The night was settling in, and Bolt, Mittens, and Rhino were getting ready to jump off from the ride they hitched. Looking at all the colors emanating from the bright neon lights, extravagant signs with the names of other places, such as New York, and massive screens that had advertised varieties of food.

During their look around the bright city they also passed by a building with the word 'casino' in bright yellow lights; it was complete with a bouncer standing guard outside, and even a drunken person being escorted out, due to their obnoxious mannerisms. They were in none other than "The City of Sin:'' Las Vegas.

As their ride pulled over to a rest stop, the gang made their stealthy exit off of their transport. "Welp, welcome to Vegas, Wags." Mittens said, as they were taking in the sights by foot, well ball for Rhino. "So what do you say we eat somethin'?" She asked, and right on cue Bolt's stomach rumbled.

"Sure, some food couldn't hurt." He responded. There was no protest from Rhino, considering food was his third favorite thing in the world, with the 'magic box' being number two, and Bolt, obviously, being number one.

Mittens had noticed a large sign that read 'buffet' on it, and made a beeline towards it, with the boys following closely behind her. Along the way, they received strange looks from pedestrians that were passing by them, but that was nothing new to the trio. They made their way down an alley next to the buffet, and waited near the dumpster.

After a moment of waiting, a man walked out to dump all the scraps that were left over inside. The trio remained hidden, until the man had walked back inside, and shut the door behind him. At this hour, the buffet was just about closed, so they had very little concern about someone interrupting their late night supper.

The three of them approached the dumpster and looked in to find a plethora of foods; from healthy times, such as fruit, to greasy delights, like french fries, and even cupcakes to satisfy their sweet tooth. All that was on their mind at the time was to chow down on the feast in front of them.

Rhino had opened his hamster ball, and came out to grab a handful of fries to bring to the ground. He'd go from small nibbles to larger bites, just to stuff his stomach quicker and later moved on to finding something a bit more filling. His little paws immediately snagged a cupcake, he first helped himself to the cherry that was slipping off on the top. Only to move down a layer, to the frosting, he shoved his face straight in, and as he came out he had a full 'beard' made out of the sweet topping.

Bolt had a decent array of food on his side as well. On his first dive into the dumpster, he had found a completely untouched, fully dressed cheeseburger. Luckily for him, there were no onions on it, so he wouldn't have to worry about picking anything off. He took his time eating the perfectly cooked meal, it was cooked medium-well, so it was only a hint bloody, yet still juicy from the grease, just the way he liked it. He wolfed down about three burgers before moving on to a piece of banana. It certainly wasn't his favorite fruit, but the fiber at least helped a bit with his digestion.

As for Mittens, she nearly ate as much as Bolt. She had started with just a burger patty, along with a cupcake or two, but then she struck gold when she found a piece of cooked salmon deep within the dumpster. She may have been on the streets for a good chunk of her life, but she at knew to better than anyone else take advantage of an abundance of food when its infront of her. Since the next time they get a chance like this could be a while.

When they cleared out all the delicacies, that were in the dumpster they started in, they took a look down the alley and saw even more dumpster loaded with food, just like the one they started with. Considering, all of them still had plenty of room inside their stomachs, they went wild with the amount of options to choose from. For the next hour or so, all they did was eat until their stomachs were stuffed to the brim with the fatty goodness that people loved so much.

As they finished, they all layed slumped to their sides, completely satiated. Rhino even had a hard time getting back into his ball, and his speech was stammered considered he was on the brink of going into a food coma. "I..I have…never tasted something….so good. Goo…good night Bolt." He said as he immediately passed out inside his ball next to the last dumpster they raided. Which got a chuckle out of both Mittens and Bolt.

"Well, I guess its best we get some rest." Bolt said, as he turned to Mittens. "Right behind you, Wags." She responded as she followed closely behind him. Bolt had curled around Rhino's ball, but Mittens pushed Rhino forward a bit, so she could be sandwiched between the two; which ultimately made it look like Bolt was spooning Mittens in the end.

He didn't give her absurd action a second thought and just went with it. He let out a yawn, which later turned into a small whine, and tried to rest his head on the ground, only for Mittens to slide her head beneath his. He began to internally question her odd behavior, but kept his composure to tell her, "Good night." In a light whisper, since her ear was only a few inches away from his muzzle.

It was quiet, aside from the sound of a few cars passing by, and the honk of a horn every once in a while. Bolt was on the verge of falling asleep until he heard a familiar voice. "Pst, Bolt. You awake?" He grumbled a bit, and his eyes opened weakly, he wasn't a big fan of being woken out his sleep, but who was. "Yeah…I am now." He responded back to her. "So what's wrong?" He asked, she was able to hear a bit of concern in his voice, mixed in with his drowsiness.

"I've been wonderin', have you ever had a mate before?"

She wasn't able to see his face, but he had a quizzical look on his face. He's heard the word before whenever he'd hear the cats on set talking to each other about it, but never actually knew what a mate was.

"No, I haven't. I honestly don't even know what a mate is. Why do you ask?" He said back.

Mittens figured his answer would be like that, and she wasn't surprised in the slightest. After all, he didn't even know how to beg for food until he met her.

"I was just curious is all." She replied to him

Now that they were on the topic of the mates, Bolt felt the need to go further down this rabbit hole to get his questions answered.

"So, what is a mate?" He asked, he sounded a little more awake this time.

"A mate is pretty much like a someone you love very deeply." She told him.

Bolt processed these words for a minute, then said, "You mean like Penny?"

Luckily for Mittens, Bolt couldn't see her eyes widen at that statement. She nearly gagged just thinking about that picture in her head. "Let me rephrase that. A mate is someone, usually another animal, that you love."

Bolt responded with a simple, "Oh."

He honestly hasn't met much of any other dogs from his time on set, and during his current adventure he was too hell bent on trying to get back to Penny to care much about finding a mate.

"I haven't really thought much about a mate." He added, only for his next question to pop up in their brief silence, "Have you?"

"Eh, not really. The other cats on the street, back home, weren't really doin' it for me."

Before she met Bolt, the only time she'd actually associate with other stray cats was to share food with them, but that quickly ended once she started oppressing pigeons. The other reason was to deal with her periodic heat, whenever the time came; there was never, actually, real affection between the two parties whenever the deed was done. But, in the end, it always helped her get through the burning sensation in her loins when the season came around.

"So, I guess we're in the same boat then." Bolt said.

Another moment of silence washed over the two, but this time, Mittens broke the ice.

"So Bolt, how do you feel about cats?" She said in a curious tone.

"What do you mean?" He asked back

"I mean do you like them now that you've met me?"

"Well, I guess. But, I'm still a bit, you know, skeptical about some of them."

"I could understand that. I wasn't exactly the biggest fan of dogs, till' I met you. But here we are."

Bolt began laughing a bit at that, he could never forget how he went full out commando on her when they first met. Then dragged her, by leash, on a journey across the U.S. to find Penny.

"Hey, stop laughing. I'm being serious here." Her tone shifted to an aggravated pitch now

His laugh started to die down a bit, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I just find it funny how it was when we first met."

She gave him a silent grumble, and nudged his stomach with one of her hind legs, " Yeah, I'm still walking off a cracked rib from when you tackled me, hero." She mumbled to herself, hoping Bolt wouldn't hear her.

As Bolt's laughter finally came to an expected end. Mittens' tone suddenly became timid, all of a sudden. In the time they've been together, Bolt had honestly never seen her act like this.

"Hey Bolt, can I ask you something important?"

He took a breath to compose himself, "Sure, Mittens."

"How would you feel if…uh, if a cat was your mate?" She stammered

"A cat? Well, uhm, I don't know how to answer that."

Mittens tried to turn to face Bolt so they could see eye to eye. She still had Rhino in front of her, so she made sure to be careful to avoid pushing him away, and possibly waking up the hamster. With some careful movements, she was looking directly into the eyes of the white shepherd.

Her emerald eyes gazed directly at Bolt's hazel ones. She felt her chest warm sharply, and the butterflies in her stomach were fluttering hard, now that they were practically muzzle to muzzle.

"Well, what if I said that a cat loves you." She averted her eyes from his, embarrassed from the words she just spoke.

Bolt's heart started to beat like a drum inside his chest, in light of this new revelation. His eyes widened as well, only to ask:

"Mittens, are you saying…"

He was cut off by her, " Yes, Bolt. I…I love you." She choked on those last words, but she felt proud to finally get it out in the open like that.

Bolt was at a loss of words, a majority of his life he had hated cats, down to the core. Now, one was confessing their lover towards him.

Bolt's mind raced, he finally understood her sudden change in attitude ever since him and Rhino got her out of the animal shelter. She had been doubling down on teaching him more things that dogs normally do, during the day. But during the afternoon and nights, she'd always try getting as close as possible to him. Much like she is now, cuddling up next to him on the street. His thought abruptly ended when he heard her speak:

"Do… you love me back?" Her tone was once again back to sounding nervous

"I…I don't know. I've spent my life loving and protecting Penny, that I'm not sure if I could answer that."

She sighed, then grabbed his face with her paws, whilst giving him a stern look. "Listen Bolt, you can love your human, and still have a mate. You don't have to choose between one or the other."

As she let go of his face, he went back to thinking about his relationship with Mittens. Sure, he didn't like her at first, and the same could certainly be said vice versa. But, the main reason he got to where he is now is because she guided him throughout the entire journey. He has her, and Rhino in a sense, to thank for helping him on this voyage. These memories alone helped him come up with his answer:

"You know Mittens, I really haven't thanked you enough for your help. I'd have been lost without you, and probably going in the wrong direction, with an empty stomach. I wouldn't have gotten this far without you, or Rhino."

She had a smug look on her face, "Mostly me, but go on." He had a 'done' look on his face as he stared at her with slightly squinted eyes. But he still went on:

"Mittens, I guess what I'm trying to say is that: I'd like to be your mate." He gave her a warm smile, and his tail began to wag. He could've sworn that he saw hers doing the same thing, but it was a bit too dark to tell.

A smile crept upon her lips as well, and she gave him a small lick on the snout. "I love ya wags." She said in a playful tone.

Bolt licked her back, but it wasn't as elegant and simple as the one Mittens gave him. When he did it, it coved her face with slobber and even gave her a small cow lick. Her eyes were shut due to the dog slobber that matted her face. She took a deep breath in before she simply said:

"We're gonna have to work on that… in the morning."

Bolt chuckled briefly and smiled at her before he wrapped one of his front legs around her, and pulled her in tightly. "I love you Mittens." He whispered into her ear.

She took one of her paws and wiped off the remaining slobber, then fixed her fur back in an orderly fashion. Afterwards, she took a look behind her to see if Rhino was still behind her; he was still out like a light, just a few feet away from them. She then dug her face into the warmth of his neck, "I love you too Bolt."

In the midst of their cuddling, Bolt fell asleep again. Mittens felt giddy that she was able to get something this deep off her chest for one. But the relief that came with it when Bolt actually said 'yes' just bolstered that feeling for her. She was a bit bewildered by the fact that she fell for a dog, over one of her own kind. But, its the heart that makes the lover she told herself, as she slowly fell asleep.

To be Continued?

End Notes:

I hope you guys liked my short and sweet story. The reason for the "To be continued" at the end was because I'm not sure how I want to continue it: I don't know if I want to continue with a clean(SFW) approach, or trying to go the next chapter with some lemons(NSFW). Maybe even a mix of both.

But if you guys are interested in seeing me continue this, then feel free to comment and tell me your thoughts.