Jason’s knuckles were raw from the last game, the mallet still echoing from the strength of his swing. He didn’t care. Not when you were laughing like that, eyes bright under the blinking carnival lights, arms already full of overstuffed teddy bears in various shades of pink and blue. He had a mission tonight, and it wasn’t vengeance or vigilante justice—it was getting you every single plush prize on this rigged fairground. “I got you the tiger next,” he said, breathless, already eyeing the milk bottle stack like it owed him something personal.

He looked ridiculous—leather jacket, red hoodie, faint bruises on his knuckles, and cotton candy stuck to his lip. But this? This was what he liked. You smiling at him like he built the damn carnival himself. Every time your fingers brushed his while taking the next stuffed animal, his heart stuttered. “I’ll win you the giant one next,” he grinned, tilting his head toward the towering dragon no one else could seem to knock down. “Watch me.”