cuttingremark | Salon buddies for @favoriteanalyst

Salon buddies for @favoriteanalyst

It started about a few months ago. Loki needed to relax after making the mistake of spending his winter holidays with his 'family' (which ended in another spectacular fight with Odin that resulted in one broken window and a lost snow globe Loki has thrown through said broken window), but his normal esthetician was booked solid for the next year and couldn't fit him in outside of his own pre-scheduled appointments no matter how much money he offered to throw at her. Wanda was the best in the city, probably the whole country, so it made sense, but there's still the issue of Loki needing something to relieve his tension so he didn't strangle his paralegals. The thought crossed his mind of setting up a tindr profile for a quick fuck, but he isn't in law school anymore and that was just a disaster waiting to happen.

Wanda saves him from making a bad decision by texting him the information for another technician she helped train. She claims he's new, but very talented, which he figures will do in a pinch. The link she sent him takes him to a rather outdated looking webpage for the "TVA Salon and Spa", an older establishment that apparently started in the 50's as a barber shop, but recent made the jump to full salon under new management. Despite the clunky UI, he's able to schedule an appointment for a basic manicure the very next day with the young man Wanda had told him about.

Casey is a nice young man. Not anywhere as skilled as Wanda, but his nails come out looking acceptable with their basic black polish and the hand massage he gets to begin with is utterly divine. He doesn't go into detail about his family problems, but the other gets the gist that the holidays were strained and is more than willing to play the oh-so-important role of listening ear even if his platitudes do ring a little hollow.

When the appointment is over, Casey hands him a card for a free deep conditioning treatment or 30 minute shoulder massage.

"These are really just for family and friends," he explains, "but you really seem like you need something to help you relax." He thinks about declining, but decides it isn't polite and takes the card anyway before handing the young man a $400 tip.

The stern looking woman at the front desk gives him a serious look as Casey nearly passes out in the background. "I'm going to be checking those to make sure they're real."

"But of course, I would expect nothing less." His usual winning smile does nothing to lighten her glare as she rings him out. She asks if he wants to use the card to schedule something today. Why not? It's a charming establishment and he has some free time coming up.

The masseuse the card is good for, Bee, is apparently booked solid for the next month, but the stylist, Mobius, just had a cancellation in the following week that fit perfectly in his schedule.

That appointment was the beginning of the end for Loki.

So in he walks six months later, having ditched his normal high-end stylist for a middle-aged man who looks like he works in a cubicle rather than a up-and-coming salon. It isn't his normally scheduled appointment, but his cases have been crazy and Thor just left for his "journey of self-discovery" aka backpacking across Europe, so all of Odin's attention is now on his youngest.

Joy.

If Loki were the sentimental type, he'd think it a shame that the lobby area of a salon is more comfortable for him than his childhood home.

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That gets a short bark of laughter. "It's not a mess. I just got here; we have plenty of time for this to turn into an actual mess." He presses a kiss into Loki's hair.

"I'm for it. We can go over this list and talk about things. Give us some ideas for what we'd like to do later."

"You're too good to me. I promise I'm not normally this scatter-brained." Loki mutters against his shoulder, ears still red with embarrassment as he pulls back.

"Lets eat. I'm starving."

"You've had a long week. I can forgive a scattered brain."

He helps with the wine and takes the glasses to the table, doesn't sit until Loki does. Sure, okay, little hiccup, but not a bad one. Pleasant one, even.

"You really thought I was judging you, huh."

"Perhaps just a little," Loki says as he takes a seat at the modest sized dark wood table. He takes a sip of wine.

"Completely justifiably, mind. I imagine you haven't had too many people just shove a list of kinks at you after you've only been dating for a couple weeks."

"It is, admittedly, a first for me. But that doesn't mean judging." He's aware that Loki has partners, had partners?, is/was casual about sex. A list is just...new. "That's the norm for the kind of company you're used to keeping?"

"It's become one. It helps eliminate any ambiguity, makes sure nothing is forgotten." Loki starts cutting into his steak just for something to do with his hands that isn't drink more wine.

"But honestly, we can just talk about it if you want. You don't have to go along with this just to make me feel better." Less like a kinky weirdo.

His own hands find themselves laying flat on the table for a moment, mulling the reaction over. Loki's afraid to scare him off, to be weird, and too much too fast.

"Do you believe me when I say I'm good for it?"

Finally Loki looks up at Mobius. He doesn't like feeling this open, this unsure, but when he looks into those beautiful blue eyes somehow everything feels just a bit better.

"I do." He even gives him a small, genuine smile. "I did warn you that I could be a bit much."

"Okay. Then I'm good for it. No ambiguity." And then he starts at the food at last. "I can handle your much, don't worry about that. You wanna do this now or after?"

"It is entirely up to you." Loki had planned to do it after over dessert, but Mobius has already found the list so the proverbial cat is out of the bag now. "I am obviously not put off by discussions like these, but if you'd rather not do it over dinner, I would completely understand."

Preferred methods of restraint he can do. Feelings? A hard maybe.

"Promise not to choke to death on my steak about it, but, we can wait. We can talk about talking about it." With a bob of his eyebrows.

"Obviously I'm not wholesome vanilla through and through. But would it have put you off if I was?"

Loki loosens up just a bit more, finally feeling the knot of tension in his core fully dissipate. Mobius isn't weirded out or scared off. At least not yet.

"No, I don't believe so. I may have tried to introduce you to a few things over time, but just being with you is...wonderful."

Mobius ducks his head to fail to hide a grin. "Well now, doesn't that just boost my ego. You're not too bad yourself, you know."

In case there was ever any doubt.

"So is this something like a contract? Or do we just post up our little lists on the wall to remind ourselves what is and what isn't on the table?"

"Nothing formal. Contrary to what certain pieces of media would have you think, no one really does 'contracts.'" Loki scoffs. "It's just a way to see what we both enjoy, what you're curious about. So I guess the second? Just without tacking it to the wall."

"Presumably we can add things as we see fit, in case one of us has some out-there kink to play with. And presumably with any change of tastes, any adjustments are kosher. This whole setup is really just more for the sake of organization and a firm place to start." He points with a fork. "It's very you, Mr. Lawyer."

"But of course. Though if you are able to find a kink not listed there, I would love to hear about it. I've taken great measures to make sure that list is as comprehensive as possible."

Loki chuckles at the 'accusation.' "What can I say? I want to make sure I know all the options open to me. That way we don't get a year into this and suddenly discover we both had the same secret kink we could have been indulging in all that time." Not that Loki bothers to keep his kinks secret. Obviously.

"It'll be an educational experience for me. Might be I discover new sides to myself. Or realize some things I never thought of as kinks are actually real kinky. And I know this is a no judgement zone. One of us is into something the other thinks is gross, it's fine, just won't be doing that, no harm no foul."

"Precisely." Loki grins at him. "And if there isn't a lot that looks interesting to you, we'll just work with what's there." It sounds fun. Normally, if Loki is part of someone's kink-discovery it's in a more informal way.

"It means a lot to me that you at least want to try this with me, truly."

"Yeah, of course. It's really not weird, just, like I said, unexpected. But are you up for this? I mean, it sounded like this week really sucked. We don't have to get intense about anything if you don't want."

"If anything, this week has made me more up for it." The chance to possibly get to switch his brain off for a bit? Let someone he trusts make all the decisions and call all the shots? Yes, please.

"How have things been at the salon?"

Which is when he levels Loki with a Look.

"Oh, it's been fine. Great, really. I've never been heckled for causing an international incident more. When did you send my boss a copy of a local paper?"

Loki looks the picture of innocence as he takes another sip of wine.

"I don't know what you're talking about. How would she even know to get in contact with me to procure such a thing?" He honestly didn't send it to her, but it's fun to play along for now.

"She has it framed. It was just sitting there, framed, an image of me throwing wine on your dad. But everyone is definitely under the impression that this is the best thing to happen to any of us."

Loki snickers. He definitely needs to talk to Ravonna to figure out how she got a copy of that magazine now.

"Certainly one of the best things that's happened to me, that's for sure."

"...Well. He did deserve it. And you definitely deserved better. I stand by that, and I always will."

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