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It was a perfect day to win.
But everyday was a perfect day to win, and everyday, Simon always won.
He’d kicked the goal that won his crew the match in a soccer game against those lovey dovey mushy Smiling Critters…The looks on their faces when Simon roared in triumph. It was so worth it.
He even decided to stay at the field a bit longer just to gloat, watching and taunting as those critters packed up their stuff to go back home in defeat.
This was free entertainment for simon.
Some of them retorted back, others rolled their eyes and tried to ignore him. Some of them even cowered in fear! Too chicken to say anything back. (except for the actual chicken, who was actually one of the critters who snarked back at him)
But one of them did something else.
Something that pissed him off entirely.
That sunshine-y main-character-syndrome mutt. DogDay.
When Simon Smoke poked at him about his victory, DogDay just stared at him, smiled and said: “I’m glad you’re so happy about it! Congrats!”
Simon had no idea how to respond to that, it actually caught him off guard.
What was he doing? Was this orange mutt just that stupid? Or was he trying to mess with him? Either way, Simon just scoffed and decided that this guy wasn’t worth his time.
He went off elsewhere to continue picking at the other smiling bozos.
Simon Smoke must have lost track of time, because by the time the Smiling Critters left the field it was dark.
No wait..
That was mostly just because of the rainclouds hanging overhead.
…
Hey hold on.
Simon felt the soft pelt of a single raindrop on his scales..and then another,
And another.
And one after another until the droplets decided to stop going one at a time, and came down on him in a drizzle, that quickly turned into a proper rain.
“Agh!” Simon yelped as he tried to shield himself with his arms and wings. This was soaking his mood the same way it was soaking his hair!
Seriously? He thought to himself angrily, How did I not notice that it was gonna rain sooner?! Whatever. He must have gotten distracted.
Simon Smokes looked around the field for his car, but it wasn’t there? How?? He knew for a fact that he’d just parked it right there! Where did-
Oh wait.
He suddenly remembered telling his crew-The Nightmare Critters-not to wait for him, and that must have meant that they thought it was okay to take his car without him.
Despite the cold of the rain, this dragon could feel the raindrops steam off his scales from the heat of his anger.
“Ugh..Idiots..” He murmured to himself
“When I said ‘Yeah! Go on without me! Don’t wait up!’ I never meant you could take my CAR!”
The cold of the shower overtook the heat of his anger, Simon shivered. He folded his arms and wrapped his wings around his body in an attempt to keep him warm.
This was stupid.
He was cold, and soaking wet, he was angry, his hair was ruined, his own crew left him out here, and he-
Wait.
Did the rain just stop?
Simon looked around, he didn’t feel any droplets, but it was still raining..
He looked up, and saw an umbrella covering him that was decorated to be shaped and colored like a sun.
Oh no. Simon thought Don’t tell me it’s..
He quickly turned his head from looking up to facing behind him, to the holder of the umbrella.
Smokes flinched.
Oh god, not him
DogDay stood there with that stupid smile on his stupid face.
“You want me to walk you back home?” DogDay said, catching Simon off guard again.
What is with this mutt?!
Smokes felt himself get hot again, but it wasn’t exactly from anger this time.
“What?” he blurted
“I know you told your friends to go on without you,” DogDay said, twiddling his fingers on the umbrella handle “But I knew it was going to rain, and I didn’t want you to have to walk home alone.”
Simon felt himself fluster even hotter, but he tried to hide his embarrassment
“Hey I knew it was gonna rain too!” he snapped back at the mutt. DogDay chucked
“It’s alright!” He said sweetly “Let's just get you home before you catch a cold”
Simon squinted at him “Why are you offering me this?” the dragon asked “I just kicked your butt in soccer, and sayed after just to rub it in. You don’t wanna leave me out in the rain?”
The dog tilted his head with a look of what seemed to be concern “Why would I do that?” He asked. “I certainly would have” Simon responded.
DogDay just chuckled again. Simon wondered once more if this tantangerine was just stupid, or trying to mess with him. “Alright but seriously, do you actually want me to walk you home?” .
Simon Smokes hesitated for a moment..Then snapped his head to the side with a scoff
“Tch, fine.” He retorted “It’s not driving back, but I guess it’s better than walking home with my hair ruined.” He said, flicking his locks. DogDay Smiled again, as he walked along With Simon, leaving the soccer field.
They both walked in silence for a moment, nothing but the sound of pattering rain, and the splashes of their footsteps along the beaten path they walked along
Simon felt like he had something to say, But he forgot what it was. It didn’t matter, he wanted to talk to this ray of sunshine as little as possible anyway.
He shivered in his scales again from the cold, and Dogday seemed to have taken notice.
“You alright?” he asked, reaching out to Simon, who waved away the paw “I’m fine, I can warm myself up thank you very much.” the dragon said, and demonstrated by breathing a small plume into his cupped claws, and rubbed them together. That seemed to get the message across to the mutt to back off. But it didn’t get him to shut up.
“Oh yeah, hehe forgot about that. My bad” Dogday said bashfully, and yet he STILL kept talking “Oh I also forgot, I didn’t get to thank you for the game today, it was a lot of fun!” Simon stared at him in confusion. Fun? He thought, but did not dare to say it out loud
What part of losing and getting your tail kicked is fun??
“I know it seems like we didn’t have fun ourselves, but it really was a good game! I guess you just tired us out is all” Dogday continued. “We should definitely play again sometime!” He glanced back at Simon with a sweet and sincere smile…
And Smokes suddenly remembered what he wanted to say earlier. “Why are you being so nice to me?” he finally asked. Dogday tilted his head at him again “What do you mean?” The response made Simon furrow his brow in frustration, but for some reason, he was also feeling kind of embarrassed.
“I kinda thought I already went over this but..” the dragon started in a frustrated voice “You lost! We kicked your butts, and I hovered over all of you just to gloat about it! And your response to that is being nice to me? congratulating me?? And walking me back home?!” Dogday stared back at him wide eyed for a moment..Then he responded “Do…you feel bad about winning and teasing us?”
Simon felt himself get hotter
“NO!” He snapped back “I just wanna figure out what’s with you! Are you trying to pull something with me or are you just stupid?!” He realised that they had both come to a stop on the beaten path, and stood there in silence for a moment.
The rain roared on.
Dogday sighed with a smile, and broke the silence “Simon, I’m being nice because..well that’s kinda my whole thing. I like being nice! Lifting up others with even a little kind deed is my cup of tea, even if I don’t always get it back in return.” He broke eye contact with Simon for a moment and tucked his ear again. “And uh..to be straight with you…I guess I just really like-... you..” DogDay’s smile dropped as he trailed off his sentence, and suddenly started to flush red. So did Simon, who felt he couldn’t speak because of the fact that it felt like his heart just plummeted to his stomach, and also that his brain was just radio silence.
They both just stood under the umbrella staring at eachother like idiots.
DogDay cleared his throat
“A-Anyway”
“Bubba said the rain will only get harder, and your place is not all that far off. L-let’s go..”
Simon was still in shock, he almost forgot to keep up with DogDay’s umbrella.
Neither of them said a word for the rest of the walk home. Which gave Simon Smoke some time to think. The time to realise that he didn’t exactly hate this Dog as much as he did just a few moments ago.
Oh no…Seriously?? He curled his claws into anxious fists
Okay okay, so he is kinda genuinely nice,
and he’s walking me home, and he’s the only person who was concerned or even thought about me, and he also apparently likes me even though I was maybe kinda sort of mean to him. BUT THAT DOESN’T MEAN ANYTHING!
He’s just..Stupid!...That’s all!..
And yet, that didn’t convince Simon that he didn’t exactly hate DogDay. Quite the opposite actually.
Oh for god’s sake..
He was startled out of his train of thought when DogDay gently grabbed him by the shoulder. “This is the place right?” he asked softly. Simon looked around and realized that this was in fact the front of his own home, He hadn’t even taken in the fact that he was anywhere close to his destination
“Yeah! Yeah” Said Simon, trying to act like he wasn’t lost in thought just now “This is it. My den. I’d say I’m surprised you had the capacity to remember it, but then again, who would ever forget this place?” He regained his composure by acting like his smooth usual self.
DogDay chuckled again. “So..I guess I’ll see you later?” he asked. Simon scoffed
“Yeah, whatever” he said as he walked up the stairs to his den. He had his claws on the doorknob..but he hesitated..
“By the way..” Simon found himself saying “I’ll take you up on that offer to play another game..But maybe this time…could it be just you and me?”
What am I doing what am I doing what am I doing
He heard DogDay behind him “Oh! Sure! I’d love to!”
“And maybe after..We could go get something to eat?” Simon went on.
WHAT AM I DOING WHAT AM I DOING WHAT AM I DOINGWHATAMIDOINGWHATAMIDOING
“Does..Thursday sound good to you?” Simon heard him say from behind “Yeah. cool.” he affirmed softly. Simon could hear himself screaming inside his head “And uh. Thanks by the way.” He risked a glance back at DogDay, who looked so unbelievably excited with his wagging tail and wide eyed smile, Simon thought he was about to explode. “No problem!” He said in his sweet sunny voice. Simon smiled back at him, he turned the doorknob.
“Yeah..See ya.” he said as he closed the door.
Simon sighed and plopped on the closest couch he could find.
..The closest one that also happened to have Rabie Baby sitting on it.
“AGH!”
He yelped, jumping back off the sofa and falling onto the floor “WHY ARE YOU IN MY HOUSE?”
Rabie raised her wings up innocently “Hey relax! I was just dropping off your car!..” She said defensively. “Also I noticed you were walking home with DogDay and I need to know what’s up with that.” She added quickly.
Simon sighed and pinched the bridge of his snout as he got back up from the ground.
Of all the people who just had to be at his house this very moment, of course it was Rabie. And of course she was gonna dive her nose into what might have been the most embarrassing moment of Simon’s life.
But for some reason, he found himself opening up to her.
“I seriously can’t believe this dog.” he admitted as he plopped back on the couch. “We make it obvious from the beginning- I make it obvious from the beginning-That I’m just here to annoy him and his fruit basket of buddies, make them as MISERABLE as we possibly can, and Dogday!..He just-” he felt himself get frustrated over the words he stammered over “He does not care!” Simon blurted, waving his claws around “He likes me!...like…actually likes me! Despite it all! Why!?”
he sighed again as he slumped down in his seat defeatedly. Simon wasn’t looking at her, he was staring up at the ceiling, but he could just feel Rabie Baby staring at him intently with the sound of her scooting closer to him.
“Do you…Feel guilty?” He heard her ask, to which Simon responded immediately by scrambling back up to his seat and shouted: “NO! OF COURSE NOT! WHY WOULD I FEEL GUILTY ABOUT THAT? THAT-THAT’S STUPID.” He glared daggers into Rabie as she rolled her eyes with wings crossed.
“So it must be really ticking you off huh?” asked Rabie. Simon glanced back up at the ceiling. “That’s not what I’m mad at” He started “I’m mad at me because..I don’t exactly hate him either? I guess?” he groaned in frustration, upset at his own feelings.
He was supposed to be cool and nonchalant, the kind of person to rub it in your face about the things he’s so good at, and you can’t be mad about it because it’s true!
It kinda felt like that feeling was being turned on Simon..Even though that wasn't really the case. This whole mushy feely stuff could really ruin his image.
Speaking of his image being ruined…
He turned back to Rabie Baby, the worst secret keeper Simon Smokes had ever known, and probably just the worst one in general. She had the dumbest look of excitement on her face.
“Why am I telling you this?” Asked the dragon. She responded gleefully: “I’ve got better questions to ask!” She leaned WAYYY too close to Simon, the way she always did when trying to pry someone for gossip “Whadda you gonna wear? Where you guys gonna eat? Can I coach you? Please?! Pretty please!?” He stared at her, extremely confused. “What are you talking about?” Simon inquired, Rabie Baby stood up on the couch with wings open wide “A date, hothead!” She exclaimed “You’ve got a DATE!”
Simon Smoke felt his mind flatline as he stared blankly at his friend.
“Oh.” was all he could manage to say.
Dogday shook the droplets off his umbrella before stepping into his house, his friends greeted him as he wiped his paws on the doormat and dropped his umbrella in its holder. He was glad they decided to hang at his house afterwards, he could really use some advice from them right now.
Kickin Chicken barked out a laugh pointing at DogDay, to his confusion. “See! Simon didn’t burn him to cinders! Pay up, funny bunny!” He reached out a wing to Hoppy Hopscotch and opened and closed his hand at her repeatedly. She groaned with a roll of the eyes as she pulled out a dollar bill and slapped it into Kickin’s open hand. DogDay let himself giggle at that.
“Oh c’mon you two!” he said sincerely, “Simon actually ended up being very sweet about it!” It took a moment for him to register that everyone in the room was staring at him oddly. It got DogDay to notice that the only ones not in the living room were Picky Piggy, Catnap, and Bobby Bearhug..who he needed to see the most right now.
They must be in the kitchen. He thought
“You…walked..Simon Smokes home…right?” CraftyCorn asked hesitantly “The…big…mean…scary dragon?” DogDay scratched the back of his head, he had the feeling some of them would not believe him. “Okay, he was a little brash at first-okay, quite brash actually” he admitted, “But by the time we made it to his house, he seemed to understand that I was trying to be friendly with him!”
“I still can’t believe you offered to stay behind in the rain just to walk him home.” Said Bubba Bubbaphant. DogDay smiled a little bashfully as he tugged on his ears “Well, I can’t believe he asked me out on a date afterwards” And then the staring came back, this time with many mouths agape. “AHA! YOU DO LIKE HIM!” Hoppy suddenly exclaimed and then grinned at Kickin. “Aw man!” he groaned defeatedly as he gave Hoppy back the dollar bill he just got from her.
Suddenly, Bobby could be heard shouting from the kitchen: “WHAAAATTTT?!” followed by the sound of her footsteps. She slid in through the doorway with the most excited look of shock on her face. “He asked you out first!?” Bobby asked electrically.
“Oh well of course you knew already!” Kickin stated vexingly. Bubba raised his hand “I knew the whole time.” He admitted
Bobby skipped toward Dogday and held both his hands “You need to tell me everything!” She said gleefully, “I gotta get you ready bud!”
“AND YOU WERE COACHING HIM TOO!?” Kickin hollered. Hoppy snickered at his outrage. “Why did he ask you on a date first?” Bobby implored, “That’s what I wanna know” Bubba added “I knew you liked him, but I wasn't really sure the feeling was mutual..” he trailed off a little, seemingly realising that that might have not been the best thing to admit.
DogDay let out a little breath, He wasn't sure why Simon Smokes pulled that move so soon, he thought that the walk home just barely made them friends. Which is why DogDay hesitated to ask him out first…
That and he was a little too scared to.
But in all honesty, he did not care! He was just so happy, he felt like his tail was gonna fall off from all the wagging. Simon liked him! At least...He was pretty sure he liked him..He shoved aside the doubt for now. Regardless of how Simon felt for him, DogDay would always, always show appreciation for him, one way or another. He didn’t think anything would be able to make him think otherwise.
Still, he needed his coach, Dogday would be absolutely lost without Bobby’s help.
He could see Catnap and Picky peek in from the doorway Bobby came in “DogDay’s got a what with who?” Picky asked.