Soot Part 1

'You seemed lonely, so I got you a gift!'

Lyle's eye twitched reading the card left on his kitchen counter...you know, if you could even consider the corner of his tiny ass apartment a kitchen.

Already, his new gift had left an amount of puffballs around his already crammed apartment. A phloof: a docile yet slightly messy imp that now he was handed to care for from now until the day they whither away into nothingness.

Lyle heaved a sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose and tapped his foot against the creaking wood floors. He'd just gotten off a long shift, still wearing his uniform with a wine stain on the sleeves from the couple who knocked it over as he breezed by, and the food of a polycule that was spilled over him when a particularly volatile pair decided the best time to break was as he was passing with trays in-hand.

Of course Aspen would pull something like this. The dude was swimming in carats and had his own rare as hell imp himself: a freign. Meanwhile, Lyle gets one of the most basic pets? Not even a pedigree? What a loss.

Around his small prison cell of an apartment, the new phloof floated about blissfully. At least someone was glad to be stuck in the shitshow.

"I don't have time to digest this..." Lyle finally grumbles, moving to take off his soiled work clothes and hucked them into the full hamper in the corner. "Sootball, I got shit to do. So you can either play nice and follow or find yourself sleeping alone, outside."

As if the phloof really understood, watching as Lyle threw on an oversized t-shirt and pajamas before grabbing his hamper and heading towards the door. The phloof, fortunately, seemed to understand by the glare it received as he opened the door and followed nearby.

Obediently, it followed him down the thin spiral staircase to the basement where a few machines were already running. Lyle had gotten used to his smaller-than life he lived here. He wasn't sure if he could share that with a tiny roommate.

The phloof watched him huck uniform after uniform into the washer. It felt like it was the only thing he wore nowadays just to keep up with rent in this shithole while his "sugar daddy" Aspen was off living the high life. I mean, they weren't exactly a sugar daddy because instead of money or a nicer apartment, he got a phloof and maybe a dinner BunDashed to him occasionally.

"C'mon sootball."

The phloof obediently followed as the washing machine roared back to life. It seemed to get this gist, following along at a cautious distance until they arrived back at the crammed apartment where Lyle came crashing down into his bed/sofa. The fist moment of rest he actually had for the day.

If he didn't have the load running, he'd fall asleep right there. But being too long meant your soaking clothes would end up on the floor from an unhappy tenant waiting their turn. So instead, he'd reach for the remote and relax until he'd have to get up again to switch.

The phloof, who had been content with just hanging out decided to get closer and closer. It seems they could sense the constant stress and irritation coming from it's new owner and remained cautious.

Before either really seemed to notice, it was curled up in Lyle's lap. Lyle, silently, had begun petting it. Funnily enough, it seemed to calm him down as the news or whatever shitty dramady played in the background.

In that moment, he really didn't want to think about how he threatened to throw the poor imp out onto the streets. This apartment was quiet and lonely, and there was nothing to look forward to except to come home and get a fitful sleep before dragging his corpse to work the next day.

It was quite nice to think about actually. Not being alone.

So they'd sit and relax in each other's newfound aquiantenceship for the next half an hour until Lyle had to trek back to switch up his laundry. The phloof, 'sootball' followed in Lyle's lead as he rinsed and repeated going down to finish his laundry and finding a spot in the warm hamper to snuggle up in as he carried the load of laundry up.

After haphazardly putting the uniforms he had away, and making a gourmet meal of instant ramen to settle down for the night, sootball curled itself up next to him under the cover of Lyle's 'sheets' for a well-earned nap. He'd be picking fuzz out of his hair by morning for sure.

With a smile, he sent a text over to Aspen: 'I hope you're happy, asshole' that stayed left on read until the morning.

For tonight, Lyle would sleep with a happy little imp curled up next to him with the assurance that he no longer had to deal with a mundane life only to return home to be met with emptiness.

But Aspen didn't need to know that.