The first thing that Kiba became aware of as he snapped back to consciousness was sudden cold as the blanket was torn back.
"Wha—?" he whined inarticulately.
"Dog!" Hanabi shouted in his ear. Then, "Down, Akamaru! Down, boy!"
Kiba glanced over his shoulder to see Hanabi rolling around and kicking her feet in the air as Akamaru snuffled and licked at her face, paws up on the bed.
"Oh, never mind him," he said, yawning and rolling back over onto his side, trying to hide the way that his girlfriend's fury made him grin.
"It's early," she fumed, either to him or Akamaru. "Knock it off, you mutt. I swear, I'll make cat food out of you if you don't lay off. Go bug your stupid master! Gah!"
Kiba couldn't resist any longer. He rolled back over and looked at the girl beside him. "Hey, you don't need to damage his fragile self-esteem! He just loves you."
"I don't love him!"
Then, what Kiba had been waiting for finally happened. A twist of Hanabi's head left her neck open, and Akamaru landed a huge, slobbering lick to her left ear. Anger disappeared and she burst out laughing uncontrollably.
"Good boy!" Kiba exclaimed.
Akamaru barked happily and briefly jumped up on two legs, before his paws landed back on the bed and he recommenced licking.
"You—are—insufferable," Hanabi panted through her body-shaking laughter.
"But, you love me," he said smoothly. He leaned in for a kiss, but ended up pushed away by Hanabi's palm digging into his eye.
"You let him kiss you," he muttered.
"Okay, okay!" she shouted. "Good boy, Akamaru, good boy!" She reached over and scratched his head and neck with both hands. The dog sighed blissfully and rested his head on her stomach, slobbering in ecstasy.
"You really do love him," Kiba said, watching as Hanabi smiled at the dog.
"Yes."
"And you wouldn't really make cat food out of him, would you?" he pressed.
She snorted and shook her head. "No."
"Good." After a moment, in which the last of Hanabi's giggles faded to only a faint quiver in her shoulders, he placed his head on her shoulders, across from Akamaru's peaceful, sleepy face.
"And you love me, too, right?"
She sighed and rolled her eyes. "If you have to, I suppose, iyes/i."
"Ha!" Kiba exclaimed. "Knew it."
She elbowed him in the head.
Kiba laughed. "Good morning to you, too."