Merko tilted his head curiously, staring at Kayle with wide eyes. He'd heard of the work he did, working at a small coffee shop for most of the day.
"But y-you're..." He gestured toward him, "small?"
Kayle grumbled, "But that's not going to be the best thing to say to my manager." His face shifted to a false smile. "Hi, Mr. Higgs? Yeah, I turned into a borrower. Can't work today. Maybe never again. Bye!" He fluttered his fingers jokingly, and let them fall again to his side. "Urgh, I hate this." He paused. "No offense, Merko."
Merko shook his head. "It's fine. I-I'm fine. We'll get you back to normal!" His face lifted, and he bounced a little, making Kayle's entire world shake. "We'll find a way to fix this!"
Kayle leaned back and smiled tiredly up at his giant borrower friend. "Thanks."
Merko noticed Kayle let out the smallest of yawns, and he frowned. "You look tired."
"Cause I am." Kayle mumbled, pressing himself more against Merko's body. "And you're waaaarm."
Merko felt a strange sense of protectiveness over Kayle that he'd never felt before.
Maybe because of the size?
"Get more sleep, Kayle. I'll be here." Merko whispered, letting his tail fluff dangle over Kayle's head. Kayle laughed sleepily, his tiny fingers flexing open and close.
After Kayle had fallen asleep, he thought over what his friend had said. His manager, Mr. Higgs...
Merko had no idea what a 'manager' was, but he assumed Kayle worked for him, given how he'd spoken of him.
Merko felt guilty about doing what he was about to do, but he walked over to the long abandoned phone lying on Kayle's desk. It didn't have a password, surprisingly, but Merko ignored it.
He'd remembered how Kayle had opened it. Just a swipe on the bottom, and he was in.
His head faintly spun at the idea. Being able to use one hand to easily hold a device that normally would've been too heavy for him to even push with his entire body...
He surveyed the small screen filled with pictures and text, overwhelmed immediately by all that color rushing into his eyes, that were used to the drab grays and dark shadows of the walls.
"Phone." Merko said proudly as he spotted the green object. It'd taken him a while to even find it, and he felt a surge of pride in doing so.
If Kayle could see me now...
His tail swished behind his legs as he tapped the icon with his thumb, still in awe at how his finger covered the entire little green square.
He read the small line of text above. "Recent... caller...?"
He blinked. What did that mean?
Whatever it meant, the name 'Higgs' showed up, so Merko let the thought slip.
He tentatively brought up the... contact, and tapped 'Call'.
A few beeps and rings later, a stern, gruff voice shot out of the phone, making Merko squeak.
"Kayle? This is the third time this week you've called me. Whadya want?"
"H-Hello, sir..." Merko started, "I, um-"
"Who are you?" The man interrupted him. "Why're ya on Kayle's phone?"
"M-My name is Merko..." The borrower offered timidly. He couldn't help but imagine a gruff, strong human towering over him. It was honestly terrifying to imagine. "I wanted to tell you..." His mind raced, heartbeat quickened. What would he say?
