His Ma's Son
(( HEHE, TIMBAA FIC! COME GET Y'ALLS GRUB! @just-aal @cammiko-arts-main @timona-lisa ))
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It was something all animals did— whether they did it on their own, or as a group. It was a necessity, it was deeply rooted in their nature. It didn't always have the implications of something romantic or intimate, but it did have a significant implication that there was a bond between the two animals that helped each other with the activity.
The activity is grooming, of course.
Timon and Pumbaa had done this for each other more times than they could count, but it seemed like the meerkat had always been the one to initiate it.
Maybe it had something to do with his upbringing? His Ma was always coddling him, and that came with the excessive grooming. He supposed that was just how she expressed her affection for him— he was her 'very special baby boy' after all.
As Timon fiddled with Pumbaa's hair, picking out any insects that had managed to get stuck in the thick of it, and of course eating them after he blew any leftover hair off— he mused about how his Ma's love language had clearly rubbed off on him.
"Timon, you're doing it again." Pumbaa chuckled, eying his much smaller mate.
"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, Pig Boy," Timon snarked back, but there was the familiar warmth in his words that Pumbaa had grown accustomed to. "You know how it is! You get to be all nice and tidy, and I get a free meal outta it! It's a win-win.~"
"Sure, Timon. You keep tellin' yourself that, darlin'."