Interruption

Something always seemed to happen when Shoot visited the Imporium after he adopted his phloof. Every time he would drop by the pet supply shop area to pick up some equipment or a new imp toy, there was a stampeding herd of mamoo, an imp trainer accidentally throwing a ball through one of the windows, or some other sort of mishap. Just one of those places that attracted hijinks, he supposed.

This time seemed to be deviating from the norm at first, but that all went out the window (though not a ball through the window) when Hutch bursted into the shop, carrying a cage.

“Sorry! Steer clear, everyone!” they exclaimed as they barreled into the room and set the cage on the checkout counter.

“Uh… you… need any help?” Shoot asked as he made his way over to the other bun. He rarely ever offered to do things for other people… outside of sexual contexts, that is. This situation just seemed way too interesting to be a bystander to.

The sound of Shoot’s voice startled Hutch out of what they were doing, which seemed to be murmuring sweetly at whatever was in the cage. “AH! Oh! Hi, there! Um… Sure, I could use some help, if you have some time to spare! An hour or two… roughly?”

“Yeah, sounds good. I got nothin’ better to do.”

Hutch quickly thanked Shoot and picked up the cage again. The two of them went into a hallway leading further into the Imporium. 

It didn't take long for Shoot to get sick of walking in silence. “So… what's in that cage? And what exactly am I helping with?”

“Ah!” Hutch froze for a second, jerking back suddenly and falling slightly behind Shoot before catching back up. “I-i forgot to say what we were doing, huh? Sorry about that…”

Hutch lifted up the cage he was holding so it was closer to eye-level for Shoot. Two round white eyes peered from behind the bars, but the poor imp was balled up in fright, so not much else could be discerned about what it looked like.

Shoot gave a quick hum in understanding. “I think I gotcha. What are we gonna do with it?”

“It needs to be trained before it’ll be fit for adoption,” Hutch responded as they lowered the cage. “Since it's really spooked, we might just have to get it acclimated to being in friendly company with succubuns and leave it at that for today.”

Soon after Hutch finished speaking, they reached the entrance to a fairly large indoor play area. Plenty of balls, teaser toys, and other fun things to play with were available.

Hutch gently set down the cage and unlatched it as the two succubuns kneeled down. The imp cautiously stepped out of the cage with its stubby little legs. Once it was halfway out of the cage, it was clear as day that it was a loafki. That would be why it was so hard to make out what it was when it was balled up.

The loafki, quivering, looked up at the two succubuns staring at it. After a moment, the loafki began to go backwards into the cage.

“Oh dear… it thinks it's more dangerous outside the cage than inside,” Hutch remarked before turning to Shoot. “Can you get some imp treats from that rack over there?”

Shoot glanced over at where Hutch was pointing. It was over on the opposite side of the room, several feet away from where Shoot could be bothered to get up and go to.

“You're closer. Why don't you get it?” he responded as he opted to sit instead of continuing to kneel, emphasizing his unwillingness. “Go on. Fetch.”

With an expression that Shoot could only interpret as caught off-guard, Hutch stood up. “Uh… o-okay…”

Hutch walked off to grab the treats, leaving Shoot with his thoughts. Shoot had zero intentions of apologizing for refusing and making them do it instead. He was raised on perfectly good hedonistic principles: Do what you want, don't do what you don't want, and if anyone has objections to that, they just need to deal with it. “Sounds like a you problem, not a me problem” was his bedtime prayer. That said… Shoot couldn't shake a sense of unease. Worries that Hutch might write him off as a jackass instead of a loveable jackass were beginning to bubble up.

By the time Hutch came back with the treats, Shoot had decided that while he still wasn't going to apologize, he would crack a joke in an attempt to play it off.

“Good boy,” he said simply once the other bun had sat down next to him.

The expected response was Hutch chuckling, maybe a scoff if they were really put off by Shoot’s earlier behavior.

Neither of those are what happened.

Face red and mouth agape, Hutch could only choke out a noise that would mesh well with the sound of a bedframe squeaking. The treats they were holding found a new home on the ground, but the pride bun didn't react at all. It's like their brain was pushed into overdrive and spinning out of control.

Shoot immediately sat up straight. Now this was definitely more his speed. All of his previous introspection flew out the window as he grabbed the leash around Hutch’s neck and tugged them towards him.

“You liked that, huh?” Shoot clicked his tongue as a realization dawned on him. “Is that why you made that face when I told you to ‘go fetch’? Damn, I thought…” Looking at Hutch’s wide eyes as their breathing got significantly heavier distracted Shoot from whatever he was about to say. “...I don't think I mind, though.”

Something black moved at the corner of the buns’ eyes, and they both looked down to see the loafki chowing down on the treats that were dropped earlier. Immediately, the two peeled away from each other.

Hutch scrambled up to their feet less than gracefully. “U-um…! I’ll g-go get a couple more treats…!” they stammered before hurrying over to the treats rack once more.

Shoot huffed as he looked at the loafki. The imp looked back at him with happy little eyes.

“...It's a good thing you're cute. Would've gotten mad at you otherwise, you savvy?”

The loafki responded by rolling onto its side.

Soon after, Hutch returned with more treats in hand. They looked much calmer than before, but a light dusting of blush still graced their cheeks. “So… I think we can just see if we can get it to tolerate being petted and call it a day.”

“Haah… sure.”

Thus, the two worked together to get the loafki to associate petting with treats. The loafki didn't take long to mellow out and enjoy the reassuring sensation. Eventually, it didn't seem to expect treats anymore, content with just being pet.

Hutch and Shoot introduced the newly-caught imp to the holding room for loafkis, parting ways with it until it’s time for more training.

“Thank you so much for helping out. I really appreciate it,” Hutch said as Shoot grabbed the supplies and toys he came to get for his phloof in the first place.

“Yeah, you owe me one. And uh…” Shoot fished out one of many business cards he had for the nightclub he worked at out of his pocket. Finally they were getting some actual use after his manager insisted that he carry them around to promote the place. “If you wanna be somewhere where you won't get cockblocked by imps, now you know where to find me. Just bring your leash.”

Hutch’s face turned red again as they scanned the room for anyone who might have overheard. A few did, but didn’t seem at all surprised. Bashfully, they took the card. “Th-thank you…”

With a wink, Shoot left the Imporium.