She supposed that any other dog might swoon and fall over backwards when Dodger passed them by. She knew it was true, because she herself had seen it happen time after time. Be it while they were searching for goods for Fagin, or while he was singing that song of his. The ladies just couldn't help themselves when he walked pass them, occasionaly throwing them a wink. It was disheartening to know that even housedogs, clean, prim and proper as they might be, could fall for a mutt who smelled as if he spent everyday next to a fire, while rolling in garbage. That was just the way it went, apparently. Luckily she knew that it would take more than swagger, or as he put it, savoire faire and a couple of winks to ever win her over. She liked him, couldn't deny that much, but this Dodger was far too arrogant and bottled up most of his emotions, except the confidence and brash, two things that she saw everyday.
"Hey Rita."
Rita clenched her jaw when she heard the cocky voice from behind her. Knowing Dodger, he was probably here to boast about some made up feat that he had 'accomplished'. Where this dog got his ability to tell the most out of this world tales imaginable and with so much expression, almost as if he believed his own lies, she didn't know. But more often then not, he'd have something to tell them, be it about some dangerous creature, or about a human he had to run from after stealing food.
"Dodger." She made sure to address him with his full name, not in the mood for any of his usual self that day.
He chuckled. "Dodger, huh? That's weird 'cause usually all my friends call me Dodge'."
"Look I'm not in the mood for this today, okay? Just leave me alone."
"Alright drama queen, I'll leave ya' alone."
"What did you just call me?" She snapped at him.
"Drama queen. Ya' know? It's when someone, like yourself, sorta' gets a little overdramatic, let's their emotions get tha' bet-"
He was cut off as Rita leapt right at him, pinning him underneath both of her paws. She put her face closer to his, an ugly snarl present in her lips. "Don't ever call me a drama queen again."
"Sheesh who hurt you? Yesterday was all sunshine and rainbows with you, now ya' look like someone rubbed you the wrong way."
"Why do you always have to be such a nuisance? Everyday's the same with you. You always come in here with that stupid smile, a stupid wink and some stupid story about how you escaped some made up danger, or stole some food in some weirdly heroic way, or my favourite of all, how you hit on some girl on the streets!"
She stopped her rant and looked down at him, expecting to see something, anything, in his eyes, that would let her know whether he had been listening at all. Unfortunately arrogance persisted. "Well ooh la la, looks like someones' jealous."
Frustratingly she let him up and turned away, lowering her head.
"Now don't feel bad. A lot of girls would love the chance to get with the Dodge'. And what can I say? I'm just that go-"
He stopped, eyes widening in surprise. Rita was crying. Crying. Something that he had never seen before. It caught him by surprise to say the least. When they were much younger he might have laughed and teased her, but that didn't feel right then. He was rooted to the spot where he sat, listening as her sobs filled the otherwise empty barge.
Then without even thinking he walked up to her and gently nuzzled her. She stopped sobbing somewhat and pulled back, looking at him in surprise. They locked eyes for a second, before she nuzzled him back. And before either of them knew it they were curled up together on the damp floor, keeping each other warm.
"This is nice." Rita broke the silence that had enveloped the two.
"Yes it is." The tone of his voice shocked her, instead of the arrogance and cockiness that she was used to, a calmer, more compassionate tone filled his voice. It was nice to hear.
He would probably be back to his usual self the next day. Hitting on girls and telling wild tales. It was a bit of a disappointment to realize that this would not last forever, that this Dodger would be bottled up the very next day, but then again maybe he wasn't such a nuisance after all.
AN: Before you even ask, yes this is a one shot that I will not be continuing. My pal SkibidiBopmmDada had me write this for the fandom. I hadn't ever seen the movie, so I had to go do that first. Long story, short, I thought it was...okay at best. So yeah now Skibidi owes me a free cover page for this thing.