Kiss of Destiny: Chapter 9
#10 of Kiss of Destiny
Kiss of Destiny: Chapter 9
Mittens awoke to the soft sounds of crying coming from right next to her. It was Bolt, she knew. His soft white fur was pressed against her and she could feel him shaking slightly though the light contact.
She slowly lifted her head and turned to look at him.
Bolt had his muzzle buried into his own tail, which he had wrapped around himself like a security blanket.
Mittens turned to make sure no one was about to come down the stairs, but this wasn't likely, being in the wee hours of the morning.
Bolt clearly hadn't noticed her wakefulness, as he hadn't tried to hide his tears.
She put her head back down and slightly shifted her collie body, trying to make it appear like it was just a sleep shift.
Bolt stopped crying immediately and tried to fake slumber, but one could visibly see the tear marks on his muzzle.
As if she had just woken up, Mittens stood, yawned widely, and turned around to put her head next to his, promptly closing her eyes as if to go back to sleep.
After a minute, she cracked her eyes back open to look at him, noting that his eyes were still closed. Mittens edged her head forward and licked his muzzle, slowly dragging her tongue across his fur.
When she put her head back down, she kept her eyes open to watch the shepherd and made sure to measure her breathing.
Lulled into a false sense of security by Mittens' slow steady breathing, he opened his eyes to see her staring at him.
He yelped, jumping to his paws and scrabbling backwards into the couch.
Mittens had to fight to not break out laughing at the comical sight of America's most famous dog slumped against the couch on his back, with his ass in the air.
"Jesus, Jodie..." he gasped, holding a paw to his chest and panting.
She put on a sympathetic face and went over to him, snuggling up next to him and halfway laying down on him with her muzzle on his chest. Her eyes looked up at him.
He let his head drop, resting it on the hardwood floors of the living room.
"Damn it... Why did I have to be such an asshole..." Mittens heard him murmur to himself.
Mittens shifted closer to him.
"I love that cat... She was one of the best things to ever happen to me..."
She perked her ears up. Was he about to say what she'd always hoped he would?
"I guess... I guess you could say I love her..."
Unbidden, her tail started to thump against the bed, though Bolt took no notice. He was too busy wallowing in depression and self-loathing.
"Jodie, you'd have loved her... I did...Er... Do, but I never acted... I didn't think I should. But I was wrong..."
She looked up at him, taking in the sincerity in his expression.
"She's amazing... I never took the time to notice how much so, but she is... You remind me of her a lot... Not to mention, you two kind of look similar..."
At this point, Mittens wasn't sure if she could speak, but she wasn't going to try in front of him. She sensed that there was more to what he was letting on, and she wanted to know. She made a gesture to show that she needed something to drink and trotted into the kitchen to her bowl. Her tongue lapped up a drink and she cleared her throat. "Bolt..." she murmured softly to herself. "I love you..."
Her voice was music to her ears. Finally, he had fallen in love with her, and now...
She came back to him and resumed her earlier position.
"Better?" Bolt asked softly.
She nodded.
Without him realizing it, a tear worked its way out of his eye and slowly dripped down his cheek.
"Mittens, wherever you are, I hope you found what you're looking for... I'm sorry..."
He began crying, chest heaving with light sobs. He worked his body out from under Mittens' and dragged himself over to the bed, where he flopped down on it and kept crying with his paws over his eyes.
Her resolve hardened, Mittens stood up and went over to him. She rested a paw on his shoulder and kneaded her toes soothingly.
"Mittens, I'm so sorry," he wailed around his paws.
"I forgive you."
The shock of hearing that voice instantly stopped the flow of tears and Bolt's head snapped up. His eyes darted around the room, searching for Mittens, but all he saw was the fluffy black and white Border Collie in front of him.
"Did you hear that?" he asked.
"I said it."
Bolt jerked to an upright position and set about examining her. The twin notches in her left ear, her vivid green eyes, her markings... All were the same as her cat form.
"Mittens?" he whispered.
"Yes."
"How can I be sure?"
Mittens thought for a moment.
"You found me up in New York. I hustled food from pigeons. Joey, Vinnie, Bobby, Saul... Need I go on?"
He looked at her so strongly that she quickly became grateful that the powers he had toted around on the show were fake.
"What did you call me?"
"A lot of things. Cujo, Wags, Dog."
"What did Penny originally call you?"
"Oreo."
With absolutely no warning, Bolt lunged. She let out a yelp as she was knocked flat on her back and had a slobbery shepherd tongue licking her face.
"Oh, Mittens! I thought I lost you!"
Nothing else was said, but then, there didn't need to be.
Finally, Mittens and Bolt were together, as they should have been all along.
The End