[ Chris leans out to set his bowl down, then reaches back in to take both of Loki's long-fingered hands in his own, tangling their fingers together over the book balanced on his chest. ]

You've never had me around before. I can help.

[ Bold words for a man who's not going to make it out of the next decade without being stripped of every single metric he uses to measure his own sense of self. He pushes those thoughts aside, something he's grown very used to doing. ]

At thirty-something you are going to be just as beautiful as you are now, just as clever, just as kind. I just know it. [ He pulls those hands closer so he can kiss first one, then the other, looking at Loki from over his knuckles. ] Also, thirty-something isn't old. If it is, I'm ancient.