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"Dream, would you like for us to have a pet?
They were in the living room, as they almost always were at night, in their favorite position. Dream rested his head on Hob's lap while Hob read.
They had never discussed pets before.
"I'm not good enough for you anymore?" asked Dream in a sulky voice before he continued without giving Hob time to answer, "I mean, I can turn into a cat or even a dog, so I don't see why you would want one. Besides, a pet needs to be taken care of. With your classes and mine about to start, it would be a lot of work, wouldn't it?"
"But I wouldn't mind taking care of it, you know," Hob replied softly as he began to play with Dream's hair, his lover relaxing as always under the touch.
"But then you would have to take less care of me," Dream replied with the same pouty tone that made Hob smile fondly.
Dream was much more open about his feelings now, and Hob really enjoyed 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 will always be my priority, my sweet lord, you have no reason to be jealous." Hob continued to run his fingers through Dream's hair. He honestly didn't know which of him or Dream would miss it more if he couldn't do that anymore. The gesture soothed him as well as Dream.
Dream seemed to ponder for a moment and replied gently, "I won't stop you if you really want one, but not one that wouldn't fit in our life."
Hob shook his head and said tenderly, "Dream, it doesn't work like that. You know I won't make the decision alone, and I 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."
He leaned over and pressed a soft kiss to Dream's head.
Dream sighed, "I know, I... actually sometimes I worry that you're depriving yourself of things just to satisfy my whims when I'm not making any effort."
Hob resumed his stroking of Dream's hair and replied softly, "It's not about that at all, Dream. We're discussing it, I don't feel deprived of anything, and I'd rather you tell me clearly when you don't want something. It's a two-way street... always. I will never hesitate to tell you."
Dream relaxed again before saying, "I do want a pet, but not too big, and I want to choose its name. The only non-negotiable condition is that if we get one, and I mean us, together, you are not allowed to stop stroking my hair like that," Dream's tone was so serious that Hob found it hard to hold back a laugh.
"You really don't have to worry about that, as long as you allow it, this humble human will never 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'd do it like this..."
He made Dream lie down on the couch, straddled him and leaned over Dream's neck, burying his head in the black hair, which made his lover laugh out loud.
Yes, Dream had nothing to fear, he would always be Hob's priority.