Chapter 12: On This Beautiful Night
Doramen was so nervous he felt sick to his stomach. He put a paw on his heaving chest, not surprised when he felt rapid beating. Struggling to stay still, he looked around the campus in hopes of spotting Doraemon. He desperately wanted to avoid the yellow robot cat until school was over.
"Doramen!"
Doramen's entire body flinched at the sound of Doraemon's voice.
He's seen me!
He had hoped that sitting somewhere else would help him out, but apparently not. The churning in his belly worsened as he watched Doraemon walk up to him and sit down.
"I'm glad I found you," Doraemon greeted.
He suddenly blushed and looked away.
"I actually need your help with something. I'm having trouble with this history assignment. Do you think you could help me out?" he asked, clearly shy.
Despite being more anxious than he has in his life, Doramen nodded. He couldn't bring himself to say no.
"Thank you so much, Doramen!" Doraemon rejoiced, scooting over so that he was beside his sweetheart.
He pulled out the assignment and set it on the table so that both of them could read it.
As Doramen read the directions, he suddenly started to feel uncomfortably hot. The air around them also started to feel hot, as if it was the middle of summer. He started to pant, taking in deep breaths in an attempt to cool off.
"Are you okay?" Doraemon asked.
"I… uhh…"
Doramen didn't know how to answer. His heart felt like it was going to explode. For a moment he wondered if he was overheating. Then it hit him. His stomach lurched.
"I have to go to the bathroom!" he suddenly announced, jumping to his feet and running off to the bathrooms.
Doraemon watched him go, still feeling concerned. He looked back down at his assignment, deciding it would be better to give his lover some space.
...
Doramen stared at his reflection in the mirror. He closed his eyes and splashed water onto his face. The sound of running water helped distract him from his racing thoughts. He opened his eyes, watching drops of cool water run down his face.
His legs were shaking so much he didn't want to go anywhere. His entire body felt weak and heavy. Drinking the water coming out of the sink in front of him was very tempting. It would ease the sharp stinging in his throat and wash out the tart taste in his mouth.
He groaned mentally when he suddenly heard footsteps approaching. He lowered his head and pretended to wash his paws.
"Doramen? You in here?"
Doraemon's soft voice made him feel worse.
"Yes, I'm in here," he answered.
His heart lurched when he heard his own voice. He sounded like he had been crying. He flattened his ears as Doraemon came up beside him.
"Hey, I just wanted to check on you. You've been gone for a while. Is everything okay?" Doraemon murmured, putting a paw on Doramen's shoulder.
Doramen shook his head. He really didn't want to give a verbal response.
"What happened?" Doraemon asked.
"I got sick," Doramen mumbled, looking down at the ground.
Doraemon's eyes widened.
"Oh, you poor thing! Come on, let's get you to the nurse," he ushered.
Doramen didn't complain. On weak legs, he shakily followed Doraemon to the nurse's office. Upon reporting the incident, he was ordered to go home. Doraemon was generous enough to offer to take him home, which he happily accepted.
His heart pounded as he walked down the sidewalk beside Doraemon. He still felt nervous being around his lover.
Should I ask him now?
He glanced over at Doraemon. The yellow robot cat had his gaze fixed ahead. Before Doramen had much time to think about the situation, they arrived at his house.
"Thanks for walking me home," Doramen said, forcing a smile.
"Of course. Is there anything you need? Lunch doesn't end for another 15 minutes," Doraemon prompted.
Doramen felt himself shaking.
This is the perfect opportunity! But maybe now is bad timing… Ugh! Stop thinking of everything that could go wrong! Doraemon's never said no to a question like this before!
"Actually, Doraemon… I think I know why I got sick," he said.
"Why?" Doraemon asked curiously.
"I was really nervous."
Doraemon suddenly looked a little angry.
"This is about me, isn't it? You know you don't have to be nervous around me!"
Doramen sighed.
"I know, but I can't help it… It's only because I love you."
"What are you nervous about?" Doraemon asked teasingly, crossing his arms and smiling.
"I want to ask you something," Doramen muttered, looking down at the ground.
Doraemon's smile faded a little.
"What is it? You can ask me anything."
There was a long silence. Finally, Doramen looked back up into Doraemon's eyes.
"Will you go out with me?"
Doraemon opened his mouth, but no sound came out. He was caught off guard by the question.
"Well Doramen, I… err… This is so sudden…"
Doramen looked away.
"I'm sorry. We've already been together for a few months, I just thought it would be nice to actually go out on a date as couples do…," he murmured awkwardly.
"Doramen, I'd love to go on a date with you," Doraemon said, smiling warmly.
Doramen perked up.
"You mean it?" he asked as a grin grew on his face.
"Of course I mean it!"
Doraemon pulled Doramen into a hug as he spoke. Doramen hugged back, his tail wagging.
"I'm so happy!" he exclaimed.
"Come by my house Friday night. We'll discuss our plans then," Doraemon suddenly announced.
"I'll come by before the sun goes down," Doramen remarked.
His response was rather vague, but Doraemon didn't mind. He knew he could count on Doramen for coming.
...
Doraemon nearly leaped out of his fur when he heard his doorbell ring. He knew it had to be Doramen, and ran to the door. His assumption was correct; Doramen stood on the porch with an ear-to-ear smile on his face.
"I'm so glad you came. Come in, we can talk about our date plans," Doraemon said, gesturing for Doramen to come inside.
"Actually, I have another idea," Doramen remarked, not moving.
"Oh, what's that?" Doraemon asked.
"I already know what I want to do for our date."
Doraemon twitched his ear curiously.
"What do you want to do?" he asked.
"It's a surprise," Doramen answered, his smile growing.
He held out his paw before Doraemon could respond.
"Come, let's go," he said.
Doraemon accepted the gesture without hesitation. Curiosity nagged in the back of his mind as Doramen led him down the street. He honestly had no idea where Doramen was taking him, but he was eager to find out.
After a few minutes, a familiar building came into view. Doraemon recognized it as one of the most popular restaurants in town. It was a steakhouse. He'd never gotten food from there, but he heard that it was delicious.
"Are we going to that restaurant?" he asked, pointing to the brown building.
"Indeed we are," Doramen answered cheerfully.
The two robot cats entered the restaurant and got a table. Doraemon felt a little nervous. There was a lot of other people. He tried to ignore his nerves and focus on choosing a meal to order.
The menu was filled with various meats, burgers, and seafood. There was a breakfast section, which had mostly omelets and various combinations of bacon, sausage, and pancakes. It was pretty typical for the steakhouses that Doraemon had been to in the past. He read through the menu multiple times, trying to decide.
I really want to get the pancakes! They look so delicious. Doramen might laugh at me though for eating a typical breakfast food for dinner. Then again, he really loves me, so maybe he'll understand…
He decided he was going to get the pancakes, and put his menu down. Doramen was staring off into space, sipping on the water he ordered. Doraemon decided to break the awkward silence.
"What are you gonna get?" he asked.
Doramen looked over at him, smiling.
"I'm gonna get the steak," he answered.
"I didn't know you liked steak," Doraemon said.
"It's one of my favorite foods. I order it just about every time I come here."
Doraemon nodded, taking a mental note of that. He and Doramen chatted until their waitress came to take their orders. To his relief, Doramen didn't comment on his meal choice.
"How long do you think it'll take for our food to cook?" Doramen asked once the waitress left.
"I don't know, but hopefully not too long," Doraemon replied, shrugging.
Doramen didn't say anything back. He looked around at the other tables curiously.
"There's a lot of people here," he said.
"Yeah, it's busy."
Suddenly feeling awkward, Doramen grabbed the straw in his drink and stirred it, watching the ice spin around. Doraemon looked down at the table, trying to think of something they could talk about.
We're supposed to be on a date, and all we've done is sit here awkwardly mumbling to each other! What's something Doramen would be comfortable talking about..?
"So...umm… what do you wanna do after this?" he asked.
Doramen's mouth stretched into a weird half-smile. Doraemon could tell he was holding back a grin.
"I know what I want to do, but you'll have to wait and see," Doramen said.
"Fair enough," Doraemon replied. "I don't wanna stay out all night, though."
Doramen's smile became warm.
"Don't worry about that. You can go home whenever you feel like it."
Doraemon felt reassured by that. He was glad Doramen was being flexible and understanding.
"Thanks," he said.
"Of course! I want you to be happy the whole time we're out here," Doramen replied, wagging his tail.
Doraemon blushed and looked away, too shy to respond. He still wasn't used to Doramen being so generous. When he looked back up, Doramen was playing with his drink again. He glanced at Doraemon, making eye contact. Doraemon heard him chuckle quietly as he looked back at his drink.
"What's so funny?" Doraemon asked.
Doramen smiled.
"Oh, nothing," he answered, stirring his water.
Doraemon was about to ask again when their food came. His mouth watered at the smell of the pancakes. He eagerly watched their waitress set the plate down in front of him. She set Doramen's food in front of him as well before leaving the two alone once again.
"This food sure smells good, huh?" Doraemon asked, looking over at Doramen.
Doramen was already getting his knife and fork out, licking his lips.
"It sure does. I bet it'll taste even better," he said.
Doraemon decided to leave him be, and unwrapped his own utensils from their weird paper-like wrapper. He sliced through the stack of three pancakes, his belly growling when a cloud of steam carried the warm, comforting scent right to his nose. After cutting up quite a bit of all three pancakes, he took the bottle of syrup that had come with his meal and poured. He wasn't a big fan of syrup, so he only poured enough to where you could taste it. His mouth watering even more, he jabbed his fork into the pile of syrup-covered slices and immediately stuck it in his mouth. The pancakes tasted absolutely amazing, as did the syrup.
Doraemon looked over at Doramen, only to see him already wolfing down his steak. He suddenly felt awkward and went back to his pancakes. The two robot cats eagerly ate their dinners. They didn't make much eye contact, and didn't say a single word to each other. For a while, they both forgot they were on a date.
Doramen ended up finishing first, and used the extra time to remember why he had come out to eat in the first place. He decided to strike up a conversation, hoping that Doraemon wouldn't get mad at him.
"How's your food?" he asked.
"It's delicious!" Doraemon answered, wiping the syrup off his lips.
Doramen immediately felt relieved, although he tried not to make it obvious.
"Good. I'm so glad you like it," he said with a smile.
Doraemon noticed Doramen's empty plate and chuckled.
"I'm guessing your food was good too," he remarked.
"Oh yes, I loved it," Doramen replied, nodding.
Doraemon looked back down at his own plate, studying the remaining bits of pancake.
"I'll be done soon, don't worry," he murmured, awkwardly munching on another forkful.
"No, take your time. There's no rush," Doramen insisted.
Doraemon relaxed a little and continued to eat. It didn't take long for him to get too full to keep going. There was still some pancake left, but he decided it wasn't worth it to try and finish it all.
Despite his protests, Doramen ended up paying for all the food. The two robot cats then left the restaurant, eager to move on.
"Well, where to now?" Doraemon asked, looking up at Doramen.
Doramen reached into his pocket and pulled out his Anywhere Door (Dokodemo Door). He looked back at Doraemon, making eye contact.
"Somewhere amazing," he said quietly, putting his paw on the doorknob.
Doraemon was silent, curiously watching Doramen open the door. All he could see were a bunch of tree trunks stretching up beyond the top of the Anywhere Door. Doramen stepped through onto the other side and turned to face his lover.
"Come," he said, holding out his paw.
Doraemon stared into Doramen's eyes for a moment, then took the offering. He stepped through as well and stood beside Doramen. He looked around curiously, and was immediately shocked at what he saw.
There was a dirt path leading straight ahead, off into the distance. On each side of the path were tons of blooming dogwoods. Bright pink petals were all over the ground.
"This place is amazing!" Doraemon exclaimed, his eyes bright.
"I'm glad you like it," Doramen said with a smile.
"How did you find this place?"
"I did a little online research."
Doraemon suddenly pulled Doramen into a tight hug.
"Thank you for showing me this beautiful place!" he gushed.
Doramen chuckled.
"Oh, that's not all," he said.
Doraemon immediately let go and looked at him in shock.
"There's more!?" he demanded excitedly.
"Yep," Doramen answered with a nod.
"Show me, show me!"
"Follow me, then."
Doramen began walking down the dirt path. Doraemon came up beside him, eager to see what else was waiting for him. They walked for a bit, until the end of the trail came into sight.
Doraemon stopped dead in his tracks. At the end of the trail was another dogwood, but this one was much taller than all the other ones. It was also blooming.
"It's so beautiful!" he exclaimed.
"It sure is," Doramen said.
He glanced at Doraemon and walked over to the dogwood. Doraemon stayed where he was and watched him. Doramen looked up at all the branches above his head. He glanced behind him at Doraemon, grinned at him, and reached into his pocket. He pulled out a Hopter (Takecopter/Bamboo Copter) and put it on his head. Doraemon gasped when Doramen flew up into the dogwood and perched on a branch.
"What are you doing!?" he demanded, shocked.
"Come join me!" Doramen called, ignoring the question.
Doraemon ran up to the base of the tree and looked up at the red robot cat.
"I really don't think that's safe!" he shouted.
"Relax, the branches can hold us!" Doramen replied.
Doraemon hesitated before realizing that Doramen wasn't going to come back down. He sighed, put on a Hopter, and joined his lover on the branch.
"Look at this amazing view we get!" Doramen exclaimed, pointing out in front of them.
The two robot cats could perfectly see the night sky, along with shorter trees in the distance. Dozens of stars were shining brightly in the sky, along with the crescent moon.
"Wow…," Doraemon murmured in awe.
"It's such a great view," Doramen said, scooting a little closer to his lover.
The two robot cats looked out at their view for a while, admiring the scenery. Doramen leaned against the main part of the tree, and suddenly thought about something.
"Hey Doraemon, would you mind if I did a little… vandalism?" he asked.
Doraemon blinked at him, confused.
"Vandalism? Well, I guess it's fine as long as you don't hurt anyone or anything, including this tree."
Doramen flew back to the ground, and returned moments later with a rock with a pointed edge on it. Without even glancing at Doraemon, he started jabbing the rock into the main part of the tree.
"Wh-what are you doing?" Doraemon asked.
"You'll see," Doramen answered.
After a few moments, he stopped what he was doing and tossed the rock back onto the ground. He slid off the branch he was sitting on, using the Hopter to keep him at eye level with Doraemon. He pointed to his "vandalism", now that Doraemon could see it.
"What do you think?" he asked.
Doraemon couldn't help but blush. Doramen had used the rock to etch "Men x Mon" into the tree.
"I mean… that probably hurt the tree, but it's really sweet of you," Doraemon said.
Doramen sat back down on the branch, giving Doraemon a big smile.
"I'm glad you like it," he said.
"Don't do it again, though!" Doraemon said, playfully nudging Doramen's arm.
"I won't, I won't."
The two went back to looking out at the other trees. Several minutes of peaceful silence passed. During this time, Doraemon started to gradually scoot closer and closer to Doramen. By the time Doramen noticed, the two were almost touching.
"D-Doraemon… when did you get that close?" Doramen asked, blushing.
Doraemon simply giggled at him. Doramen assumed he was just being silly, and went back to looking at the trees. Several seconds passed before Doraemon broke the silence.
"How easily do you get mad at people?" he asked suddenly.
Doramen was silent for a moment, taken aback by the sudden question.
"It depends," he said.
"How easily would you get mad at me?"
"Pfft, you could kill someone and I'd probably still forgive you."
Doraemon turned so that his whole body was facing Doramen. He put a paw on Doramen's shoulder.
"What are you doing?" Doramen asked, also turning his body as he blushed a little.
"So, you'd pretty much never get upset with me no matter what I did?" Doraemon asked back, moving his paw until it was touching Doramen's collar.
Doramen nodded, blushing darker.
"Y-yeah," he said.
"Good, then you won't mind me doing this…," Doraemon murmured in a semi-flirtatious tone, suddenly grabbing Doramen's collar.
Doramen's eyes widened, and his blushed darkened even more.
"Wh-what are you-"
His question was cut off when Doraemon suddenly pulled him forward. He thought for sure his life flashed before his eyes as his lips connected with Doraemon's. Paralyzed with shock, he couldn't even take his gaze off Doraemon's closed eyes.
They kissed for a few seconds, until poor Doramen couldn't take it anymore. He went completely limp, falling into Doraemon's lap. Doraemon giggled at him, but also felt sort of bad for making him pass out. He shook Doramen until he woke up. The red robot cat immediately sat up, clearly not fully awake yet.
"Doraemon, I had the craziest dream… I was sitting in a tree with you, and you grabbed my collar, and then-"
Doramen cut himself off when he came to his senses and realized he hadn't been dreaming. He blushed darkly, and his eyes widened as he realized that meant he and Doraemon had really kissed. Doraemon couldn't help but giggle at the look on his face.
"Y-you kissed me," Doramen mumbled, clearly still in shock.
"Yes I did," Doraemon said with a nod.
Doramen tried to comprehend that. Doraemon had really kissed him. It wasn't some crazy dream he had, or a hallucination.
"F-for real?" he asked.
"Yep, for real," Doraemon replied.
Doramen rubbed the side of his head. He couldn't help but grin.
"I can't believe this," he murmured.
Doraemon smiled warmly. He was taken aback when Doramen suddenly hugged him.
"I love you so much," Doramen said.
Doraemon lovingly hugged back.
"I love you too," he murmured.
Doramen let go of his embrace, and looked into Doraemon's eyes. Doraemon looked back, his eyes shining. The two robot cats leaned in towards each other, and kissed once more.
