Disclaimer: I own very little.

A/N: A fic for an RPG where I play Dan.

Summer Day

"Fetch!" Dan grinned as he watched the big dog rushing after the stick. Snatching it into his mouth, the dog then threw the stick back towards him with a sharp toss of his head. Dan ran towards the stick and picked it up from the ground.

"You're really good at throwing already desu," the boy grinned, crouching down to scratch the dog as he got closer. "You'll soon be better than me! Too bad you can't really handle tennis or we could play togethere."

The dog grinned at him as though to say it was only natural it succeeded in its task and the only reason it didn't play tennis was that it couldn't be bothered. Then he poked Dan with his nose, barking sharply. Laughing, Dan threw the stick again, and again, and again.

Finally the dog apparently got fed up with this game, as it dropped the stick to the ground soon after picking it up, instead rushing towards Dan and jumping up to set his front paws on Dan's shoulders. Falling down, Dan laughed again as his face got thoroughly tongue-cleaned.

"I remember when you were still smaller than me desu," Dan said, grinning as he tried in vain to push the dog away from himself. "Just look out, Tomi! One of these days I'll be big and strong, too! Well, of course not as big and strong as Akutsu-senpai, but still bigger than now!"

Tomi tilted his head to the side as though doubting his claim. Dan used this on his advantage and pushed up from the ground. This time the dog gave in, and soon they were both rolling around on the ground with barks and laughter.

Finally Dan separated himself from his big furball, standing up and picking bits of grass from his hair. "We have to go now, though," he sighed. "Mum's probably already waiting for us desu!"

Tomi barked to show he agreed. Dan was absolutely convinced the dog understood what he said. After all, Tomi was his best friend, and best friends always understand each other.

Tomi sat rather calmly still as Dan fastened the leash on its collar. It was more of a decoration than anything; they both knew that if Tomi had wanted to run away, Dan couldn't have done much else than hold on. Fortunately the dog was fairly peaceful when it wasn't playing, and knew it was supposed to follow its little master's pace. It was still glad when Dan decided to run some of the way home from the park; a big dog could hold a lot of energy.

"We're home!" Dan announced as he opened the door, Tomi barking along with him. "Sorry I'm so dirty, Tomi wanted to wrestle desu" There were stains of grass and dirt here and there in his clothes, as well as in Tomi's fur.

"Like you'd mind that," his mother said with a tone of fond disapproval. "The two of you can't take two steps out the door together without needing cleaning!"

"Sorry, Mum," Dan said, and Tomi whined next to him. Then the boy and the dog glanced at each other and grinned both. Who cared about a couple of stains when you had fun?

"You're hopeless," chuckled Dan's mother. "Okay, boys! Bath is ready; once you look a bit less dirty you'll get to eat."

"Okay desu!" Dan said happily, and Tomi barked. They both rushed towards the bathroom, ignoring his mother's shake of the head.

Pulling the shirt over his head, Dan laughed as he felt something wet on his stomach. "Hey, don't lick now! I'm trying to get clothes off desu!" Getting the shirt off, he crouched down to mess Tomi's fur. "You! Being mean to me when my hands aren't free desu!"

Tomi was obviously laughing at his scolding. Soon Dan got the rest of his clothes off and started washing off the worst dirt both from himself and his dog. Tomi waited calmly while Dan cleaned dirt off its paws, knowing he'd soon get properly into water. As soon as it got the okay he rushed into the bath like a big red-haired missile, splashing water on Dan. Laughing at his wide grin, Dan climbed into the bath with his dog, splashing water on it in turn. Tomi almost seemed to grimace.

Like always, Dan dried his dog before himself – if he'd done it the other way around, Tomi probably would have simply gotten tired of waiting and shook himself dry, making his poor master wet again. Finally, though, both were dry enough that Dan could pull on a clean t-shirt and shorts and head to the kitchen with Tomi.

"You shouldn't feed him from the table," Dan's mother said as Dan gave his dog a treat. "He'll just learn to beg."

"No he won't desu!" Dan protested. "Tomi knows very well he can't eat from the table from anyone but me, don't you, Tomi?" A determined bark and nod were his answer. Dan grinned. "Good boy desu"

After a long and eventful day anyone would have been tired, never mind an adolescent boy and his loyal companion. As Dan climbed into bed Tomi stayed on his own spot on the floor for exactly 17.3 seconds – a bit longer than average, Dan noted – before jumping into Dan's bed. On a hot night a warm ball of fur wasn't exactly the best company ever, but Dan still smiled as he reached his arm around Tomi's big body, sinking his face into the red-gold fur.

"Good night, Tomi," Dan murmured into the dog's fur, yawning after his words. The dog replied with a sleepy whine, the last lick of the harsh tongue making Dan's hair even more of a mess than usual.

As Dan's mother soon peeked in from the door, both Dan and Tomi were deep asleep, a happy look on both of their faces.