Disclaimer: I do not own these characters, or anything that has to do with Heroesl I am not making money off of this story. Do not sue me.
A/N: I just recently got into the Heroes fandom, and this is the first fic I've written for it. I think these three are just so cute, and the idea came to me when I was reading some fanfiction and my cat Punky kept jumping on my laptop in order to get some attention. :)
The day Molly got her new pet was the day that she walked in on Matt and Mohinder, sprawled across Mohinder's bed, legs tangled together, fingers in each other's hair and faces pressed together in a passionate (and oblivious) lip lock. They were so passionate (and oblivious) in fact, that it was only after Molly had actually jumped onto the bed and had given a triumphant "I knew it!!" that they broke apart.
The following conversation was very awkward and embarrassing for the two daddies, filled with many blushes, anxious glances and very carefully chosen phrases that never seemed to come out right anyway. For Molly however, it was the greatest thing in the world. The fact that her two dads were together only made their family seem more real, and she had been hoping for it ever since she overheard her friend Emily's mom refer to Matt and Mohinder as "cute couple." She hadn't corrected Emily's mom, simply because she had hoped it was true. Now she sat in between them on the bed, grinning happily as they stumbled over each other's words in an attempt to "explain" things to her. After several minutes of this she finally responded to all their "You see"s and "Honey"s and "No matter what happens between us we'll always love you and be there for you," with a very simple question:
"Does this mean Matt won't be sleeping on the couch anymore?"
This, of course, resulted in more blushing and another long, awkward conversation, this one with even more stuttering and embarrassed coughs and panicked looks and carefully chosen phrases that, once again, never came out right. Molly hummed a happy tune in her head as her parents talked.
That day the two men watched their daughter carefully, looking for any signs that she was upset by what she found out that morning. But Molly went cheerfully through the day, watching cartoons on the TV, creating Crayola masterpieces in her room, and acting no different than she did on any other Saturday, when she had no school and all the free time in the world. It wasn't until lunch time, when they were all sitting at the table, eating grilled cheese (from the toaster because it was Matt's turn to cook) that she mentioned it at all.
"I think we should get a pet."
Mohinder stopped gazing doubtfully at his grilled cheese sandwich (which was burnt on one side and soggy on the other) and raised his eyebrows. "A pet? Why do we need a pet?"
Molly scraped some of the char off her sandwich. "Well, now that we are a real family, we need a pet. Most family's have pets."
"Molly," Mohinder said seriously, leaning forward to take her hand. "We were always a family, even before Matt and I got together. And we'll always be a family. No matter what. Do you understand?"
"Yes." She smiled brightly at him. "But all my friends have parents who love each other and sleep in the same room, and now that you two are in love--" Matt and Mohinder shared a nervous glance "--all we need now is a pet and everything will be perfect." She gave a decisive nod, as if everything were settled.
Matt ripped off a chunk of sandwich and popped it into his mouth. "But we already have Mohinder, he's as good a pet as any."
Mohinder placed his glass down with a thunk, an offended look on his face. "I resent that."
Matt rolled his eyes. "I was talking about the lizard."
"Oh." Mohinder glanced at the glass cage that he'd practically ignored since Matt, who had taken over feeding it, moved in. He grimaced.
"The lizard isn't a real pet!" Molly protested. "You need something you can pet, something with fur."
"Well," Matt leaned back in his chair and pushed away his empty plate. (He was the only one who managed to finish a sandwich). "I guess a dog couldn't hurt."
Mohinder looked like he had eaten something disgusting besides Matt's cooking. "A dog? A barking, drooling dog? What, you want to take it down the stairs and outside three times a night? A cat would be much better."
Matt glared. "Taking the dog out would be better than stinking up the entire apartment with a smelly litter box."
"The litter box wouldn't smell if you changed it."
"Yeah, what fun. Attempting to pour an entire box of cat poop and sand into a trash bag that will break anyway." He scrunched his nose.
"You would rather scoop up dog feces off the street?"
"A dog is a better pet anyway. Cat's are too finicky. And mean."
Mohinder gave him a superior look. "A cat has a personality. It won't just come to you whenever you call. You have to earn its affection. And it is all the more satisfying for it."
Matt pointed a finger at Mohinder. "Exactly. We have enough "personality" in this apartment," Mohinder looked offended again, "what we need is something loyal, something that will wait by the door for Molly, and that never runs out of affection. You shouldn't have to work for the love of your pet. It should just be there, ready to comfort you when you've had a bad day. We need a dog."
Matt looked triumphant, sure that he was right. Mohinder just raised his eyebrows. "I think we should let Molly decide."
"Yeah, Molly, what do you think? Don't you think a dog would be perfect?" They both turned to Molly, who had been silent during their argument. Her eyes flickered back in forth between them as they leaned forward.
"Um… I was thinking something like a hamster, or a bunny."
When they returned home from the pet store that night, Molly had a smile on her face, and a grey and white rabbit in her arms. She had picked the biggest and fluffiest, which she promptly named Matt.
The real Matt, of course, protested, shaking his head as they left the pet store and saying, "I don't want to share a name with a bunny. Or anything furry with a tail."
"But its only fair, Matt." Molly whined. "Mohinder has a lizard named after him." She turned her big, pouty eyes on him and he caved. Matt the Bunny it was. Matt had grumbled all the way home, Mohinder smirked.
After setting up the cage (which Molly insisted be placed right next to Mohinder the lizard's) they spent the rest of the evening on the couch. Matt flipped through the channels on TV, Mohinder read a book titled, "How to Take Care of Your Rabbit," and Molly and the bunny sat snuggled between them. She smiled as Matt reached an arm over her shoulders, tucking her closer to him while at the same time placing a hand on the back of Mohinder's neck, fingers playing idly with his curls. She was certain that the world was as perfect as it ever could be.