It began as an innocent enough morning. Penny woke up for school smelling her mother's cooking in the kitchen. After stumbling around and getting ready, she opened her bedroom door, allowing even more of that delicious smell of bacon to waft through the room... right to the snout of the white dog on her bed. His nose may have been awake, but the rest of Bolt was very much asleep. He lifted his head and let it lead him, eyes closed, to the edge of the bed. Again he was very much asleep and, like all dogs, very hungry, so the snowy canine continued to walk right off the bed, emitting a soft 'oof' as his head hit the wood floor.
"Ow..." he whined before he stood up at shook himself. The smell of food found his nose again, and all injuries were immediately forgotten. He continued his journey to the kitchen through the door that Penny had so graciously left open. Still partly asleep, Bolt entered the living room, tripping over the various squeaky toys and bones he had left out the day before. Finally, he made it to the room of food. Drool began to form and drip from his mouth.
Unbeknownst to Emily, Penny's mother, Bolt crept up behind her as she scraped at the frying pan. The dog was as silent as snow. She reached out to the cupboard to grab a plate, but she turned around at the sound of a tiny bark. Glancing down, she found Bolt looking up at her, ears down, and peering ever so slightly up. How could she resist that?
"Oh, alright. Do you want some bacon?" She laughed as Bolt wagged his tail and barked. Grabbing one of the larger pieces, Emily bent down and gave him some bacon. She chuckled at the way he gobbled it up. "You'd think you hadn't eaten in days."
"Morning, Mom! Morning, Bolt! Morning, Mittens!" said Penny as she stretched her hand out to scratch the cat behind her ears. Mittens had just entered the room, along with Penny, yawning wide and showing off her white teeth. The girl walked up her mother, giving her kiss on the cheek and rubbing the top of her dog's head. "What's for breakfast?"
"Bacon and eggs. Take a seat, Hon." As the two humans sat down to eat, Bolt trotted up to his feline companion.
"Hey there, Superdog." Mittens said with a smirk. "Sleep well?"
"Yeah, not bad. Where's Rhino?"
"Oh, he's-"
Bam bam bam! Mittens was interrupted by the sound of gunshots coming from the living room. They were followed by a loud voice, shouting:
"Come on! Shoot 'em!"
"-watching action movie replays on the magic box." the cat finished, rolling her eyes. "I don't know why he likes those things so much. The noise gives me a headache."
"What, the explosions or his yelling?"
She chuckled. "Both."
Penny stood up and glanced at the clock. "I gotta go." she said as she hugged her mother goodbye and gave Bolt and Mittens a kiss each.
"Bye, Rhino!" she called as she picked up her book bag. "Bye, guys!"
"Bye, Pen," said Emily as she began to wash the dishes "have a good day at school!"
"I will." The door slammed shut behind her.
As said before, it started off as any other day. Penny's mom left soon after, for work, and the three animals were left to their own devices. Basically, Rhino to his magic box, Bolt to his bones, and Mittens to the wonderfully warm spot on the couch where the sun hit it. She curled up into a black ball of fuzz, and let the warm light draw her into sleep. That is, until Rhino's box started yelling. Mitten opened one eye to look at the offending object, then at the hamster.
He was yelling along with it. "Wow, look at that! How'd he do that? Whoa-hoho!"
"Rhino..."
"Lookit him go!"
"Rhino..."
"I've never seen anything like that-"
"Rhino!"
"Gya! What?"
"Will you keep it down? I'm trying to sleep here."
"Well, sorry, Miss prissy-kitty." the hamster retorted. "If you don't like my appetite for action, then maybe you should go elsewhere. This room is going to get even more action-packed...er!"
"Ugh, fine. I'll be outside, where it's quiet."
The small black cat stood up from her position on the couch, stretched her long, skinny legs, and gracefully jumped down from her perch. Once she was outside, the doggy flap on the door swinging behind her, she sprawled out on the wet grass. The bright sun shined down on her, gleaming off her fur. Little did Mittens know, a predator stalked her. And he was getting closer.
The grass swayed in the breeze, and if Mittens had looked up, she would have seen a white plume standing above the green blades. He made no noise as he neared his prey. Then, when he was only a few paces away, he pounced. The cat opened her green eyes at the last moment and rolled to the side. The white hunter landed in a heap where Mittens had once been. He looked up at her and spit out a mouth-full of dirt, smiling playfully. She just rolled her eyes as she sat in front of him.
"Really, Bolt, you're not a good enough dog, to sneak up on a cat, yet." she said, finally offering a smile. She started for the house, letting her tail caress his cheek as she turned. "I'd practice a bit more."
"Okay." With that Bolt pounced again. Mittens easily sidestepped him.
She chuckled as he spit out yet another bite of earth. "I told you, you're not read- Agh!" Mittens jumped high into the air to miss Bolt's attack. She landed on top of him, smiling knowingly.
"Pinned ya." She said before she sat up and began to clean her self.
"Not for long." Bolt hit her and they rolled, until Mittens was on top, yet again.
"Pinned ya, again."
She laughed and got off him, her eyes sparkling. She rolled them and began another trek for the house. Bolt, now even more keen on surprising her, backed up a few paces and started running after her. Mittens turned her head to look behind her at the sound of Bolt yelling. Once she saw the white streak heading straight for her, her legs moved on their own accord and she swerved to the left.
"Bolt! Hey, hey now. Let's just calm down. C'mon, Bolt, ol' buddy, ol' pal. Let's just- Ai!" The white blur caught up with her.
Mittens bounced and rolled into the shade from the force that was Bolt. They landed underneath the shadow of a tree, the sun peeking through the branches here and there. When Mittens opened her eyes, she noticed with a slight, unexplainable blush, that Bolt was holding her down. He held his mischievous smirk and his tail was wagging. Both cat and dog were chuckling.
"Geez, ya big ofe." she laughed, not noticing the playful smile on Bolt's face melting. "You got one lucky shot, but that's all. Don't expect to get me every time."
Bolt cocked his head to the side as he stared at Mittens. He looked a bit contemplative. The way Mittens' eyes lit up when she was happy and laughing... it could almost be called pretty. For a cat that is. And her fur was so sleek it gleamed even in the shade. You know, he thought, she is kinda, well, cute in a way.
"Heh... Bolt?" she asked, finally noticing that his smirk was fading. "Hello? Earth to Superdog. You in there?" The canine leaned his head in closer to Mittens'. "Um, uh, Bolt? Bolty-boy, uh... what are, uh, what are you doing?" she trying to sink further into the ground.
Bolt's face was very close to Mittens' now and her eyes widened with surprise. "Bolt?" she whispered. Why doesn't he say something?
Suddenly, he seemed to come to some sort of realization. Before Mittens could blink, Bolt licked her cheek. If possible, she froze even more, staring in disbelief at the dog in front of her.
She opened her mouth to speak. "You... I.... you just..." She blinked several times. "What the heck was that?"
Bolt mocked a look of surprise. He grinned down at her, slyly. "That is, what is commonly known as, a kiss."
"But..." Mittens shook her head trying to clear her thoughts. Then, slowly, a smile formed on her face. "Did you mean it?"
The dog only hesitated for an instant. "Yes."
The cat burst out in meow of joy. She leaned up and gave his cheek a lick.
"I mean it, too." she grinned up at him.
And so the innocent day transformed into one of realization and love.