Masha's jaw almost hit the ground when she realized that the plushies were all for her. There were so many! At least a dozen or two!

Misha didn't wait for his sister to recover from the shock, and he immediately started to brag that he had won all of them by himself (the ones that Gabriel won didn't count). The child's exaggerated way of speaking and moving as he told his feat brought a genuine smile on Masha's lips, her whole face lightening up as stars filled her eyes.

Her little brother hadn't finished talking yet that the teenage girl hugged him tightly, squeezing the big teddy bear between their bodies. It was the first time her brother gave her something; usually, she was the one who showered him with gifts. The little attention touched her to no end, making her felt like she was floating on cloud nine. She would cherish those plushies as if they were a priceless treasure, even though those were low in quality, and some were a bit too flashy — bright yellow, pastel blue, and so on.

"Thank you, sweetie. I like them all; they are so pretty." She kissed the child on his forehead, then added, "I didn't know you were so skilled. You hid it well!"

"He, he, I was lucky!" laughed the child as he buried his face against his sister's shoulder, his tiny arms grabbing her back. He closed his eyes, enjoying the feeling of warmth that spread all over his body. He had missed her hugs so much. In her arms, he felt safe, making him forget the bad memories.

Even after a moment passed, the boy refused to let go, trapping Masha in his arms.

Laughing, the teenage girl said gently, "You will have to let me go if you want to eat something. You must be hungry after playing so many games."

"Hn." Although the child made a sound to acknowledge his sister's words, he still didn't budge at all. Instead, he snuggled against her shoulder.

"If you continue to hug me like this, you will have to sit on my l.a.p.s while eating, you know?"

"..." Misha thought that it was a bit too much, and he reluctantly let go, looking at his sister's arms with conflicted eyes. They were pale, a beautiful porcelain white, and they had no scares on them. They seemed even too smooth in his eyes.

The child looked away, but he still extended his hand and slid it into hers.

Masha raised an eyebrow but didn't complain. She could only smile helplessly. Since his brother had a nightmare a few days ago, the teenager noticed that he tended to glance at her now and then. He was also a bit more clingy at times while being distant at other times. It seemed like the bad dream affected the child's mood more than he wanted to let her know, and so she indulged him – it wasn't like his clinginess bothered her, anyways.

Putting aside the bro-con/sis-con duo, Mrs. Brown went to Gabriel to help him put down the plushies on the table. The teenage boy was struggling quite a lot with the toys.

As Mrs. Brown helped Gabriel put down the plushies, she said, "I'm sorry about this. I will pay you back. How much did it cost?"

"Don't worry; it's nothing. And it didn't cost much. Misha almost won the game in one go all the time, so I didn't lose any money."

"But..."

"Really, I don't need it. It was my p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e, and I had a lot of fun. We can also say that this is my contribution to Masha's birthday gifts." Gabriel winked, a gentle smile on his thin lips.

In the end, faced with this gentle yet firm stance, Mrs. Brown had no choice but to yield.

Afterward, the group bought food at the stalls and sat down to eat until their bellies became round. Then, they went to the lockers they rented and put the plushies next to the girl's backpacks. Gabriel's backpack was packed to the brim with plushies, and he had to transfer them inside the locker before leaving. If Misha wanted to play another booth game along the way, he would be able to put the smaller plushies inside once more.

However, the pink teddy bear was too big to fit inside the locker, and thus Masha decided to keep it with her.

Once they packed away all the plushies, they closed the bulging locker and set a time for their next meeting. Then, Mrs. Brown made his son promised not to play too much at the booth games, and the group slipt up a second time.

Again, Misha watched his sister's and mother's back slowly disappeared in the crowd before turning on his heel and walking away.

A devious smile slipped onto his lips, but the child quickly hid it before tugging Gabriel's short and pointing his finger at the colorful tower, "I want to do this! I'm tall enough, no?"

The teenager looked at the tower and nodded. "Yes. Okay, let's wait in line."

However, Misha didn't move immediately, saying, "Do it with me!"

"Ergh... Misha, I'm really not good with heights..." shuddered Gabriel as he forced a smile.

The child frowned, pursing his lips. He looked into the teenager's eyes with big puppy eyes as he said with a small, trembling voice, "You really can't?"

"Ergh..."

When Gabriel was looked at with that kind of eyes, it was as if someone repeatedly stabbed his heart, and then viciously twisted the dagger that was still lodged in his c.h.e.s.t. It was hard to say, 'no.'

"You really, really can't?" repeated Misha, tears in his eyes.

Truthfully, the child still couldn't believe the teenager's words. He couldn't shake off the image he had of Gabriel so easily. For so many years, that man had shown him his gentle yet firm side every day. He was someone that wouldn't back down no matter what; someone that could face everything head-on and still stand on his own two feet afterward. To say that he was afraid of heights... It didn't feel right.

The teenager gulped and hesitated a few more seconds before sighing and nodding. Surely, the child wouldn't stop pestering him until he agreed. "Just this one." He wouldn't die for only one rollercoaster, right?

Giggling, the child grabbed the teenager's wrist and dragged him to the carousel tower waiting line. At the entrance, there was a ladder with a red mark indicating the minimum height required to do the rollercoaster. Misha just barely reached it, which made him a little grumpy. He was ten cm smaller than the average heights of boys of his age! Depressing!

The amus.e.m.e.nt park still wasn't too crowded, so they didn't have to wait for a long time before getting on the rollercoaster. The swing chairs were by pair of two. Gabriel and Misha sat next to each other; the boy was bouncing excitedly on his chair while the teenager had a stiff face.

The moment the teenager sat, he clenched his fist as well as his teeth, looking at the thin chains that supported the chair, then the thin metal rod placed on top of his l.a.p.s for safety; he didn't feel safe at all and wondered if the one who created this rollercoaster even knew what safety means. When the ride started, and he was lifted into the air, Gabriel couldn't keep his eyes open. He closed them, biting his finger, while his feet felt itchy. When the rollercoaster started to spin, he started to curse under his breath at first, and as time went on, his cursing words began to be louder and louder, as well as more crude.

By the teenager's side, Misha looked at him with big, round eyes. It had to be said that he had rarely heard Gabriel swear in his whole past life. The only time where he heard his tongue getting as much loose was when he learned was his father had done to him. Even he felt his ears get scorched by the vulgar words at that time. The boy was left speechless. Was Gabriel so afraid that he forgot the child by his side? Or even his image?

When the rollercoaster finally stopped, Gabriel hurriedly got off of the chair, and ran to the nearest trash bin before throwing up his previous dinner. His beautiful face was deadly pale when he lifted it again, facing Misha that had come by his side. The child had a dumb expression plastered on his face, making him appear somewhat foolish.

A bit shameful, Gabriel felt the need to explain himself, "I'm really not good with heights…"

"Yeah. I saw that…"

Sadly, it seemed like Gabriel was human after all, and not a demon in human skin.

Author's note :

MC: We need to come back to the amus.e.m.e.nt park in a few years.

ML: Why?

MC: They will build a particular rollercoaster. It's really fun riding it. *grin, grin*

ML: … My poor stomach.