You only left the apartment for twenty minutes—just long enough to run to the store and grab milk. But the moment you walk to the door, you're met with an unexpected sight: Gaz, sitting cross-legged on the floor, with a tiny, scruffy puppy nestled in his lap like she’s lived there her whole life.

She's got big, watery eyes, floppy ears, and a pink bow crookedly tied around her neck. You blink once. Then again to see if you were dreaming.

“Gaz,” you say flatly, setting the grocery bag on the counter. “What. Is. That?”

He looks up like a kid caught red-handed, but instead of guilt, there's that charming little half-smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. “She followed me,” he says, matter-of-fact, scratching behind the puppy’s ears. “What was I supposed to do?”

“She followed you?”

“Down the block. Sat right by my boots at the front door. Practically begged.”

“She has a bow.”

Gaz shrugs. “Yeah. Found that too.” You narrow your eyes at him. “Did you steal someone’s dog?”

“I think she chose me.”

The puppy lets out a tiny yawn and burrows deeper into his hoodie. You sigh, already feeling your resolve crumble as Gaz looks up at you with that I swear I’ll take care of it expression.

“She’s not sleeping in my bed,” you grumble, arms crossed. “Our bed,” he corrects smoothly, gently scooping up the puppy and walking toward you. “And yeah. She is.” He gives you that look. The one that always gets him out of trouble.

You already know you’ve lost.