleamed. "Oh-ho. Interesting."

Luca groaned, face heating up. "Damien, drop it."

But of course, Damien didn't drop it.

No, he kept digging until Luca finally snapped and blurted, "Fine! You really want to know? Last time I had cotton candy, I ate so much I got sick, okay? I spent hours curled up in bed, regretting my entire life! And I am never letting that happen again!"

Silence.

Then—

Damien howled with laughter.

Luca wanted to die.

"Oh my god," Damien wheezed. "You—sweetheart—you mean to tell me the real reason you didn't want to come here—"

"Shut up," Luca muttered, hiding his face.

"—was because you traumatized yourself on cotton candy?"

Luca groaned. "I hate you."

Damien wiped a tear from his eye. "No, no, I love you so much more now."

Luca crossed his arms, glaring. "Are you done?"

Damien grinned, wrapping his arms around Luca's waist and pulling him close. "Never."

Luca huffed, but when Damien pressed a kiss to his cheek, he begrudgingly let it happen.

Because, really...

As insufferable as Damien was, Luca still loved him.

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