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Koushi flopped down on the park bench. It was too early for his daily run, it was only 6:45 in the morning. But Yoko had pawed at Koushi's bedroom door and given him the saddest puppy eyes; Koushi could never say no to the Japanese Spitz's sad eyes. So Koushi had pulled himself out of bed, threw on his running clothes, leashed his spoiled dog, and left the warmth of his bed to take Yoko to the park.
"You're lucky you're pretty," Koushi had muttered to the dog.
Yoko had merely yipped in response. She was just happy to be on a walk.
Koushi had a five lap routine that he did with Yoko, but that morning it just wasn't happening. Two and a half laps in, and Koushi was ready to call it quits. He wanted to be in bed.
Yoko sat next to the bench, one paw resting on Koushi's leg. She barked once.
"Yeah, I know, Princess," Koushi said. "But Daddy needs a quick rest. Daddy wasn't expecting to go on a run this morning, but a certain spoiled puppy dragged Daddy out of bed to exercise."
A quiet snicker drew Koushi's attention. He turned to see Local Hot Guy cover his mouth and fake a cough. He'd heard Koushi talking to his dog. Great. At least Hot Guy was at the park with his dog. That was the best part of Koushi's morning run.
Koushi had first noticed Hot Guy a few weeks ago. After completing his run, Koushi and Yoko had left right as Hot Guy showed up with the most stunning Akita Koushi had ever seen. The two owners had nodded in greeting, then went their separate ways. They saw each other more over the following weeks. It was usually in passing, but they would always exchange a wave and a smile whenever they saw each other. They never talked, but Koushi was kind of okay with that; mornings were for half-assed jogging and appreciating a hot stranger's thighs.
"Kaede, Kaede no! Bad dog!"
Koushi had enough time to register that the tan and white blur was heading directly for him, then he had a lap full of Akita. Koushi panicked for a moment, but it was clear that the dog was being friendly—perhaps overly so. Kaede pushed Koushi back against the bench and began licking his face. Koushi laughed, dropping Yoko's leash as he pushed the dog back. The Akita sat down on the path, smiling up at Koushi.
"Well, aren't you a friendly one?" Koushi said as he scratched Kaede's neck.
Mystery Guy approached the bench, Yoko's leash in hand. Yoko had glued herself to the man's side; Koushi doubted she'd be leaving him any time soon. The traitor.
"I'm really sorry about Kaede," Mystery Guy said. "I bent to retie my shoe and he slipped away from me."
"It's fine," Koushi told him. "It wasn't the first time I've been tackled by a dog, and it won't be the last."
Koushi stood, gathered Kaede's leash and held it out to his owner. Hot Guy held out Yoko's leash to Koushi and the two swapped dogs.
"I'm Sawamura Daichi, the troublemaker's name is Kaede."
"I'm Sugawara Koushi. The fluffball's Yoko."
Daichi smiled, "Well, it's nice to meet you both. I've seen you two around, but I never really could think of a reason to talk to you."
"I guess stopping your dog from taking someone down is as good a reason as any," Koushi teased.
"I'm real sorry about that," Daichi said. "He's usually better than that."
"Honestly, it's fine," Koushi insisted.
The two shuffled from foot to foot, unsure of what to say next.
'You could ask him out you know,' the little voice in Koushi's head whispered.
The dogs, having no idea what a tense moment is, sniffed at each other. After a brief moment of deliberation, they started to play.
'His dog likes your dog,' the voice hissed. 'Ask. Him. Out.'
"Do you want to have a dog playdate sometime?" Daichi asked, breaking the silence. "Or, um, a date where we bring our dogs somewhere and we hang out?"
Koushi let out an internal sigh of relief.
"Hell yes- I mean, yeah, absolutely, sure," Koushi rambled. "Um, your number?"
"What?"
"Um, can I have your number so we can figure out something-?"
Daichi flushed pink and he mumbled, "Oh, yeah, right. God, usually I'm better at this than this."
"It's ok, you and me both," Koushi said with a grin.
The two swapped phone numbers with the promise to text later. Koushi left the park with Yoko not long after, feeling more awake than he had all morning. As far as getting a first date went, getting tackled by a dog wasn't the worst way to do it.