Lake looked up at Davian as he pushed his hair out of his face with the hairband again. "Why?"
"So I can practice... for the baby."
Lake’s expression softened, they didn’t often talk about the baby like they were both coming to terms with the new life he was carrying.
"You can practice on mine," He offered generously, taking a couple of scrunchies because most times, hairbands simply didn’t cut it.
That was Davian’s cue to clear out the hairband section, attracting the attention of nearby customers with the rattle of the accessories.
Lake held onto the Alpha’s muscle shirt on his side to catch his attention, "What are you doing?" He whispered, his eyes darting around.
"You said I could practice," Davian replied defensively.
Lake stared down at the shopping basket brimming with hairbands of all sizes and colors, "You really don’t need that many."
"I don’t mind," Davian shrugged.
This time Lake took his wrist to lead him away from the hair section, a grimace on his face as he sent apologetic looks to the other shoppers.
He didn’t trust Davian not to empty out the entire section if they stayed there for much longer.
Lake easily found the aprons, quick to forget about the skirmish with the hairbands as he held up an apron with a variety of puppies patterned on it.
"Oh this is perfect," He said with a smile, his attention caught by another apron with watermelons printed on it. "Or this..."
Davian watched the pile of aprons on Lake’s arm grow bigger, this... this was what he wanted.
It didn’t matter if he got to shop with Lake and watch his smile on an off-map island somewhere or right here in the heart of Haines, the Omega was what he wanted regardless.
"Or this," Lake held up an apron with an eerily life-like spider printed on it, "You could wear it to your cooking class."
"Is that payback for the hairbands?" He asked dryly.
Lake giggled and put it back, just the one. The rest of the heap of aprons he had taken went right into the shopping cart.
The cart was full and they hadn’t bought the clothes they came for. They went to the top floor of the store for that, it was quieter and more empty on the first floor.
Unlike the ground floor where clothes were sold in bulk, families freely meandering about, the first floor had more staff, the decor more expensive.
A shopping assistant walked right up to them, "Thank you for shopping with us, what are you looking to get today?"
She glanced at Davian as she addressed Lake, her smile getting strained as she no doubt recognized him.
"Matching outfits for a festival." Lake said bluntly, hoping the shopping assistant would have some good ideas because he was flat out of them.
"A festival?" She repeated, caught off-guard, eyeing the shopping cart Mafia King Davian held as she racked her brains to come up with a way to offer to take it to the counter for him.
"Yes," Lake carried the conversation, "There’s really no dress code but I’d be glad if you could find something in black and gold."
The shopping assistant nodded and then took the leap, "Please come with me, and you can leave that at the counter, it’ll be added to the rest of your purchase." She addressed Mafia King Davian for the first time.
Davian glanced down at it like he had completely forgotten about it, "Sure, thanks." He muttered, striding over to the counter to hand it over to the nervous cashier.
Lake had a sharp eye on him until he came over, the tension in his shoulders easing when Davian stood by his side like he always did.
The shopping assistant took them to a single dressing room and asked them to wait before excusing herself to go get clothes matching the description.
It would be next to impossible to find a matching outfit that wasn’t a suit and tie combo, and Lake wasn’t about to make Davian wear something he wasn’t comfortable with.
Even if they had to scrap their plans of matching outfits, which they most likely would. The fact that they would be sharing a dressing room didn’t register until the shopping assistant returned with an entire mobile closet worth of clothes.
"I put the outfits in duos so it would be easier to try on," She pasted a shaky but bright smile on her face, excusing herself once more. "I’ll be back in a bit."
Lake watched her go, his brain slow to process the fact that she planned for him to share the dressing room with Davian.
He could perfectly see how the picture they painted could be misconstrued, but just because he was wearing an Alpha’s mating mark and also carrying his baby, it didn’t mean that they were together!
"There’s two suits in here," Davian interrupted his whirling thoughts, holding up one of the suit bags.
Lake closed the distance between them, maybe if he was also wearing a suit, Davian would find it easier to... yeah no.
It wasn’t just suits but full-blown tuxedos, they would both stand out like sore thumbs at the festival. Lake wasn’t even sure he knew how to put a tux on.
"Why don’t we try the next one?" Lake suggested, reaching for it.
It was less stiffly formal like the tuxedos, Lake eyed up the soft gold dress shirt, he really wanted to see Davian in a suit.
"Here," He offered the Alpha who took it without protests.
His outfit was a simple dress shirt and slacks, it was what he had in mind when Davian first suggested color-coordinating their outfits.
Lake nearly swallowed his tongue when Davian just yanked his shirt off. "D-Don’t just un-undress right here," He scolded, flustered.
Davian cocked a brow at him, holding the outfit he was supposed to try on.
"G-Go to that corner," Lake insisted, sounding like he was putting the Alpha in timeout.
Davian’s slight smile as he walked off didn’t help his situation but at least he was given some reprieve, and he wouldn’t have to take his own clothes off right in front of the Alpha.