Mimi the deer's request! It's human AU, since it was the first thing that came to mine. First time writing 'Nordic-centred' fic, and my first fluff in a while. Hopefully it is fluffy.

I probably won't be doing much typing, seeing that I have a little writer's block and also, I'm preparing to go to uni in a month. 6 day weeks, no less! I won't abandon my stuff completely, but not particularly driven to write nowadays. ^^; I'll get round to stuff eventually, but don't count so much on it!

010: Puppy Love

Berwald didn't know what to expect when he entered kindergarten. Apparently, he looked 'scary' to most of the other kids in his neighbourhood, so maybe the teacher would think that way. His mamma and pappa waved goodbye to him since they had to go off to work. He merely nodded in acknowledgement. Other parents did the same, and some of his peers were crying. He felt like comforting them, but if they thought if he was 'scary', then how…?

His answer was a little 'woof'.

He looked down to see a little white fluffy puppy with bright eyes, looking up at him. It panted and wagged its tail happily. He felt undecided to pat it or not. It gave another yip and he caved in, picking it up. It wriggled in his grasp and tried licking his face.

"Kukkamuna! Oh!"

Berwald certainly wasn't thinking of seeing such a person as his teacher. His parents had told him about Miss Vainamoinen but he had not seen her until now. Apparently, neither had his fellow kindergarteners, as they stopped crying (much to their parents' relief) and turned to look at her.

The normally stoic child fought to keep his blush down but to no avail. Her violet eyes were big and warm-looking, giving her a cherubic appearance much like her students. Her pale blonde hair fell over her shoulders as she crouched to his level.

"Looks like she's taken a liking to you," she smiled, ruffling his hair. She noted his increasingly flustered disposition as he struggled to speak. He wasn't much of a talker back home, after all. "A shy one, are you?" she asked, curious.

His only response was to clutch the puppy harder, hiding his face in her fur. She took it as permission to lick his ear.

"Alright, say goodbye to your parents! They need to work!" she urged the others gently but firmly, taking charge. Stray tears were wiped as promises to fetch them early were made. Berwald paid no heed, still standing there and feeling completely embarrassed. Being scooped up by Miss Vainamoinen (later she would ask them to call her 'Miss Kaarina' because she knew it was hard to pronounce even by adults) was quite worth the envious looks the others gave him. And he had Kukkamuna by his side the whole day too.

He was sorry he had to go at the end of class, but definitely, he would come every day without fail.

X

'Kukkamuna' is 'flower-egg'. Naming the dog 'Hanatamago' wouldn't make sense, unless it was a gift from Hisoka (my name for fem!Japan, meaning 'reserved') or Kiku.

Kaarina means 'pure'.