[PROMPT] My First Imp

To say that Tomoki is fond of imps is a bit of a strange statement. For his lack of social life to some extent, having a pet in any circumstance would make his life better. That’s why he goes to bother Hutch, not for any reason but for the sheer fact that he’s curious for which one would fit his lifestyle the best. 

Or maybe he’ll eventually collect them all to make up for his lack of friends. It sounds like a decent work around until he can hold more conversations without insulting people. At least that’s what he’s claiming when he goes to bother Hutch. 

“I was thinking about getting a pet,” he says airly. Tomoki hopes it’s enough to point Hutch in the direction of this conversation. 

And indeed they do. “So something that will fit with that reclusive attitude of yours?” 

He nods, quiet. Imp care or just imps in general isn’t something he dabbles in, though he swears that if he finds someone then they can share his (future) pets together. It’s a communal experience to raise a pet after all. Or was that with buns? Tomoki isn’t sure anymore. 

“Or maybe to help with socializing,” he replies easily. 

Hutch snorts. “So an impup basically.” 

Tomoki shrugs at that. It’s not like he knows what he’s doing in the first place. And he’s honestly not that sure that any imp will have a death grip on him when he sees them. 

“I’m not sure actually,” Tomoki admits mildly. “Honestly, they all look equally cute.” 

That gets the other bun to smile, maybe a bit fond that he says something like that outright but for him, it’s honestly all he can really say. It isn’t exactly his area of expertise and he quite likes collecting things but maybe not pets. 

“How about you see them and we go from there?” Hutch then offers before leading him to see the imps.  

The first thing he sees are the chirops, then the phloofs before the impups in all of their glory. What he gets smacked with immediately after is something he’s quite used to: 

Decision anxiety. 

Sure, there’s three options but also that’s three options too many for him to pick from. Really, Tomoki would love to take them all home with him if it’s even possible in the first place. Actually– 

“Maybe stick to one and come back later once you have the basics down,” Hutch says. It cuts off his thoughts for a moment to actually think rather than anything else. “So what are you thinking?” 

He thinks for a moment. “I heard that chirops can deliver messages if trained to do so and that would be nice.” 

“They, uh, do lean more mischievous compared to the others. If anything they might cause problems later on but they are tameable.” 

Tomoki nods as he takes note of it before his eyes wander off to the phloofs. The thought of cleaning up lint they shed is something that he can do without. Especially when considering how he mostly stays indoors. 

“So you were saying that impups would fit best with my case,” he finds himself repeating which gets a nod out of the other bun. “They are quite cute–” 

“Do you want to take one home then?” 

He nods. “Sure, we’ll figure out a way to get along.” 

–---

It turns out, yes, Tomoki is quite fond of his new impup. Quite a bit as he feeds them part of his spare food. Eventually he will give them a name but for now, they can simply be. 

Then another thought hits him after a few days. 

Perhaps… Perhaps he ought to get more imps. Now how bad could that be?