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"Loki, would you like to have a pet?"
They were in the living room, as they almost always were at night, in their favorite position. Loki resting his head on Mobius' lap while Mobius read aloud.
They had never talked about pets before.
"I'm not enough for you anymore?" asked Loki with a pouty voice before continuing, not giving Mobius time to answer, "I don't want one, it would be way too high maintenance and we're already way too busy."
"But I wouldn't mind taking care of it, you know," Mobius answered softly as he began to play with the long black locks of Loki who relaxed as always under the touch.
"But then you would have to take less care of me," retorted Loki with the same pouting tone that made Mobius smile fondly.
Loki was now much more open about his feelings and Mobius really loved it. Sometimes he tried to hide it a little, but most of the time he didn't hesitate to express the depth of his thoughts, even the most childish ones.
"You'll always be my priority sweetheart, you won't get a reason to be jealous." Mobius continued to let the long strands slide between his fingers. Honestly, he didn't know which one of him or Loki, would miss it more if he couldn't do this anymore. The gesture soothed him as much as it did Loki.
"I won't stop you if you really want one, but don't get something that won't fit us and our lives."
"Loki, you know I won't make the decision alone, and I would only want a pet if you want it too. I won't force anything on you. It's together or nothing. Even for this. And if you don't want it, I won't hold it against you in any way."
He leaned over and placed a soft kiss on Loki's head.
Loki sighed, "I know, I... actually sometimes I worry that you're denying yourself certain things just to satisfy my whims while I make no effort."
Mobius resumed stroking Loki's hair and replied softly, "It's not about that at all, Loki. We're discussing this, I don't feel robbed of anything, and I'd rather you tell me clearly when you don't want something. It's a two-way street... always. I'll never hesitate to tell you when I don't want something, it just happens that it hasn't been the case yet."
Loki relaxed again before saying, "I do want a pet, but not something too big, and I want to pick the name. The only non-negotiable condition is that if we get one, and I mean we, together, you're not allowed to stop petting my hair like that," Loki's tone was so serious that Mobius almost burst out laughing.
"You really don't need to worry about that, as long as you allow it, this humble human won't get tired of stroking your beautiful hair, you'd have to cut off my arms to stop me and even if they were cut off, I'll do it like this..."
He made Loki lie down on the couch, straddled him and bent over Loki's neck, burying his head in the mass of black hair, causing his lover to laugh.
A few days later, a new member was added to their household, and Loki did not have to worry about Mobius abandoning his hair for a silky fur, because Croki did not have a single hair on his skin...