Authors note: I do not own Bolt or any of it's characters.
Mittens sighed and gazed up at the sky. It had been three months since Bolt's person, Penny, had allowed Mittens and Rhino to join their family. At first, she was very cautious entering Penny's home, as she had bad experiences with previous homes. So she found herself sticking close to Bolt most of the time. For some reason, she just felt safe whenever Bolt was around. But she would never admit that.
She had it pretty good. Good friends, a roof over her head, plenty of food, and a loving owner.
But for some reason, she still felt empty inside. Like a piece of her soul was missing. At first she didn't know what the feeling was, but she knew it had to be filled. Then she realized what she needed. Someone to love.
Yes, she loved Bolt, but not in a mushy gushy sort of way, she looked at Bolt as more of a brotherly figure than anything else. She needed someone to hold her, kiss her, and maybe even have kids with her. She needed a lover.
Mittens and Bolt walked down the sidewalk, On their way to the park, which had become Bolt's favorite place to go. For him, it was a dog's paradise. Squirrels to chase, sticks to play fetch with, and it was where his two pals, Rex (A German Shepherd), and Don (A Dalmatian), always hung out.
"Hey Mitts, race ya to the park." Bolt said.
"Heh, I doubt it." Mittens said pessimistically.
"Hey Mittens, why is the sky blue?" Bolt asked. Mittens rolled her eyes. Why did Bolt have to ask such dumb questions like that.
"I dunno, it just is." Mittens answered.
"Oh boy, we're here!" Bolt jumped up and down and ran toward Rex and Don, who he had spotted near a water fountain. Don had turned his attention to a nearby squirrel and started chasing it until it ran up a nearby tree.
"Don, knock it off, will ya." Rex scolded, and then turned to face Bolt.
"Sorry Bolt, you know how Don gets every time he sees a damn squirrel."
"Hey in my defense, this guy was asking for it." Don defended.
"Oh sure, just like the last two hundred squirrels who asked for it." Rex said, causing Bolt to laugh. But almost in unison, they shifted their gaze toward a discarded tennis ball several yards away. Don, Rex, and Bolt all grinned and ran after it. Don managed to get a headstart and got there first, clamping down on the tennis ball with his teeth, only to be spear tackled by Rex, knocking the wind out of Don and sending the ball flying through the air. Bolt saw this and ran to catch up with it, preparing to catch it in midair.
"I got it, I got it!" Bolt yelled as he jumped up and caught it in his mouth.
Mittens had ventured off into another area of the park. She wasn't too fond of Bolt's friends. As a matter of fact, she wasn't fond of most dogs in general. The only dog she ever actually liked was Bolt. The rest of them were just mangy slobbering oafs.
That's when she saw him. He was walking in her direction but he hadn't noticed her just yet. He was an orange and white cat with a slender figure like Mittens, although he was slightly larger than her and a bit more masculine. She could tell by his rugged fur that he was most likely an alley cat. That's when he lifted his head and noticed her presence. He almost accidentally walked into her had he not stopped walking.
"Oh, sorry, I didn't see you there." The alley cat said.
"It's fine." Mittens said, eyeing him up and down, admiring his features.
The alley cat turned and was about to leave when Mittens spoke up.
"Wait, I usually don't do this, but what's your name?" Mittens asked.
"Name's Zach, and you are."
"Mittens. I used to be an alley cat but now I'm a house cat."
"Heh, some cats have all the luck."
"You mean to tell me you've been an alley cat your entire life."
"You bet, ever since birth, and I've been roughing it on the streets ever since."
"Trust me, being a house cat ain't all it's cracked up to be, ya know."
"Really, like how?" Zach asked.
"I don't wanna talk about it." Mittens said, fighting back painful memories of her previous owner in her mind.
"Whoa, you okay? You look kinda, out of it." Zach asked in concern.
"Yeah, I'm fine. The summer heat must be gettin to me, I guess."
"Yeah, I know how that feels." Zach paused for a minute, as if contemplating what to say next, and quickly spoke up again. "Hey, you seem like a cool chick, how'd you like to come by my place some time? I live in that alley right over there." Zach motioned to an alley just across the street from the entrance to the park. "So you know, if you wanted to maybe come by tomorrow night, I have a leftover pizza that I'd been-"
"So it's a date, huh?" Mittens said, causing Zach to blush slightly.
"You took the words right outta my mouth." Zach joked.
"Alright, sounds like a plan, I'll be there." Mittens said.
After that, they had a seemingly endless conversation and Mittens discovered that she and her new unofficial "boyfriend" had a lot more in common then they realized. They liked the same foods, same color, same everything. Mittens was beginning to think she had found someone with the exact same personality as her own. She had explained to him how she used to be a New Yorker and how she met Bolt and Rhino and how she journeyed to California in an effort to locate Bolt's owner, Penny. After they had found Penny, they had moved to a quiet suburban neighborhood in Louisville, Kentucky, in the house they lived in now. Zach was initially wowed by her story and proceeded to tell how he grew up an orphan, his mother being hit by a car when he was only a kitten, and how he learned to fend for himself.
"Well, your the first cat I've ever met whose friends with a dog." Zach said.
"Yeah, he's sort of new to this whole being a dog thing, but don't worry, he's not like most dogs." Mittens assured him. Mittens saw Bolt come running up, a tennis ball in his jaws.
"Hey Miiieeennnnsss." Bolt said, struggling to pronounce her name with the tennis ball in his mouth. He spit it out and turned to Zach, who instinctively took a few steps back.
"Don't worry, Zach. Bolt's not gonna attack you. You don't need to be afraid."
"Me? Afraid? Nah, I was just, you know, surprised was all." Zach lied.
"Well, hi Zach, my name's Bolt." Bolt said, wagging his tail happily. He usually didn't like cats and he rarely spoke to them, Mittens being an exception of course. But Mittens seemed to really like this guy. He could tell by the way she acted around him, so he figured he might as well be friendly.
"Yeah, I know, Mittens has already told me a lot about you." Zach said, not a nervous as he was before.
"Oh, alright then."
"Well, it's getting late, I guess I'll head on home now." Zach yawned as he turned and began to leave. "It was nice meeting you, Mittens. I'll see you tomorrow."
"I'll be there." Mittens said. "Be careful crossing the street."
"Gotcha."
As soon as Zach was gone Bolt yawned.
"Rex and Don have to go home?" Mittens asked.
"Yep." Bolt said.
"So what's the deal with you and this Zach guy." Bolt asked.
"Well, I met him earlier today when he accidentally bumped into me and he asked me out on a date. Turns out we have a lot in common. I'm having dinner with him tomorrow night."
"I don't know, something about him rubs me the wrong way." Bolt said.
"He's just a little skittish around dogs, that's all."
"Well okay, buy he still gives me a bad feeling that he's a troublemaker."
"Bolt, you think every cat is a troublemaker. You thought that about me when we first met, remember."
Bolt shrugged. "Yes, I remember that, but that was different."
"How was it different, Bolt, how?" Mittens demanded, her tone growing slightly louder.
"Okay,okay, maybe I'm being too harsh on him, but I just, I just-"
"You just what, Bolt?"
"I-I," Bolt paused.
"Tell me, Bolt!"
"I don't want to see you get hurt, Mittens." Bolt finally said.
"You, you what?" Mittens asked, taken by surprise at what Bolt had just said.
"I-,I care about you Mittens, and I'd hate to see you get hurt."
"Oh Bolty, you don't need to worry about that, I'll be fine. I always have and always will be." Mittens reassured as he put a paw on Bolt's shoulder.
"Just, just promise me you'll be careful, please." Bolt said as he met Mittens gaze and looked into her beautiful green eyes. Mittens grabbed Bolt's paw and held it tightly.
"I promise."