Gratitude
A Bolt one-shot
The Sole Survivor

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"Come on, just wake her up…"

A pause.

"It's not as if she'll hurt you." Bolt scolded himself and clenched his teeth together, squeezing his eyes shut at the same time. "Have some backbone, Bolt." He sighed lifted his head to glance at the cat not too far away from him, watching as she breathed evenly through a calm face. He let out a deep breath and stood shakily, making his way slowly to the feline.

"Mittens..."

The black and white cat in question squeezed her eyes together tightly, trying to ignore the nuisance. Curling up tighter against Penny, she was almost back to sleep when she felt something prodding her side gently. Mittens grit her teeth and clenched her paws, releasing a groan that sounded more like a growl.

"Come on, Mittens wake up. I gotta talk to you for a second." The voice continued, and eventually she recognized it. Cracking open an eye she gave the white German shepherd a glare. Bolt blinked at her expression.

"What is it, Bolt? I'm tired and I wanna get back to sleep…" She grumbled before burying her face in the warmth of the blankets. Bolt watched her for a few seconds when he realized she wasn't going to budge before letting out a deep sigh. He nudged her again with his nose a little more firmly and dodged the claw she sent his way.

"Come on, please? It won't take long, I promise." He murmured and swiftly turned and jumped off the bed, waiting for her to tag along.

Mittens took in a deep breath before she hit the pillow in her irritation and rolled her eyes. Stretching momentarily, she finally stood and wobbled to the edge of the bed to glance down at the dog, her eyelids drooping. Seeing her, Bolt grinned before motioning with his paw for her to follow. Mittens pursed her lips in thought as she leaped down to catch up.

He led her through the house, past the kitchen and the living room where Rhino slept most of the time and out the door. She paused in front of the door in confusion. Why would he want to talk outside when it's warm inside? Slowly, the black and white cat crept to the slot in the door and slipped her paw outside before shivering.

"This dog is crazy…" She murmured before climbing through the doggy door.

Almost immediately, the cold wind chilled her to the bone. She curled in on herself and wrapped her tail around her frozen legs as she walked stiffly toward Bolt, who sat near the edge of the porch, facing the stairs. He had his back to her and had his head tilted back to look at the night sky.

"I ho-hope y-you know that you're i-insane for coming o-out he-here." Mittens informed him, stuttering.

The white German shepherd didn't respond. She quickly took advantage of his silence and hurriedly trotted up to sit close beside him. She felt Bolt's thick fur radiate such a warm heat, and she couldn't help but cuddle up in his side. Her head was almost under his front leg she was so close. Mittens felt him jump a little in surprise. Bolt finally turned to glance at her and he sighed.

"Well, the reason I wanted to talk to you…" He trailed off, as if at a loss for words. Mittens shivered and pressed closer to him. She blinked and raised her eyes to look at his face, or what she could see of it anyway.

"Y-yeah?" She prompted softly.

The canine hung his head for a second, and in a quick second, he turned to face her, surprising the black and white cat. Mittens mentally mourned the loss of the warmth he'd provided for her but she started in panic when she saw Bolt lean forward and gently touch his nose to hers.

Mittens tensed in silent surprise. She couldn't decide whether she wanted to smack him out of her personal bubble or move back herself. She could feel her heart beating thunderously within her chest and it pumped blood almost painfully throughout her body in anxiety.

It was right when she was about to settle on one of her two options, Bolt decided for her. He closed his eyes and leaned his forehead against hers, diminishing any extra space between them. He gazed at her steadily, looking halfway amused at her reaction.

"Thank you, Mittens… I really appreciate all you've done for me." He told her sincerely with a small smile.

"Uh…wait…" Mittens blinked rapidly in confusion and she leaned back to get a good look at his face. "Care to repeat that?" Bolt cracked open one eye and grinned.

"Sorry, no playbacks," He remarked and stood, intending to leave. Mittens raised an eyebrow before a devious smirk crossed her face. "I just really needed to get that out." He mentioned and turned when he was suddenly tackled from behind. The black and white cat didn't weigh much, but it was still enough to knock Bolt off his feet despite his own size. He grunted as he landed face first into the wood paneling.

"Come on, Bolt," Mittens insisted, perched on his back with a smug expression. "I didn't hear you." Bolt rolled his eyes and stood easily, making her wobble unsteadily.

"I said it once already. If I say it again, I'll need a different reason." The dog told her and smirked up at her frustrated face. Confused, she leapt off his back to stand in front of him.

"Why do you need a different reason?" Mittens demanded and growled when Bolt laughed. "It's not that complicated!" She continued and stomped her paw on the frozen wooden deck.

"Figure it out, cat." He grinned and stepped around her to head back inside. "I'm going back inside. I'll see you in the morning." Mittens watched his back for a few seconds as thoughts flew through her scrambled mind. Grinding her teeth, she quickly darted up to him. She screeched to a frantic stop in front of him, blocking his path to the door. He raised an eyebrow at her, almost domineeringly. Mittens felt her eye twitch and her skin crawled. He was getting on her last nerve.

"Do you need something?" He asked, and Mittens felt her fur rising in agitation.

He was so infuriating!

She gritted her teeth and let out a deep breath as she glared heatedly up at him.

"Yeah, hold still." The black cat murmured fiercely and slowly made her way toward him. When she was barely an inch from his aggravatingly confused face, she sat up on her hind legs and positioned her tiny paws through his collar to keep balance.

Slowly, she leaned forward and ran her tongue gently over the corner of his muzzle and up his cheek before she felt him tense.

Bolt's heart skipped a beat, his eyes widening, and his ears went rigid. He frantically scrambled backwards and watched as a smirk crossed her feline face. Her large emerald eyes watched as the emotions played across his face. After what seemed to an eternity to her, he opened his jaw.

"M-Mittens…" He stuttered breathlessly.

Catching the German shepherd's bewildered gaze, she merely grinned and slid her tail under his chin smugly. "Now what do you say, Bolt?"

"What–?" Blinking, he tilted his head before his eyes dawned in realization. "Oh, um… t-thank you..." He told her, stunned beyond belief.

"Sure, Bolt." The black and white cat answered before she got a thought. "Now will you tell me why you're thanking me, for both times?"

Looking a little embarrassed, he admitted a little sarcastically, "Well, that, for one." He said in remark to her action just moments before. "The second was for putting up with me through the whole… cross-country trip." Mittens grinned and sat down. She began swishing her tail back and forth and shuddered at the cold wind it created.

"Despite the fact that you kidnapped me and quite literally bullied me into helping you, I'm glad you did. I would've missed out on a lot." She told him as she gestured back into the house. Bolt laughed quietly before yawning.

Mittens paused and her eyes softened. She looked at the wooden floor and ran her paw along the creases. "Thank you, Bolt." She murmured softly, her warm breath making a puff of smoke in front of her in the cold air. Bolt blinked and turned to face her.

"Why are you thanking me?" He asked, confused. Mittens smiled gently before rolling her eyes. She stood and slowly made her way to him before nuzzling her head under his chin and sitting down as close as she could, purring contentedly. Bolt tensed as his eyes widened.

"Mittens…" He whispered and shivered, causing her to laugh breathlessly against his throat. She scooted closer to him and nudged her head against his face, noticing his stiff posture.

"For my new home, dog," Mittens told him softly. "Loosen up, would you? It's like I'm trying to cuddle with a stuffed animal." She mentioned as her tail curled around his front paw.

"Um…"

"I won't bite, I promise." She whispered into his ear. The white German shepherd felt his face grow warm and he cleared his throat uneasily.

"Oh, uh… sure, no problem," The black cat finally stood and raised her head to smile at him. He avoided her gaze and quickly took a few steps back from her, grinning awkwardly.

"I'm glad that you're happy here, Mittens." Bolt told her nervously before a yawn wretched his mouth open. She watched with an amused expression as his tongue flopped out lazily before his mouth slowly closed. She shook her head and grinned up at him. Before Bolt knew it, she was right up in his face with a Cheshire grin.

"I'm glad we had this talk." She whispered and pulled away from his surprised expression almost casually. "Come on, you're about to fall asleep on your feet." She remarked and she swiftly slipped her tail through his collar and gave it a tug.

"What are you -?" He stuttered in shock and she smirked.

"I'll lead you inside." She told him with a small smile. Behind her, Bolt eyed her nervously.

"Yeah, alright…" He murmured and stumbled along after her, almost tripping over scattered pillows in the living room as she tugged him on. Mittens drug him through the dark, silent hallways until she reached Penny's room.

Idly glancing up at the small side table, she saw it was nearly three in the morning. Yawning herself, she released his collar and nudged him.

"Go on, get up there." Mittens muttered and grinned when he turned and cocked his head at her. Bolt sighed and shook his head. He leaped and staggered up on the mattress before plopping down in a random spot, too tired to try and get comfortable.

"Oh Bolt…" Mittens whispered as soon as she laid her paws on the comforter. She rolled her eyes and tip-toed toward him, nudging him with her nose in his neck to get him to move.

"Come on Bolt, let's get you more relaxed." She grumbled and pushed as hard as she could to get him rolled over. Once she had him in a more comfy position, she nestled in beside him, sighing contentedly.

"Mittens…" Bolt murmured and she felt his eyes on her. She raised her eyes to grin cheekily up at him.

"What? I'm tired, you're warm… do the math." She remarked and nudged her head under his front leg and crawled forward until his paw rested over her back. He watched her curiously with wide eyes until her breathing evened out and she fell asleep. Finally, Bolt smiled softly and shook his head, lying back down.

"Goodnight, Mittens." He murmured and shut his eyes.

–

A/N: You know, I've noticed nearly half of my one-shots take place at night, and if not both then one of the characters are sleepy or are asleep. It's weird. Maybe I just like the setting. I have no idea. ANYWHO.
Yeah, Bolt and Mittens! Yay. I loved this movie. It was so cute and I love Bolt. It made me want a German shepherd just to name him Bolt.

Well ENJOY! Thanks for reading!

Disclaimer: I do not own Bolt. If I did, then I'd be a Disney worker in disguise planning on anarchy. –cackles manically–