Natsume Hyuuga pinched the bridge of his nose, attempting to force back a headache at the sight that greeted him.

"Mikan," he said slowly, staring at his girlfriend, "what the hell is this?"

He had returned from meeting up with the guys – to which he had been dragged to by a cheerful and obnoxiously loud Koko and Kitsuneme – expecting a warm smile and a hug from Mikan. Instead, he had been met with one unexpected scene.

His girlfriend was playing on the floor, in their apartment, with a dog.

A dog.

Noticing his return, Mikan glanced up and flashed him a brief smile. "Oh, Natsume," she said, giggling as the puppy licked her face. "Welcome back!"

"… Mikan." He moved further into the apartment and shut the door behind him, locking it. "Why is there a mutt in our house?"

Sitting up and struggling to control the overenthusiastic dog, Mikan grinned. "He's not a mutt," she informed him, fondling the animal's ears affectionately. "He's purebred Doberman! At least, that's what Ruka says, anyway." She picked him up around its middle and held him up in front of her, beaming at her boyfriend. "Isn't he just precious? A friend of mine's moving to France, and she can't take her dog's puppies… she gave this one to me, free!"

Sighing (of course she would pick up a Doberman, of all things), he slipped off his sneakers and walked over to his girlfriend, raising an unimpressed brow at the whining and wiggling creature she was currently cooing over. "Mikan," he began, running a hand through his hair, "We can't keep the dog."

"Oh don't be such a pooper, Natsume," she retorted easily, smiling sweetly at the puppy straining to lick her face. "He's such a cute little guy, he won't do anything bad! Right, mister?" She nuzzled the dog's nose with her own, squealing with delight when it yipped back at her. "See? Who's a good boy, huh?"

Watching her with a slightly disturbed expression, Natsume cleared his throat. "I'm serious, Mikan," he tried again. "We live in an apartment; what would the neighbors say? What would the landlady say?"

"Ichikawa-san is completely fine with him," Mikan answered breezily, fussing over her puppy happily. "She gave us a bag of dog food, too, to help us get started! Isn't she nice?"

"Neighbors, then."

Rolling her eyes, Mikan stuck out her tongue at her boyfriend. "Oh please, who's going to complain? If anything, Hikari would be more than delighted to dogsit him with her kids, and Grandma Mayu misses her own dog, she wouldn't care about him. The Maeda brothers won't mind if we ask nicely, too. Stop worrying so much!"

Settling down on the couch, he silently observed the dog and his girlfriend. He really wasn't much of a dog person, leaning more towards cats, but if Mikan really wanted the damn thing….

He sighed. "Alright, but I'm not walking it."

The ecstatic shriek and the flurry of kisses made the dog worth it, he thought to himself absently.

The next day, Natsume awoke to find the rear end of a puppy in his face. Face twisted in disgust, he quickly sat up, glaring down as it made itself comfortable on his pillow, face buried in Mikan's luxurious auburn hair.

His displeasure grew when Mikan turned in her sleep and reached up to bring the puppy close to her chest, holding it like a teddy bear. An uncomfortable clenching in his chest startled him out of glaring daggers at the dog, and heaving a sigh he flipped over the pillow and settled down once more, bringing Mikan closer to him.

Like hell he'd be jealous of a dog.

A few days later, while eating dinner, a sudden thought struck Natsume.

"Mikan," he said abruptly, gazing down at the dog curled up under the table, "Does this thing have a name?"

She looked mildly surprised before she answered, a fork full of spaghetti halfway to her mouth. "Well, obviously," she snorted, the fork continuing on its journey. "Sumire helped me come up with the name, actually; Hotaru was no help, and Anna and Nonoko kept throwing out very fluffy names."

"… So what's its name?"

Mikan chewed and swallowed, gulping down some water. "His name is – wait." Her eyes narrowed. "You mean we've had him for five days now, and you never knew his name? Natsume!"

He rolled his eyes. "Name, Mikan."

Still looking a bit cross, she relented. "His name is Itsuki."

"His name means tree?" Natsume asked incredulously.

His girlfriend scowled, flushing slightly. "Well, yes," she said defensively. "I thought that since both our names are of fruits that grow from trees, our dog might as well have some connection to us, too."

Oddly touched, by the thinking process behind the naming of a dog of all things, Natsume drank some water, face unreadable. "Hn."

Stealing glances at the sleeping Doberman puppy from time to time throughout the night, Natsume had to admit that Itsuki was rather… adorable. Maybe Mikan was onto something when she had insisted that they needed a dog, he mused.

Unknown to him, Mikan was hiding a satisfied grin as she watched her boyfriend slowly soften his previously cold attitude toward the puppy over the next few days. Humming to herself cheerfully, she wondered what his reaction would be if they ever had kids….

A/N: Just some fluff to relieve some stress. My cousin got a puppy, and was endlessly amused with her boyfriend's reaction to it. Cutest little thing, too - a mixed breed, but so adorable. Anyway, it helped inspire this story. Reviews are always welcome! :)

~ EDV