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Freshly bathed and smelling like a meadow, Pakkun trotted out of Kakashi's bathroom. Once a week, he visited Kakashi's apartment for a full grooming, which meant giving his wrinkles a deep scrub to keep them from getting itchy and stinky, a thorough ear cleaning to loosen built-up earwax, and a nail trim if they were getting long.
Kakashi had dubbed the routine "spa day," which Pakkun felt was dismally misleading. People chose to go to spas to relax and be pampered, whereas routine grooming was becoming a necessity for Pakkun, along with Kakashi's other aging ninken.
He waited for Kakashi to pull out a chair. After a full body shake, he used it to hop onto the dining table. He probably could have made it to the table in one jump, but only barely. He wasn't as spry as he used to be. Knowing his fitness wasn't going to get any better, he had recently announced his retirement.
"How's retired life treating you so far? All that free time must be nice," Kakashi remarked with a smile. He stood before him with a pair of nail trimmers at the ready.
A frown weighed down Pakkun's jowls. He did not give his paw. Wary, he eyed the tool in Kakashi's hand. The neon green handles were adorned by blinding yellow polka dots. For most animals, those markings served as a warning to others. Danger! Do not touch!
"Pakkun," Kakashi cooed playfully. "Why the long face? You're getting special treatment from the Hokage himself."
"Like you've ever cared about fancy titles."
Kakashi shrugged. "Well, the less you drag this out, the sooner we'll be done." He held his hand out.
With a drawn out grumble, Pakkun placed his paw in Kakashi's palm. He gulped. Watching the trimmers nearing his little, black toenail, Pakkun grew bug-eyed. "Don't hit my quick," he blurted gruffly.
Kakashi paused, shooting him a glance of sheepish irritation before trying again. "That was one time, I'm still sorry, and it's never happened since."
As the clippers touched his nail, Pakkun squished his eyelids shut. Feeling a horrid pressure clamping down, he let out a shriek that could have come from a noblewoman seeing a mouse. He floundered about with his entire body, trying to yank his foot from Kakashi's grasp.
"I just took the tip off. That was nowhere near the quick," Kakashi grunted, refusing to release his paw. He flashed an exasperated smile as sweat beaded on his forehead. "Now, let's stop this before you throw out your back. You're not a young guy anymore." He brandished those wretched nail clippers once more.
"You're not young either! Your hair's all grey!" Pakkun barked back as he launched off the table with his three free legs.
Kakashi dropped the trimmers and dove after the air-born pug. "You know my hair's always been grey!"
A nearby rug helped break his fall as he landed on his shoulder with his arms wrapped around Pakkun's rounding middle. Everything he ate these days seemed to go straight to his belly.
Like all ninken, Pakkun was persistent and always prepared to fight. Viciously growling and snorting, he dug his thick, curved nails into Kakashi's bare arms for leverage. He twisted violently back and forth, trying to pop out of his restraint like a cork from a bottle. His ears whipped at Kakashi's face with every turn.
Rolling onto his back, Kakashi shifted his hold to get a better grip on Pakkun. He was determined to complete the final task of Pakkun's "spa day."
Amid the struggle, the wrinkles around Pakkun's face were shaken in and out of his field of vision. Like a shark, he snapped his jaws blindly and sank his teeth into something soft.
Kakashi groaned, pulling his hand out of Pakkun's mouth. "It's just a nail trim!" He snagged the panting pug by the hind leg before he could scrabble to freedom. "I'm not an incompetent mess, you know? Why are you fighting me off like this?"
"Because I'm an incompetent mess!" Pakkun sputtered.
They froze. Kakashi glanced at Pakkun's lolling tongue, making sure it hadn't turned blue. Separating to opposite corners of the rug, they took a moment to catch their breaths.
Pakkun's entire face drooped as he hung his head. "Retirement has only given me more time to notice how much I've aged. I get tired more easily and my joints are stiff in the mornings. My hearing's not what it used to be, and I think my sense of smell is starting to go, too." Not to mention how he stank up the whole room when he went longer than a week without a bath.
He sank down into the carpet with a low whine. "A dog's worth is only as good as their abilities."
Feeling a pang in his heart, Kakashi looked over the puddle of depressed wrinkles. A burst of grey was taking over Pakkun's muzzle. His black, leathery nose had weathered over the years, now cobbled and cracked. The dark, chestnut brown of his ears was not as striking as before. In fact, his entire haircoat had faded.
Kakashi crawled across the rug and lay down, resting his head next to Pakkun's. He searched those sad, round eyes. Over the years, a faint, blue haze had developed inside, but his eyes were no duller than before. They held that same spirited brightness since the first day they'd met.
"I know your job was your pride, but you're not just a dog," Kakashi said. His voice was soft and earnest. "You're tough, loyal, and most of all, you're my friend. You've stuck by me through thick and thin. You've always been that way, on or off the job."
Pakkun had never failed to lay at his bedside on nights where sleep evaded him or nightmares haunted him. Out in the field, there were several times Kakashi had woken up in the middle of a mission gone sideways, somehow dragged out of harm's way, with Pakkun licking his hand. He'd always get scolded for losing consciousness.
With a gentle touch, he stroked the pug's head. "I know you're too stubborn to believe me, but I want to take care of you."
Pakkun stared straight ahead, letting the words sink in. After a moment, he rolled onto his side, baring his stomach to Kakashi with a relenting grumble.
"You know, even though you're retired, I still depend on you," Kakashi said, with a coy glint in his eye.
Pakkun's floppy ears bounced to attention.
Kakashi reached over to scratch wide, lazy circles over the pug's belly. "Sometimes when Shikamaru says I need to stay late at the office, I tell him you have an appointment at the vet and that you begged me to come with you."
If he hadn't pulled something in his neck during the earlier scuffle, Pakkun would've given Kakashi another nip. He settled for a disapproving growl.
Kakashi drew his hand back and chuckled. He got up and returned with the nail trimmers. "I really do envy you, Pakkun. I can't wait to retire."
"You've been saying that since your first day in office."
"And I still feel the same way," Kakashi said with a wistful sigh. "When I retire, we can live together in a cottage in the countryside with the rest of the pack. You could sleep on your back in the sun while I trim your nails. I could tell Naruto and the others that I have a bad back and make them bathe the rest of the dogs. Maybe guilt them into cooking us a good meal, too."
"That doesn't sound half bad." Pakkun gave Kakashi his paw, absent-mindedly wagging his tail.