FSE

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- Chapter 7: GET A ROOM -

Bolt looked out over the river, beams from the early sun warming his cold fur. It seemed so much larger now, and with the waves disappearing under the pier, it almost felt like he was moving forward over the water. With the help of Benji, he had gotten to the city. Surely, with the black Labrador's help, he'd manage to find his lost friends too. This Kansas place couldn't be that big.

Meanhile not too far away...

Mittens and Rhino had searched just about everywhere. When simply waiting by the train station hadn't yield results, the cat had decided that the they should search by the park incase Bolt was waiting for them there, and then the riverside and the area by that strange looking arch thing, and now they were back in the park again, their lost superdog being just as lost as when they had started.

• "So what do you think we should do now?" Mittens asked.

  • "Is sleeping out of the question?" Rhino rubbed his eyes with his tiny hamster hands.

• "Definitely. We still have the docks to check out. Besides, I thought you were supposed to be his loyal sidekick or something. You really want to take a nap while you're idol is lost?" She gave him an umpiring look, knowing full well that there are few things the hamster wouldn't do for his hero, but also that appealing to his sense of obligation would make him want to go on.

• "I do care!" Rhino defended himself. "It's just that we've been searching for him the last forty-eight hours and I could really use some sleep. There's only so much old redbull-cans and throw away coffee cups can do for you".

"Fine fine. Let's just check out the docks and crash afterwards." She walked on, nudging the sleepy hamster along. Truth was that she felt just about ready to give up as well. What would Bolt be doing at the docks anyway? It's not like he would try to swim across that river. She was sure not even Bolt was stupid enough to attempt that. She felt that he had to be somewhere in the city. There was nothing but a straight train-track between here and the station where they were separated. It was a long walk, yes, but not even Bolt should manage to get lost just following the tracks. And that's what concerned her. He should have been here by now.

"Besides..." the hamster in front of her continued; "Theoretically, Bolt's safer than we are. He's got his powers. But if Calico's armed henchmen were to find us, we'd be done for.

-"Rhino, I don't think that..." Mittens started.

• "Yeah okay, maybe not done for. Sure, I got my stealth mode and Bolt's tactical training, but ..."

• "Rhino listen!"

The little rodent finally stopped and looked up at her.

-"There aren't any armed henchmen around here. And as for Bolt, don't you think that it's kind of strange that he hasn't used any of his powers since you've met him?"

• "That's not true! He blew up your prison using his superbark!"

• "No that was a set of gas canisters and an amazing series of coincidences"

• "He super-jumped onto that speeding train!"

• "More like super-fell"

• "He carried me for three hours straight"

• "Rhino, you're heavy for a rodent, but that still isn't real heavy. Anyone could have done that".

• "Then why did you always refuse to carry me?"

• "Look, you're missing the point. Bolt's superpowers aren't rea..."

• "Hey look!"

The interrupted cat looked where the hamster pointed. There, by the bay clearly visible from the little hill they stood on, was a small boat docked to one of the piers.

"There's a boat there" Rhino announced.

And from it, two shapes, one black and one white, walked. They sort of looked like dogs.

Mittens had seen many boats in Manhattan, and seeing humans move in and out of them was nothing unusual. Seeing animals leaving them on the other hand was rather unusual. Definitely worthy of investigation.

"Can't really see them clearly from here. But it's worth checking it out" Mittens decided. So they started walking down towards the pier they had seen the two dogs.

...

Benji stretched his forelegs, face towards the sun, rejoiced to finally be out of the boat and on dry land

In front of him, Bolt was already exploring the pier, probably making sure no humans were around to see them leave the boat. The white shepherd didn't seem the least bit affected by the night-long boat trip. He himself felt that he had spent the last 24-hours in a washing machine. The constant rocking and swaying had given him a pretty severe case of the seasickness, but luckily, his superhero companion had been there to comfort him and make him feel better. He had cuddled him and joked about how at least being in a boat was better than being in the actual water. Benji had to agree. Overall, he had noticed that Bolt had been especially attentive of him since he injured his paw, as if the shepherd blamed himself. Or maybe it was something else. Benji wasn't sure, but one could always hope.

"Area is clear!" Bolt announced upon returning, then followed Benji's example taking a stretch break, starting by bowing down with his forelegs in front of him, followed by a stretch in the other direction. He then stopped prematurely as he saw Benji looking at him, seemingly charmed by the display. However, he looked away fast enough to avoid a potentially awkward eye-contact. Although the two dogs enjoyed snuggling about to each other at night, Benji still did most in his power to avoid showing how much he adored Bolt.

The truth is that Benji liked watching Bolt's daily prostrating, which he found both cute and oddly elegant. Although he tried to do it more discreetly as of late, as it seemed to make the shepherd a tad self-conscious. Mostly though, Bolt wouldn't notice anything. Bolt's daily rituals were like clockwork, three circles before bed, vigorous morning stretching (always accompanied by yawning). It was adorable in a way.

However, staring lovingly at everything and anything Bolt did all the time was getting harder to get away with, and Benji felt weird for doing it. What's worse; Bolt might think that's he's weird.

But to his surprise, Bolt simply walked up to him and gave his cheek an affectionate lick. Benji's blushed again. He'd been doing so much of that lately that he started to fear the blush will become permanent.

He felt the white shepherd nuzzle close to him, nosing along smooth black fur, gentle smooches following along his soft neck and cheek. Benji squeaked, surprised by the wetness of Bolt's nose, not to mention the sudden intimacy. They had never done anything like this before. Their foreheads pressed together, closer than ever before. The shepherd's soft nose met his again, tilting Benji's muzzle into a kiss that made the latter's floppy ears stand in surprise and his tail wag energetically.

Bolt wagged too. It was warm, soft, wet. Surprising. He wasn't sure what had driven him to do it, but he liked it. He could feel Benji's nervous body squirming, but still pressing up against his chest, and the world around them was lost. Or could have been for all they cared.

Until suddenly...

"B... Bolt!? Is that you!?"

Bolt glanced to the side, his muzzle still tightly pressed against Benji's. What he saw next made his heart jump and his ears perk up in surprise.