It was a warm, sunny summer's day, a day which Gromit and Fluffles both agreed would be the perfect day for them to go out on their first date. That was Wallace's idea. Since she moved in with them after the death of her previous owner, Piella Bakewell, he felt that it would be best for her to spend as much time with her new boyfriend as possible to help take her mind off the painful memories of her old life. Yes, things have been getting much better for her then, since Piella was always such a horrible old witch to her. Because of that, the poor little poodle still had mental, as well as physical, scars which needed healing. And who better for the job than her beloved Gromit? Though Wallace was always a rather reckless bloke who came up with all sorts of insane ideas, even Gromit had to admit that this was one of his better ideas, and one which he, as well as Fluffles, was all too happy to agree to.
So, to start their date off, the pair took a stroll around the park where they bought ice cream at a kiosk and sat for a while on a bench, watching the ducks and geese on the pond. Next, they went to the cinema to see the latest romantic comedy, and lastly they decided it would be nice to finish their date by having dinner at a very beautiful five-star restaurant which Wallace himself had recommended on the other side of town.
It wasn't a terribly expensive restaurant, but they still thought it was really nice and inviting. Each table was draped with red checkered tablecloths and had a lit candle, a large bottle of wine and a cup filled with breadsticks in the middle. The lighting of the restaurant was rather dim, which, to the two dogs, seemed to make the atmosphere all the more romantic. When they entered, the waiter politely greeted them and showed them to their seats before giving them a menu each. Normally, dogs, cats, and other pets of other kinds weren't allowed in restaurants or cafés with their owners, unless they were guide dogs of course. However, Wallace and Gromit had once again both gained themselves an excellent reputation from their latest business, the Dough-to-Door delivery service. So the waiter clearly thought it was only right to make an exception with Gromit and his new girlfriend, being so thankful for all the delicious freshly-baked bread he and his owner had delivered to him.
After giving them time to look over said menus, he took their orders and went away, leaving the two dogs by themselves once more. Thankfully they didn't have to wait very long for their food to be brought to them. As they ate, they just listened to the music that was being played on the radio for the customers while they enjoyed the pleasant atmosphere of the place, as well as each other's company. For pretty much the whole day, Fluffles was very happy, for she had spent it with Gromit and her past life with Piella was the furthest thing from her mind. Well, that is until the music stopped and the news channel came on, starting with more stories about the recent death of her previous owner. Since it only happened a couple of weeks before, of course they'd still be talking about the untimely death of the former Bake-O-Lite Girl.
Gromit immediately frowned when he heard that witch's name being mentioned yet again, especially when hearing that people were paying tributes to a woman who only he, Wallace and Fluffles knew was the one behind the death of those twelve bakers. No surprise there, he thought, since she was very clever about keeping that well hidden from the public.
It wasn't before turning back to Fluffles again and therefore seeing the look of melancholy retuning to her face that his paw curled into a fist as his anger increased. It was happening again, the very mention of that murderous harpy who abused his beloved had triggered those painful memories for her and now it looked as though she was about to go into one of those meltdowns of hers in a few seconds. Gromit thought then about looking for the radio and changing the channel, whether the rest of the customers in the restaurant liked it or not. But from the state that Fluffles was in, the last thing he wanted to do now was leave her on her own, even if it would've been just for a few seconds.
So instead, he merely put his paw on top of hers, causing her to look up into his eyes as he gave her that supportive, encouraging look, reminding her that she was now free forever from that witch at long last, and that she had no more to worry about, that things could only get better from here on out. Even though this caused the young poodle's face to become a little brighter again, she still couldn't stop the single tear from escaping from her eye and running down her cheek, staining the fur there. Gromit put his paw to her face and wiped away said tear, feeling very glad to see the happiness quickly returning to her beautiful face as she closed her eyes and leaned into his gentle touch.
For about a couple of seconds, she was lost in pure bliss before opening her eyes again and giving him a "Thank you" look. In response, Gromit merely leant over a little, taking her tiny paw towards his mouth and placed a soft kiss on the top of it before they both decided to finish their dinner. Because of all the popcorn and ice cream they had both eaten back at the cinema, they didn't really feel like having any dessert, so after they had finished their main course, they decided then to just ask for the bill. Upon receiving it, they were both very pleased to see that they weren't being charged a terrible amount, and even more so to see that Wallace had given Gromit just enough money to leave them a tip.
As they were leaving the restaurant, they saw that it hard started to rain quite heavily. Gromit, who was holding paws with Fluffles, was very confused at feeling himself being held back as he tried to walk out onto the street. He looked back towards the poodle to see her looking out towards the pouring weather with a rather fearful expression. Oh, of course, the older dog thought. Another reminder of Fluffles' ugly past. That was another thing that witch Piella did to her whenever she had displeased her at all. She would kick her out of that poor excuse for a bed she had given her, which consisted only of a Meatabix box covered with a tattered old tartan cloth, and have her spend the night outside, regardless on whether the night was dry or not. And Piella didn't bother to get her a dog house, so if it did indeed rain on that night, then poor Fluffles would end up with a terrible cold the next morning and would have to deal with her owner demanding her to stop all that sneezing, despite the fact that she herself was the very cause of it. No wonder she wasn't too thrilled at having to go out in it again.
Gromit just looked at Fluffles sympathetically as he took a minute to think about what he could do about this. They couldn't just hang about at the doors, waiting for the rain to go off. They'd be in the way of any other customers who wished to enter or exit the restaurant. And besides, there was no telling when the rain would stop, and if they weren't home soon, Wallace would be wondering where on earth they were. If only they had brought an umbrella with them...
An umbrella! That was it!
Gromit quickly took a look around the various shops on the street until he spotted a clothes shop just across the road. Turning back to face Fluffles, he held up a finger to her as a gesture for her to stay put before quickly dashing across the road towards the shop. He was happy that it was still open and that, upon going in and looking around, it didn't take him long to find an umbrella stand in one of the far corners. Going up to it, he picked out this perfect long, black one and took it up to the counter to pay for it. Thankfully, that was quite cheap too, though it was still of good quality, and it still left him just enough money to pay for a cab home. He nodded in thanks to the shop owner before he turned and left with his new umbrella.
He was relieved to see Fluffles still standing at the restaurant entrance, watching him expectantly. He dashed back across the road towards her as quickly as he had left her. Opening up the umbrella above his head, he held out his paw to her as a gesture for her to come forward and take it. Fluffles was a little hesitant at first. She looked up at the now opened umbrella. The protective material did seem to be rather wide, but was it wide enough to protect them both from the rain?
She looked back at Gromit, who was now looking at her with a gentle but eager expression. She decided then just to give in as she reached out her tiny paw to take his larger one. Fluffles trembled a little when their palms touched. Before she knew what she was doing, she forward until she was right by Gromit's side. The older dog immediately wrapped and arm around her shoulders and pulled her into him. She took a moment to look up at the umbrella and then at the falling rain beyond it, with the occasional little streak of rain falling from the material. But there was another thing that she noticed about it all; none of it had landed on her, not even the end of her tail which was wagging behind her. Indeed, this umbrella that Gromit had bought them did turn out to be ideal in protecting the both of them from the rain which she dreaded so much.
When Fluffles looked back up at her lover, he gazed down at her with that look in his eyes which meant that he was mentally smiling as he gave her an encouraging wink. Well, Fluffles was just so happy and so grateful that Gromit had done this for her that she couldn't stop herself from wrapping her arms around him and buried her face into his shoulder, muffling her happy sobs. Gromit's mental smile got even wider as he tightened his grip around his lover's small waist and placed a soft kiss to her head.
For the next ten minutes or so, the two dogs just remained in their romantic embrace, shielded from the rain by Gromit's umbrella until he caught sight of approaching headlights up ahead, penetrating the darkness and heavy rain between them. Squinting, he saw that those headlights did indeed belong to a cab and he immediately held out his paw, indicating for the driver to pull in. When the cab stopped, Gromit opened the door and, very much in the fashion of a gentleman, took Fluffles' paw again as he allowed her to get in first, still holding the umbrella above them. He waited until she was seated and buckled in before he closed it down and followed her into the taxi. He closed the door behind him and took his place next to her.
"Where to, Gromit?" asked the driver, obviously recognising the dog who worked for Wallace's latest delivery service. Because neither Gromit nor Fluffles could speak, the older of the two dogs merely handed a note to the driver which read, "62 West Wallaby Street".
"Righto!" chirped the driver before starting up the cab again and taking the two dogs back home. For the entire journey, Fluffles remained cuddled up against Gromit, and mentally smiled sweetly to herself when her favourite song, "Puppy Love" by Doggy Osmond played on the radio.
When they had finally returned home, they were both very happy to see that the rain had gone off. Gromit gave the last of the money to the driver and nodded a thanks to him before he and Fluffles got out of the cab, which drove away as they both made their way up to the front door. Gromit opened the door and led Fluffles inside. Closing the door behind them, he hung the new umbrella on the hatstand as he and his lover passed it to head to the living room. Looking inside, Gromit saw that his master was nowhere to be seen. He decided that me must've decided to go to bed early that night. Feeling a little tired himself, he took Fluffles' paw once more as he led her upstairs.
Stopping at her bedroom door, he took both her tiny paws into his larger ones as he looked down at her lovingly. She looked back up at him with the same expression before leaning up to him and kissing him passionately on the lips. Gromit was taken slightly aback by this, but closed his eyes as he just returned her kiss, wrapping his arms around her waist. She returned his embrace as the kiss deepened somewhat.
Both dogs decided to relish this loving moment between them, as this was their first real kiss since she had moved in with him. Sure, their lips had met on several occasions these past few weeks, but their kisses were always on the chaste side. So it was understandable that both of them wished that this moment could last forever. But alas, all good things must come to an end, as they say, for eventually, they both felt themselves beginning to run out of air.
Reluctantly, they pulled away and begin to gaze at one another once more. Fluffles couldn't help but giggle at what had just happened. Gromit smiled to himself again as this began to warm his soul. He took Fluffles' reaction as a good sign. A sign which meant that the wounds of her past could indeed be healed, and that, indeed, he was achieving that. Slowly, but surely.
Once Fluffles' giggling had died down, she stood up on tip-toe as she placed a quick goodnight kiss to Gromit's nose before turning and going into her room. She turned back to take a last glance at her lover before closing the door behind her.
For a while, Gromit could only just stand there, eyes blankly staring at the door as he found that he really did feel quite happy. Happy that everything seemed to be going according to plan. Everyday, the once empty, lifeless expression in Fluffles' eyes were filling up with life, just as they should be. And it was all thanks to Gromit and his kind-hearted, if somewhat eccentric, master Wallace. But it was mainly thanks to Gromit that the young poodle's life was definitely getting better. He did save her from the clutches of her former owner after all, and all their plans to help heal her soul had so far proven to be very successful indeed.
Stretching, Gromit then decided that it was time for him to retire to his own room. He down the hall, certain at one point that he could hear his master's loud snoring from behind his bedroom door before entering his own once he had reached it. Closing the door behind him, he went over to his bed, climbed in and turned the light off before snuggling down under the covers. Soon, he drifted away into a peaceful sleep, dreaming of sharing more romantic moments with his beloved Fluffles.