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Language:
English
Series:
Part 6 of Smiling Critters: Sugar, Spice, and Everything Nice
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Published:
2024-05-07
Completed:
2025-02-14
Words:
2,160
Chapters:
2/2
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28
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86
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2,115

Culpable o No (Mienteme Como Siempre)

Summary:

The sound of the door's hinges creaking open caught the attention of the two Critters in a tight embrace. A strangled gasp echoed from outside, and they quickly released each other and looked to the open doorway.

"D-DogDay-!" Kickin's eyes widened and he scrambled to stand up. ‘I knew I should have locked the door-!’

The cocker spaniel immediately looked down, and his ears drooped over his eyes.

"I-I- I'm sorry, I should leave you be-" he said, turning from them and walking away briskly.

---

Alternate ending to "Jealousy, Jealousy".

Notes:

What if "Jealousy, Jealousy had an alternate ending?

Listen to "Mienteme como siempre" (Culpable o no) by Luis Miguel: Inspiration for this work!

(See the end of the work for more notes.)

Chapter 1: Mienteme Como Siempre

Chapter Text

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Precisamente ahora que tú ya te has ido

(Precisely now that you have left me)

 

 

Me han dicho que has estado engañándome

(Everyone has told me that you’ve been cheating me)



 

“Hey, has anyone seen CatNap? I haven’t seen them all day!” DogDay asked one afternoon, looking at the other Smiling Critters on the picnic table.



 

They all looked at each other before they did back to him, and they shook their heads. Bubba’s brows bunched together, and he looked like he was about to say something, but Hoppy kicked him from under the table.



 

“Have you checked at their house yet?” she asked, shooting a glare at Bubba when he winced.



 

DogDay nodded, looking at Bubba curiously. “I did, almost- Uh, Bubba? Are you alright?”



 

Bubba curled his trunk upwards and smiled sheepishly, not wanting to receive another kick from Hoppy.



 

DogDay nodded, still a little worried, but let his face relax into another smile.



 

“I’m sure they’re just sleeping through the day, you know how they are.”



 

¿Por qué de pronto tienes tantos enemigos?

(Why do you have so many enemies now?)

 

 

¿Por qué tengo que andar disculpándote?

(Why do I have to excuse you from them?)



 

But a certain red bear couldn’t hold it in anymore. She took a deep breath, and she turned to face DogDay.



 

“DogDay?”



 

His ears perked up, and he nodded to her to continue. The others looked tense, almost as if they were frozen in fear of what Bobby would say.



 

“Are you… are you sure you know CatNap as well as you think?”



 

DogDay’s eyes widened, and his smile faltered. The others were very nervous now, and they kept looking at Bobby as if they were begging her to back down.



 

“Of course! What makes you say that, Bobby?”



 

She twisted her paws together, and she bit her lip as she thought of what to say.

 

 

Si ellos están mintiendo, por favor defiéndete

(If they are lying, then please defend yourself)

 

 

Yo sé que no lo harás, pues dicen la verdad

(But I know you won’t, because they are telling the truth)



 

“Uh- You know what? Nevermind, just forget I said anything-”



 

But DogDay interrupted her by letting his paw thump against the wooden tabletop, startling her and the others. 



 

“No, Bobby. You wanted to tell me something. What is it?” DogDay’s smile was back, but it wasn’t relaxed or genuine like before. His jaw was locked, and his teeth were peeking out.



 

And DogDay only showed his teeth when he was being threatened.



 

“DogDay-” Picky Piggy started, but DogDay’s eyes flicked towards her, almost as if he was challenging her to say anything more. She let her jaw snap closed, and she looked away.



 

CraftyCorn’s tiny voice perked up from between Bobby and Bubba, and she got DogDay’s attention.



 

“Do you… do you know where… CatNap is r-right now?”



 

DogDay nodded, and he crossed his arms across his chest.



 

“Of course, they’re in their cat tower, like they usually are-”



 

“No, DogDay… do you really k-know where… they are?”



 

DogDay simply sat at the table quietly, looking into his paws. Did he truly believe that CatNap was at home? Even if he visited them multiple times throughout the day, and received no response?



 

Hoppy, on the other hand, glared at Bobby, her nose twitching in irritation. “Now look at what you did!”



 

Bobby scoffed, and she stood from the table. “What I did? I didn’t do anything! Besides, he had to find out about it eventually!”



 

Everyone at the table gasped, and Bobby immediately snapped her mouth shut. Guilt pooled in her gut, and she felt regretful tears welling up in her eyes. 




 

 

Oh no .



 

 

 

“Bobby?” DogDay asked, his voice uncharacteristically monotone.



 

Bobby clamped her mouth shut, and she refused to look at him. She heard the soft crunching sound of paws walking on the grass, and she felt a gasp catch in her throat when she felt a paw on her shoulder.



 

“What do you mean? What was I supposed to ‘find out eventually ’?”



 

Es una pena siempre seguirás doliéndome

(It’s really a shame, you will always hurt me)

 

 

Y culpable o no

(And whether guilty or not)

 

 

¿Qué le puedo hacer ya?

(What can I do now?)

 

 

 

DogDay was walking in the flower fields, the other Critters following him. His paws were drawn into fists, and he kept scrubbing at his eyes to stop from crying.



 

Bobby was lying. 



 

Everyone was lying.



 

He couldn’t believe what they were saying. He couldn’t believe that CatNap was lying to him.



 

He wouldn’t believe it. 



 

They were just messing with him. 



 

Yeah, that’s it.



 

Miénteme como siempre

(Lie to me like you always have)

 

 

Por favor miénteme

(Please lie to me)

 

 

Necesito creerte

(I need to believe you)

 

 

Convénceme

(Convince me)

 

 

 

DogDay was so distracted by everything that he didn’t notice the featherhead of the Critters slip away. 



 

KickinChicken cut through the forest connecting to the flower fields as quickly as he could, making a beeline for his chicken coop.



 

He passed DogDay’s dog house, and he felt his feathers droop with guilt.



 

‘ This is bad. This is really bad. ’



 

He pushed the door open with his wing and he let it shut louder than he wanted it to. Oh well, he needed the Critter, who was currently asleep in his nest to wake up anyway.



 

As much as his nerves were gnawing at him, Kickin couldn’t help the smile that curled onto his face when he heard the purple cat yawn sleepily. He walked into his bedroom and leaned against the doorframe, and his smile faltered.



 

“Hmm… Oh, Kickin. You’re back.”



 

Kickin nodded and moved to sit on the edge of his nest, crossing his wings over his chest. CatNap immediately noticed something was wrong, and they stretched their paws before scooting closer to the rooster.



 

“Is something wrong?”



 

Kickin’s gut twisted into an uncomfortable knot, and he knew it was better to tell the feline directly than for them to find out on their own.



 

He took a deep breath, and he held CatNap’s paws with his wings.



 

“DogDay knows about us.”



 

CatNap’s eyes widened, and their tail puffed in surprise.



 

“How? Why? Were we not careful?”



 

Kickin winced, but he squeezed CatNap’s paws reassuringly.



 

“Bobby, she- Well, not just her but, everyone said it indirectly before she told him.”



 

CatNap let go of Kickin's wings to hold onto their tail, twisting it in their paws.



 

While Kickin was nervous, he knew better than to show it to the purple cat. He eased their paws from around their tail, and he opened his wings invitingly. 



 

“Whatever happens, just know that it'll be okay.”



 

CatNap's shoulders relaxed, and they allowed Kickin to pull them into a hug. He nuzzled into their neck, chirping softly, and CatNap began to purr.



 

The sound of the door's hinges creaking open caught the attention of the two Critters in a tight embrace. A strangled gasp echoed from outside, and they quickly released each other and looked to the open doorway.



 

Miénteme con un beso

(Lie to me with a kiss)

 

 

Que parezca de amor

(One that feels like love)

 

 

Necesito quererte

(I need to love you)

 

 

Culpable o no

(Whether I’m guilty or not)

 

 

 

"D-DogDay-!" Kickin's eyes widened and he scrambled to stand up. ‘ I knew I should have locked the door-! ’



 

The cocker spaniel immediately looked down, and his ears drooped over his eyes.



 

"I-I- I'm sorry, I should leave you be-" he said, turning from them and walking away briskly.




 

"No- Wait-!" CatNap called after him. They stood from the nest and ran to the door, but they tripped over their tail, slamming into the floor. They dug their nails into the floorboards, leaving thin, white scratches on them.



 

Kickin rushed over to them, grabbed their shoulders, and lifted them back up.



 

The feline turned to look at him, eyes watery with tears and their face contorted into a pained expression.

 

 

 

“What have I done?” they croaked.

 

 

 

Kickin’s brow furrowed, and then he stood up abruptly, pulling them with him.



 

“We need to find him.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 2: Culpable o No

Summary:

Here's the second part to this work! I'm super sorry it took so long, y'know, life...

... happens.

So, uh, yeah! Enjoy!

Chapter Text

 

 

 

 

 

A few hours passed, and there was no sight of DogDay. 



Everyone was worried, and they helped CatNap search for him after they couldn’t do it on their own.



“He’s not in his house?”



“Nope.”



“What about the Lake?”



“We checked around there three times, and we didn’t see him.”



CatNap’s guilt grew inside them, twisting into a big, ugly knot. They only felt worse as the time went by, and they didn’t want to tell the others that the canine walked in on them and Kickin.



‘Where could he have gone? What could he be doing? I hope he’s safe.’



“CatNap?”



The feline was snapped from their thoughts, and they looked back to the other Critters.



“Earlier this afternoon, DogDay said he’d go to Kickin’s place and ask him if he’d seen you-”



“-And then we saw him run away-”



“Whatever happened at Kickin’s place, it looked like he was really hurt by it-”



“And we wanted to ask if you know where he went?-”



CatNap looked down at the grass, their tail flicking nervously. They shook their head and tried to keep their tears from streaming down their furry cheeks.



“I-It’s my f-fault…” they said quietly, wiping at their face with a paw. The others crowded around, looking at them with concern.



“It’s m-my fault we don’t… we don’t know where he went…” 



“How? What happened earlier?”



CatNap bit their lip to keep a sob from wretching through their throat. 



“He saw Kickin and I-”



Bobby stepped forward, and she shushed them by pulling them into a hug. CatNap let the tears fall from their eyes, and they only sobbed harder when Bobby cradled them tighter. 



“CatNap… what you did to DogDay, i-it’s not fair to him…”



They nodded vigorously, burying their face into her fur.



“...But then, why didn’t you tell him that you didn’t like him like that before all of this?”



“I…”



CatNap was met with the memory of a few months ago when they and DogDay had a ‘talk’ about them spending more time with KickinChicken than with him. 



They planned to tell him it was because they got together, but DogDay indirectly confessed that he was in love with them. CatNap didn’t think things through, and they didn’t want to break his heart more than it was at that moment, so they said they felt the same.



They figured they could keep up the facade with DogDay for a little while before breaking things off, but any time they were about to tell him, they backed out at the last minute.



And now, things were the way they were because they were too afraid to reject their best friend.



“... you know what? You don’t need to tell us. Not yet, anyway.”



CatNap looked up from Bobby’s embrace, their whiskers damp with tears.



“What you do need to do is find DogDay, and tell him the truth,” she said sternly, releasing him from the hug.



CatNap’s eyes flicked towards each of their friends, and they all nodded in agreement with Bobby.



They made direct eye contact with Kickin who was hugging himself with his wings, and he nodded to them.



“I don’t… I don’t think DogDay will listen to me if I try to talk with him, so-”



CatNap didn’t need to hear anymore, so they nodded to the rest and sprinted towards the forest.




*




“DogDay? DogDay-!” CatNap was calling out his name as they walked through the forest. They felt like they were walking for hours, and they were beginning to lose hope. They knew the canine wouldn’t run away from the Valley, so he had to be close by.




As they walked further into the forest, their ears quirked up.



Was that-



- Crying?



The knot in their throat felt heavier than before.



CatNap walked as quietly as they could, listening for the crying as they got closer, until they saw him.



CatNap felt terrible .



DogDay was curled into a little ball, his face buried in his paws, and he was lying on his side, sobbing and sniffling.



‘ I’m such a coward ,’ they thought.



“... CatNap …?”

 

They froze.



DogDay raised his head slightly, and CatNap could see his blurry, puffy eyes and the fur of his face clumped with tears.



“... what are you doing here…?”



CatNap looked down, not saying a word.



The cocker spaniel wiped his eyes, but his shoulders still shook as he sniffled.



“... why did you… k-keep you and Kickin a secret from me?”



CatNap held their tail in their paws.



“... because I- when you told me you were jealous of him… because you were in love with me… I-I didn’t want to hurt you anymore-”



“- But you still did,” he sniffled. 

 

 

“Because you lied to me. Everyone did.”



CatNap didn’t know what to say.



All they knew was that things could never go back to normal again.





 

 

 

Notes:

Hey everyone!

I was listening to a playlist that I made a while back, and this song came on. As I listened to it, I got the idea to write a CatNap/DogDay angst!

>;)

I kind of debated on whether I should post it or not, but I decided to, and here it is! I also had some announcements to share, in case you didn't see it on "Sugar, Spice, and Everything Nice: Request Book":

1) I will be closing the request book starting today, May 6th, and I will re-open it on May 26th.

2) Exams are literally a week away, and I really need to focus on that. If updates are really slow, or if I go silent for a few weeks, I'm 99% studying.

Also, I wanted to thank you all so much for your comments and kudos, and for the requests you leave for me :) I hope I can get at least a few requests in by the end of next week, but for now, I hope you enjoy this one and the others I've posted!

And remember to S - M - I - L - E, every day!

- M0zzirella (M0zzi) <3