Work Text:
DogDay layed in his bed, beyond exhausted. From what, you ask? Existing.
It was August twenty-fifth, the day before his birthday. Three hours away from midnight. It would mark exactly twenty-four years he's been on this Earth. This is supposed to be his prime years, and yet he can't will himself to get out of his bed.
When he was in high school, he had so many high expectations for himself. For life. Everyone told he had a bright future and he believed them. He believed that after he graduated he'd be just fine, living life like how he'd dreamed.
He let out a sigh, looking around his dark room. He hated the dark but being in a dim place was the only thing that eased his constant headache.
How did he end up like this? He was a straight A student in high school. He was nice to everyone he met, he was always positive, optimistic. He was gonna go to a good four year university and get a degree. He thought he had his future completely planned out.
Then he got out of college and got the rudest, most brutal reality check. There were no available jobs in the field he studied. Four years and thousands of dollars wasted just to be exactly where he was when he entered university.
He was still optimistic! He got a job at a local grocery store and bought a small studio apartment. He didn't make much, so he often lived paycheck to paycheck. Sometimes, he would have to go without eating. That was fine by him. He didn't have an appetite most of the time.
He'd come home from work, sleep all night, wake up, get in the shower, brush his teeth, go to work all day, clock out and repeat the process. Day after day.
His parent's stopped talking to him after a year out of college. He did all of that to make them proud, only for them to act like he doesn't exist.
It was fine. Until he saw a post from his friend Bubba online. Or... acquaintance now. They barely spoke anymore. Conflicting schedules.
Apprently he was some science professors protégé or something. Good for him. Really, DogDay was happy for him. Bubba was always a smart elephant, he deserved recognition for his brain.
Then, he saw Kickin post an announcement of his engagement to Hoppy Hopscotch. DogDay didn't talk to the bunny much in school, but he knew that their personalities would compliment each other. Good for them.
He remembered Crafty had mentioned she was going to go to an art school and persue a career in digital art and painting. Now, six years later, she was a well known, talented, professional artist that took commisions from people that adored her artwork. Good for her.
Picky and Bobby had their own cooking show. Don't even ask DogDay how they got that opportunity, he didn't know. Regardless, good for them.
It's only been six years, it feels like it's been ages since high school for DogDay, but at the same time it feels it was just yesterday that he was getting sung lullabies to sleep by his mother.
He missed it. It hurt to think about. He wished he could go back and appreciate the time of stress-free playing and spontaneous naps. Now he was overworked, underpaid, and highly stressed.
Everyone seemed like they were leagues ahead of him in life. Everyone has their futures figured out to an extent, but DogDay still lives like a broke college kid.
He heard a faint knock at his studio's front door. The door bell for his apartment broke and, of course, the landlord was too stubborn to fix it. DogDay was too broke to buy a new one.
He begrudgingly groaned and got up and walked toward the door but stopped at the full body mirror in the process. It came with the apartment and he put it next to the door so he could check himself quickly on his way to work. He looked in it and stared at what he saw.
He didn't recognize the man that stared back. It was a bitter, stressed dog. Not the bright one he used to see when he got ready in the mornings before school. The more he looked at the orange dog, the more scared he got. Was this what he was destined to be? Destined to be seen as? Some cynical, clearly down on his luck mutt? He felt the ever so familiar sting in his eyes start to come back, but he pushed it down. He hadn't cried in years, he won't now.
He was brought out of his thoughts by another knock. He quickly walked over and looked through the peephole. He sighed, seeing CatNap. The only friend that bothered to keep checking on him after high school.
He opened the door and the cat smiled. "Hey, birthday boy!" He said happily. DogDay gave a weak smile as he stepped aside for the cat to walk in. "Hi..."
CatNap trotted inside as DogDay closed the door. "So, what are the plans for tomorrow? I'm staying the night by the way." He said as he walked over to the cheap couch that DogDay had in the "living room" area. DogDay walked over and sat next to him. He shrugged. "I dont know..."
CatNap gave him an odd look. "That's... strange. You're always excited about your birthday, it's your favorite holiday, right behind Christmas." CatNap observed the gloomy expression on the dog's face.
He turned to face the spaniel fully. "Hey, what's wrong? You shouldn't be so down three hours before your birthday. You're usually running around with joy." He saw the dog's bottom lip start to wobble.
"DogDay...."
"I'm just tired CatNap.." The dog sighed again. "I worked all day today, and I work all day tomorrow, too." He explained. The cat gasped. "Now I know something's wrong. You never work on your birthday." He moved closer to the dog and put a hand on his shoulder. "What's really wrong?"
DogDay almost sobbed out at the touch. He can't remember when the last time he felt the comforting touch of someone else. "I....I just—" He stopped talking when he realized his voice cracked. He tried to regain his composure and continued. "I'm twenty-four, and look how I'm living, CatNap." He said.
CatNap frowned. "What do you mean?"
"I mean look around!" He gestured to his little apartment. "I live in a small studio apartment and I have to work day in and day out just to afford it! I can't even enjoy my days off because I'm so fucking exhausted I sleep the day away!" He yelled out. Despite his hardest efforts, tears started to spill out.
"Still," CatNap started rubbing circles into the dog's back. "Maybe celebrating will make you feel bette—"
"What's left to celebrate, 'Nap?!" He accidentally yelled out, causing the cat to flinch. "My birthday's in a few hours! Twenty-four years of life and I've done nothing with it! I go days without eating just to afford rent!" He continued as he started to shake. His breathing became irregular
"DogDay—" CatNap tried to calm the dog down, but it was like he couldn't hear anything in the moment.
"I wasted so much money and time on school and school still never taught me how to build a comfortable life! Like what the fuck are taxes?!" He pulled on his ears. "I have no friends left, they're all lightyears ahead in their lives!"
He tightened his grip on his ears. "I did everything right! I listened to my parents, I got good grades, how the hell did I end up like this?!" His tears fell harder. He closed his eyes to try to stop them from leaving the ducts they were produced from.
CatNap softly but firmly pryed the dog's hand's from his ears and held them so the dog wouldn't put them back. "Stop doing that... you're gonna hurt yourself, 'Day." He said softly.
DogDay looked down. "I don't care.... I give up trying. I give up on living like this. I understand being down on luck, but at what point does it get to be too much for someone to handle...?"
CatNap sat with DogDay's words. He gripped DogDay's hand. "You give up?" He asked. The dog nodded. CatNap smiled.
"Then... can I give you a reason not to?" He asked. DogDay shrugged. "I don't know how you can do that.." He whispered honestly. CatNap leaned in closer. "By showing you... why I haven't given up." He said softly.
With that, he pressed his lips against the dog's. DogDay felt all the bitterness and pessimism bleed out of his body. The cat's lips were warm, soft and comforting. He wanted them to stay there forever.
CatNap pulled away, and wrapped his tail around the dog. He laughed at DogDay's wide eyes. "Just some motivation to keep going. You'll figure life out. We both will. Together." The purple feline said, hands still intertwined.
"You... you kissed me..."
"I did."
"You love me..."
"No, really?" He said sarcastically. "I was waiting for you to realize but you never did. I've loved you for years." He said. DogDay's eyes dialated.
"Say it..." DogDay whispered out.
"Say what?"
"That you love me.."
CatNap unwrapped his tail from the dog's waist and stroked his cheek. "I love you, DogDay."
"I love you, too..." He responded before what just happened registered in his head. "WOOOHOOOO!" He yelled out, jumping up and running around his studio apartment. He did so many laps around the couch, CatNap lost count. The dog's tail wagged so fast you could barely see it, just an orange blur.
"I have a boyfriend! I have a boyfriend!" He chanted happily around the room. CatNap laughed at the dog's sudden shift in energy and emotion.
"Okay, calm down. We still have half an hour before your birthday. How about we relax tonight, you call out of work tomorrow, and we spend the day doing everything you love, my treat."
"Really?" DogDay turned to face the cat with stars in his eyes. CatNap nodded. DogDay walked over to the couch and sat down with a dreamy sigh. "Hell yeah! Best birthday ever!"
"Did I make your day?" CatNap asked. DogDay pulled CatNap into a cuddle. The cat purred into the touch as he nuzzled into the dog's chest, feeling his heart beat. It was fast. He couldn't tell if it was from the running or if he was still flustered.
"My day?" He smiled down at the cat, playing with his tail.
"You just made all these wasted twenty-four years of my life worth it."