Lust Does Laundry

[a_sin_for_him]

Who: Lust and Open
Where: Shark House and the streets of Goldenrod
When: April 19th
Summary: Lust attempts to start doing the things she usually pays other people to do for her. It doesn't go well.
Rating: PG
Log:



A. Shark House Basement

Lust has been home a handful of days. She's quiet, mostly keeping to herself and rousing herself for little beyond her Pokemon and Wrath.

Her laundry hamper is overflowing, though. Normally she sends her wash out. It's just easiest. But she can hear him, in her mind so clearly. "You have a washer and dryer downstairs. Why don't you do your own wash?". Because she didn't have to, has always been the answer. And she still doesn't, but...

Somehow, all those little chores and responsibilities Scar spent so long gently (and not so gently) urged her to do for herself seem strangely and painfully important. It doesn't even matter, he can't care or worry about her anymore. And yet...

She drags the whole mess down to the washer and dryer. This can't be difficult, she's relatively certain even Henry knows how to do a load of wash. Just...shove everything into the machine, pour soap and water in, turn it on. How difficult could it be?

Fifteen minutes later, Lust is regretting her decision. Something has gone horribly wrong. At first the rattling and rumbling noises the machine had made hadn't been too upsetting. But then something had burst somewhere and the door loosened and thick, wet suds began frothing forth.

She was attempting to wrestle it away from the wall and unplug it when it started to smoke.

"How can it be both flooding and on fire?"



B. Outside in Goldenrod

The washer was done for. Sitting on the curb next to the busted appliance, Lust isn't sure whether she feels more embarrassed, guilty, or angry. She's sopping wet, still, which only makes her angrier and guiltier. She's wearing one of Scar's shirts and now it's drenched and smells like detergent and smoke.

It's tempting to call someone to haul the thing away, but Lust's misplaced and fierce determination to take care of herself overrides that idea. She has a handcart. She has two perfectly good legs and a strong back, she can haul the thing away herself. It's her mess, after all.

And so she does. Drenched in washer effluence, wearing her slippers, her braid straggling and soaked, she starts to pull the broken washer along the sidewalk, Guttle rolling confusedly along with her. There's bound to be a dump or shop she can take it to....

Comments

C

[foolishwren]

Heather was... blessed, is the only term that really does it justice, to not have been home for the Laundrypocalypse.

Because as handy as she is around the house, her technical skillset doesn't include Calming the Rage of a Dying Washing Machine.

She's actually on her way back from the store, perched high atop the lumpy head of her Feraligatr, who is tromping slowly along the sidewalk at an easygoing pace, a few plastic grocery bags held delicately in his comically-oversized hands.

"--I kinda feel like I should've grabbed that TM that was on sale, but like, none of you guys could even learn it, so I'd only have gotten for the... what, novelty? I don't have that much cash lying arou-- whoa! WHOA, Lust!"

Heather and Godzilla both freeze with dropped jaws when they spot the bedraggled, miserable woman dragging an entire washing machine down the street.

"What happened?!"

[a_sin_for_him]

"An unfortunate laundry incident."

Lust halts her progress as Heather addresses her, and rakes a bit of straggling hair out of her face. Even on wheels, the washing machine isn't exactly an easy load.

"I'm taking care of it."

[foolishwren]

The big blue croc is already lowering his head to the ground without even being commanded to. HE IS VERY CONCERNED!

Heather jumps off without hesitation. No way is she letting Lust drag a 500-pound machine through the city without any help.

"By yourself? C'mon, let-- let a Pokemon pull it or something. Zilla, can you--? Thanks."

Rumbling, Godzilla sets the grocery bags gently down onto the sidewalk and grabs onto the cart. Between his evolution and the months of training leading up to the Blackthorn Gym battle, he can pull that thing, easy peasy! Heather steadies it on the cart with her hands, looking over her shoulder to Lust.

"Where're you taking it?"

[a_sin_for_him]

"No!" Lust whirls on the Pokemon, eyes narrowed. It wasn't a rational reaction in the least, but the former homunculus is in that place where rationale took a backseat. She'd caused this problem. It was hers. She'd deal with it.

It's what he would have wanted.

"I said I would do it, I will do it. I don't need to be taken care of, by person or Pokemon, you let go of my handcart!"

[foolishwren]

The Feraligatr and his trainer FREEZE, heads simultaneously snapping around to face Lust.

After about four seconds of paralyzed silence, Godzilla drops the cart like it's a hot potato, eyes still wide as dinnerplates. Heather doesn't, but it's more likely that it's because she's completely stunned than out of desire to disobey.

No one says anything.

[veggie_vamp]

"Oh My Ghoul, is that you, Lust?"

Because why not make her day 10% more annoying? She's standing on a street corner, a little Meowth and a not so little Gengar by her side. The Gengar appears to enjoying Lust's misery.

[a_sin_for_him]

Oh god.

Lust falters to a stop as she approaches Draculaura, sighing heavily. Guttle rolls up next to her, looking even fatter than usual. What else should she expect? Half the people she knows also live here in Goldenrod. She's not exactly a discrete sight, in her current state.

"Yes, it's me."

[veggie_vamp]

"... You look..." Draculaura looked her up and down, straining for a polite word. "... Nice?" She offered with an awkward smile. "I mean, you always look nice, right?"

[a_sin_for_him]

"I know damn well how I look."

A mess, in need of a bath and a shirt that fit, and probably unhinged on top of that. But she will not be defeated by some uncooperative box of metal and wiring.

Lust rakes a few damp straggles of hair out of her face and adjusts the over-large men's button down she's currently wearing.

"I'm having a bad day."

[veggie_vamp]

Draculaura and Meowth both seemed to shrink at that, but Gengar only laughed harder. She cleared her throat, trying again. "Well... do you need any help? That thing looks really heavy... and I have some pretty strong guys on my team!"

Gengar immediately stopped laughing.

[a_sin_for_him]

"No, I don't need help. I'm perfectly capable of doing it myself." The snappish tone to Lust's voice has nothing to do with Draculaura specifically, she's simply caught Lust on a bad day.

"It's the sort of problem that people have. Broken appliances. I can deal with a broken appliance. I don't need someone else taking care of it for me. I can take care of myself."

It's almost as though she feels she has to. The way she says the words, there's a sort of strange determination there.

[veggie_vamp]

"... Are you sure?" She asked regardless, unable to help herself. It was hard to see someone struggle and not do anything about it. As a result, She knotted her hands together and bounced on her feet.

"Well, if you're really really sure... How about, um, I get you a nice drink? It is pretty warm out... o-or buy you lunch?"

[a_sin_for_him]

"I'm sure. This is my responsibility."

But she knew the woman well enough to know she wouldn't be dissuaded. It wasn't that her support and assistance weren't appreciated, Lust was simply caught in the sort of thoughts that come in a spiral of grief.

"...alright. But it has to be carry out, I refuse to sit in a public eating establishment like this." She gestured to her sodden, over-large shirt and straggling hair.

She did need to eat.

[veggie_vamp]

Draculaura instantly cheered up, glad to be of service. "You got it! I'll get you anything you want! And don't you even think about paying me, because soon, I'll never have to work again!"

She then leaned down and gave Meowth a good scratch behind the ear. "Isn't that right, Toraliar?" Gengar rolled his eyes, ugh.

A

[no_ufo_ending]

Henry did, indeed, know how to load the wash. Which is why he is drawn from his hidey hole within the house when strange sounds start coming from the laundry room. And there was also the smell of smoke. That was a pretty big tip off that Something Was Going Down.

Sleepy and unshaven, Henry leans around the door frame only to be greeted by waving flames and a small ocean of suds.

He stared, slack-jawed, for a beat before instinct kicked in. "HANG ON!"

The tall man disappeared from the door, giving her time to get the thing unplugged, and soon returned holding the still-growing Flotsam under his arm.

"Lust, move! Flotsam, use Watergun!"

[a_sin_for_him]

Lust didn't move quite fast enough. She's already wet, it doesn't matter that much, but it's a further indignity on an already high pile.

"There's already enough water!"

The washer is still belching a few weak spurts of it. But Henry's Pokemon has managed to actually douse the fire, something the soapy explosion did nothing for. The smell of smoke and burnt things and wet clothes fills the basement.

[no_ufo_ending]

Too late, Lust. SAFETY HENRY is here and he intends to Watergun the washer whether you're within range or not. Once the fire was out, Henry put his Lapras down and wobbled down the stairs so that he could open the little fold-out window.

"What happened?"

He waved at the smoke and couldn't hold in a cough.

[a_sin_for_him]

"I don't know! Thee's something wrong with the washer!"

Lust simply gestured wildly at the dying machine. She was covered in suds, detergent, water and soot. She looked an honest t god fright, with her face still drawn and hollow from lack of sleep and poor eating.

"I turned it on and...." Another wild gesture.

"Oh god, my clothes...."

[no_ufo_ending]

Henry frowned thoughtfully at the machine, leaning down and peering inside it. It looks like a goner.

"Maybe it was just too old. Didn't it come with the house?"

For the first time he suddenly found himself wondering about the people who lived in this house before them. What if something terrible had happened to them IN THIS VERY BASEMENT?

[a_sin_for_him]

"I have no idea, I've never used it before. I imagine it did, there was a stove and a refrigerator and all of those things."

It stood to reason that the washer and dryer had already been there. She knew she hadn't bought them, and she couldn't picture Greed doing so either. She made a sad attempt at wringing out her shirt and hair while she talked. Guttle was taking advantage of the flood of water, making more of a mess.

"We were mostly interested in the pool, when we bought the place."

Which, she realized, was now hers. She was the sole legal owner. Oh god, were there things she needed to do? Paperwork she ought to be aware of?

[no_ufo_ending]

Henry opened his mouth.

Henry Townshend was a lot of things. He was shy. Weird. Anxious. Perhaps a little careless. But one thing he wasn't was Stupid so he did not ask her why she had never used the washing machine before.

"Do you want me to help you take it to the dump?"

B

[exeggutorhead]

Things that Envy expected to see on his way home from the circus grounds: basically anything except what he does see. He almost doesn't even register the bedraggled figure dragging the ruined machine down the street as Lust, even with Guttle rolling along beside her. In fact, the first half-formed thought that crosses his mind is that the front door has been left open and Guttle's escaped off down the street to heckle unfortunate strangers into feeding him.

The second half of that thought is him actually realizing who he's looking at. He stands there gaping for a long moment before hurrying towards her.

"What happened?!"

IS THAT THEIR LAUNDRY MACHINE?

[a_sin_for_him]

Is everyone out and about today?

Lust sighs, halting in her progress.

"I had...an accident. With the laundry." As though that wasn't clear by the fact that she has their washer on a handcart. It's still damp and scorch marked.

"I'm taking care of it."

She still isn't quite sure how, but something's bound to present itself.