Sugar’s First Imp

It was no secret that Sugar struggled to make connections with other buns of the burrows, his heart almost always too set on what he could use to his advantage from so-called friendships. It was short of a miracle that he had a friend in his employee Spice, even if he would refuse to admit being close to her until the day he died (she would never let him live down any affection for her).

But maybe his disinterest in other buns explained why he was looking at a pet carrier, his hands unclenching as he stared at Spice disbelief. “What the hell is that?”

“It’s a pet carrier!” She gleefully replied, setting the carrier down on his counter.

“I know it’s a pet carrier, what’s it doing here?” He crossed his arms.

Spice smiled, “I thought you might be lonely, always going back home after work. Plus remember what we talked about? Turning the cafe into an imp one?”

“Uh no, you talked about that.”

She shook her head, “No we did, but you’re missing the point! I got you your first imp for the cafe.”

Before Sugar could continued to argue, Spice leaned over and opened the pet carrier’s door. There was a small scratching noise, before a black phloof crept out of the carrier. It looked around, confused before setting its sights on Sugar.

Sugar raised an eyebrow. “A phloof?”

Spice nodded, “A phloof!”

Sugar opened his mouth, about to demand Spice take this imp back to wherever she found it, when he felt something soft brush against one of his hands. He looked down.

There on the counter, making soft purr like sounds, was the phloof rubbing against Sugar’s hand. Its tail was wagging fast, affectionate towards its new owner with shocking speed.

Sugar was silence for a moment, biting his lip in thought, before he tensely spoke, “I guess it can stay with me for now, but don’t think this means you can just start getting all sorts of imps.”

Spice agreed, “Of course!” And by that she meant she would wait a few weeks before getting him another imp. The imp cafe had to happen!”

Sugar leaned forward, picking up the phloof and letting it nuzzle against his chest. “I guess it’s a little cute and I do have an extra pillow I’m not using. Just until I get it a pet bed.” He seemed to get lost in his own thoughts, trying to decide the best way to care for his new imp.

Spice always had a tendency to do things on pulse, but she had noticed her boss’s loneliness long before she got the idea to get them an imp. Hopefully with the phloof, Sugar might open up more and see that he didn’t have to do everything himself. He could be a selfish bun, but Spice saw goodness in him.

“You know,” She singsonged, “We could try to get it a chocolate sprinkle mochi, I hear something interesting will happen if we eat it one.”

Sugar stroked his hand over the phloof. “Interesting?”

“It’ll look like a dessert!”

He scoffed. “A dessert?” He paused. “A dessert. That… that would be perfect for the cafe. Eating my sweets surrounded by living sweets.”

Spice did her best to keep a neutral smile, it would be best for Sugar to come to this decision himself or at least believe he did. “That’s a wonderful idea!”

Sugar grinned, “Of course it is, now go on. We need to stop by a pet store. I’m realizing an old blanket won’t be enough for my phloof.”

Spice laughed softly, “You plan to already spoil them.”

“If I’m going to get more imps for the cafe, then I need to understand how to care for them and… well this phloof looks cold. I think it’s for the best that I figure out how to make them happy.”

“Of course” Spice felt so giddy, she didn’t think her plan would work this and she couldn’t wait to see what her boss had planned.

As for Sugar, he felt an excitement he hadn’t felt in a long while. He wanted to care for something that wasn’t himself, he wanted to have a companion.