Chapter 7: The Confession
Doramen stared down at the table's surface, thinking deeply. His heart was pounding despite how calm and relaxed he looked. He couldn't stop thinking about his and Doraemon's future. Recently, his crush on the yellow robot cat had intensified greatly. He thought about Doraemon constantly. Sometimes, it was the only thing he could think about.
He yearned to be closer to Doraemon. He wanted their relationship to be stronger, to evolve. But, he couldn't do that with Doraemon being unaware of his intentions. He knew that, as scared as he was, he would have to confess his feelings to Doraemon at some point. Doramen was a very shy little cat, however. It would be very difficult for him to gather the courage to tell Doraemon his feelings.
The very thought of it made his heart pound insanely, as if it was going to explode. It also made him think about everything that could go wrong. His biggest fear was Doraemon rejecting him. He knew it was a possibility, and that terrified him. The thought of rejection made him want to curl up in a ball and cry. He honestly doubted he would be able to handle the emotional pain that would come if Doraemon told him no.
He suddenly huffed and violently shook his head.
"I can't do this alone…," he said to himself.
Taking another deep breath, he got up from the table and went off to find Doralien. He spotted the teal robot cat sitting at a table by himself, scribbling in some book. Doraemon wasn't anywhere nearby.
Mentally sighing in relief, Doramen walked up to the table and sat down. Doralien looked up from his book, which turned out to be a collection of crossword puzzles.
"What's up, dude?" he asked with a smile.
At first Doramen didn't know how to answer. He suddenly wondered if telling Doralien his thoughts was a good idea. Doralien looked back down at his crossword puzzle as he patiently waited for a response. Doramen stared at him, trying to find his words. He knew talking to Doralien would help him, but that didn't make it any easier.
"Umm… I want to talk to you about something," he said.
Doralien paused. He could immediately tell by Doramen's tone of voice that this was serious.
"What is it?" he asked, looking up at his friend.
Doramen hesitated, averting his gaze.
"I… I think I want to tell Doraemon how I feel," he admitted.
"You wanna confess to him?" Doralien asked in surprise.
"Yeah…"
"Well, do you have any ideas on how you want to do it?"
Doralien shoved his book to the side as he spoke.
"Not really, to be honest… I was hoping you could give me some advice," Doramen replied.
Doralien nodded thoughtfully. He looked down at the table, only to immediately look back up.
"I have a question. When you confess your feelings, are you going to ask him to be your boyfriend as well?" he asked.
"I want to," Doramen answered.
Doralien nodded. He looked back down at the table, appearing to be deep in thought. After several moments of silence, he perked up.
"I have an idea!" he exclaimed.
"What, what?" Doramen asked eagerly.
"Perhaps you could take Doraemon out on a picnic or something in the park. After you guys spend some time together, you could confess."
"That's a good idea."
Doramen started to feel a little less anxious now. He was thankful that Doralien was actually able to come up with a decent idea, since the teal robot cat unfortunately had a track record of coming up with poor ideas.
"Or," Doralien continued, "maybe you could take Doraemon somewhere more exciting, like the bowling alley, and after you guys have some fun together, you can confess when you get home."
"I like both of those ideas, but I don't know which one would be best," Doramen mumbled.
"I think you should go with what your gut says. It hasn't led you astray yet!"
Listening to my gut is what led to you being disfigured, Doramen thought.
He sighed deeply.
"It's so hard to decide. I just don't want to get rejected…," he murmured.
"Don't sweat it. I'm sure Doraemon will accept you! He really likes you," Doralien said.
"But does he love me, is the question."
"You won't know until you try!"
Doramen was silent for several seconds, thinking, before a shaky sigh escaped him.
"I like your idea about taking Doraemon to the park more," he said.
Doralien smiled warmly.
"Now that we know the setting of the confession, we have another thing to discuss," he said in a rather serious tone.
"And what's that?" Doramen asked.
"When are you going to confess?"
Doramen looked down thoughtfully.
"After dark on Friday," he said.
Doralien nodded in approval.
"That's a good idea. Today's Wednesday, so you have two days to prepare," he said.
Doramen smiled warmly at him.
"Thanks for the advice. I feel better now," he said.
"No problem, pal. That's what friends are for," Doralien remarked.
Doramen felt a burst of confidence flow through him.
"I'm gonna tell Doraemon just how much I love him!" he exclaimed.
"Yeah! You got this, buddy!" Doralien cheered encouragingly.
Doramen's warm smile turned into a huge grin.
"Wait till Doraemon hears how much he means to me!"
Friday, 7:30 PM
Doramen walked up to Doraemon's house. His heart pounded nervously as he approached the front door. He knocked rather loudly.
After a few moments, Doraemon answered the door. He smiled when he saw it was Doramen.
"Hey Doramen!" he greeted cheerfully.
"H-hi, Doraemon…," Doramen murmured.
"What are you doing out at this time?"
"Umm… I wanted to ask you a really important question…"
"What is it?"
Doramen hesitated.
"Do you wanna hang out at the park together?" he asked.
"This late? Are you sure?" Doraemon asked back in uncertainty.
"I-it won't be too long! I just want to… you know, spend some time with you under the stars."
Doraemon thought about it for a moment.
"Sure, I don't mind going for a little bit," he said.
Doramen felt a wave of relief wash over him. Doraemon wanted to go! That was the first step of his plan complete.
"So, I'm guessing you want to go right now?" Doraemon asked.
"Yeah, if you don't mind," Doramen answered shyly.
"Okay! That's fine."
Doramen took several steps back to give Doraemon space. Doraemon exited the house, and the two started making their way towards the park after Doramen insisted they don't use their Anywhere Doors.
"So Doramen, is there anything in particular you wanted to do?" Doraemon asked as they walked down the street.
"I was hoping maybe we could sit down by the lake and just…. hang out," Doramen replied, trying not to let his nervousness show.
"Oh yeah, I completely forgot about the little lake in the middle of the park! That sounds like a great idea!"
Doramen felt a small amount of his nervousness fade away. He started imagining how the rest of the night would go. His face went red at the thought of being in a relationship with Doraemon.
I just hope everything goes according to plan…, he thought.
He soon became stuck in a constant battle between being very confident and excited to being terrified and hopeless. As he and Doraemon approached the park, he had to fight hard to act calm and keep a neutral expression. The last thing he wanted was for Doraemon to catch on to his behavior, and he was going to do everything he could to prevent that.
"You ready?" Doramen asked, stopping right at the park's entrance.
"Yeah, I'm very ready!" Doraemon replied.
Doramen then proceeded to lead Doraemon through the park and to the lake. He was tempted to reach out and try to hold Doraemon's paw, but he had a feeling that was a bad idea. Instead, he kept his paws to himself, and just walked ahead of Doraemon.
The pair sat down in the cool grass and looked over the lake. The moonlight reflected beautifully on the lake's surface.
"Wow, it's so pretty," Doraemon said in awe.
Doramen nodded in agreement.
"Yep, it sure is," he said.
He glanced at Doraemon, his heart pounding nervously. A voice in the back of his mind told him to hurry up and confess, but he ignored it. These things take time, he thought to himself.
"How have you been, Doraemon?" he prompted.
"I've been pretty good. I'm really liking school so far," Doraemon answered.
"Good, good."
"What about you, Doramen?"
"I'm fine."
Doramen didn't really want to elaborate any farther than that. He didn't want to imply that something was bothering him.
"What class do you like the most?" Doraemon asked.
"Umm… language arts, I guess," Doramen answered.
"Cool. I like that class too. My favorite is science."
Doramen made sure to take a mental note of that.
"That's cool! Science is cool," he said awkwardly.
"I'm in a life science class. We're learning about plants," Doraemon continued.
"We're sitting on plants right now."
Doramen was struggling to come up with a response that wasn't just a generic "yeah", "same", or "cool".
Doraemon looked down and plucked a blade of grass.
"You know, there are animals that eat nothing but plants," he said.
"Sounds terrible," Doramen muttered.
He couldn't imagine life without being able to eat meat of some kind.
"I know, right? I'm so glad we have such a huge variety of food to eat in society," Doraemon remarked.
"Me too," Doramen replied.
The subject of food made Doraemon think of another question.
"What's your favorite food of all time?" he asked.
"Steak," Doramen answered without hesitation.
"I didn't know you liked steak."
"I love it. It's delicious. I also like ribs, especially with steak sauce on them."
"You're kind of a meat-lover, huh?"
Doramen shrugged.
"I guess. I like other things than meat. I like lasagna too," he said.
"Lasagna has meat in it," Doraemon pointed out with a teasing smile.
"It's good, though. What's your favorite food of all time, Doraemon?"
"Yummy buns."
"That's cool. I've never had one, though."
"Why not? They're amazing!"
"I'm allergic to them."
"Oh, you're allergic? I'm sorry about that…"
Doramen shrugged once again.
"It's no big deal," he said casually.
Several moments of silence followed. Doramen began to feel nervous again as he thought about when he should confess his feelings.
Should I do it now..? Should I wait..? I just don't know…, he thought.
"Hey Doramen," Doraemon said suddenly.
"Yeah?" Doramen asked.
"Umm… I don't want to be mean, but… I can't help but feel like there was a particular reason you wanted to hang out."
Doramen's anxiety shot through the roof.
"Wh-what makes you think that?" he asked as casually as he could.
"We've never done something like this before, and we've been friends for a while now. Is there something you want to talk about? I don't mind," Doraemon replied, looking at Doramen with concern.
Doramen's heart pounded so hard he feared Doraemon could hear it.
"Well… umm….," he stammered, having no idea what to say.
"What is it, Doramen? Is something on your mind?" Doraemon asked.
"Y-yes, there is…"
Doramen instantly regretted admitting that.
"Well, what's up? We can talk," Doraemon said.
Doramen didn't respond as he tried to assess the situation.
He's suspicious of me now… I don't know if I can do it… I can think I can…. Maybe… What are the chances that he'll reject me, anyways..? I have no choice, it's now or never… I have to say it… I can't waste this opportunity…
Doramen turned to Doraemon, so nervous he was trembling. Doraemon gazed at him curiously.
"D-D-Doraemon… There's something I need to tell you…," he said, trying his hardest to not let his nervousness show in his voice.
"What is it, Doramen?" Doraemon asked.
Doramen hesitated, his nervousness becoming stronger than ever.
I can do this… I can do this…. If I love him, then surely he'll love me back… We've been friends for months…. He's gotta feel the same way, right…? There's only one way to find out… I have to do this… I HAVE to!
He took a slow, deep breath, trying to relax. His dark eyes stared deep into Doraemon's.
"Doraemon…," he began.
"Yes, Doramen?" Doraemon asked softly.
"You have made my life a complete emotional roller coaster. I haven't been able to get you out of my mind. You're so charming and nice to me… You've brought a lot of joy into my life, ever since that day that we met. Your presence alone has helped filled this void I've had in my life because I don't really have any good friends… I'm so happy that we became friends. You really mean a lot to me," Doramen gushed, feeling his nervousness fade as the words spilled out of him.
Doraemon said nothing, staring at Doramen with wide eyes.
"It's been a very long time since I've met someone who's made me as happy as you have. Seeing you smile makes me smile. Seeing you happy makes me happy. I've never felt this way about someone before, and… I've realized something. It would be a lie to say I like you…"
Doraemon's gaze betrayed confusion. Doramen realized that the yellow robot cat still didn't know what was going on.
"...because I love you. You make me feel all warm inside whenever you're near me, and you make my heart ache whenever you leave my sight. I-I love you, Doraemon… I love you more than a friend… I...I love you like a boyfriend…"
Doraemon stared at Doramen in shock, blushing darkly. He could hardly believe what he was hearing. A confession was the last thing he was expecting Doramen to say, but that didn't make it any less meaningful.
For a few tense seconds, the two stared into each other's eyes as an eerie silence fell. Doraemon thought hard about how to word his response.
"Doramen, I… I had no idea you felt like this. I'm in complete shock," he said.
"I tried to keep it a secret from you," Doramen murmured, averting his gaze shamefully.
"I'm proud of you for telling me how you feel. I know that must've been very difficult.
"I-it was…"
Doramen flattened his ears, his anxiety now being replaced with fear.
"I-I understand if you're going to reject me because I'm not a girl," he mumbled.
"Doramen, your speech doesn't mean any less to me just because you're also a boy," Doraemon insisted.
A small smile came to Doramen's face.
"You're too nice to me…," he murmured, looking away shyly.
Doraemon giggled softly.
"Isn't that a good thing? I mean, you're super nice to me. It would only be fair if I was super nice to you too," he said.
Doramen's smile grew. He looked back into Doraemon's eyes.
This is it, he thought.
"Doraemon? Can I ask you something..?" he asked.
"Of course! Ask me anything!" Doraemon replied.
Once again, Doramen hesitated.
"W-will you be my boyfriend…?" he asked quietly.
Doraemon's blush darkened. He chuckled softly and smiled.
"I'd love to be your boyfriend, Doramen," he said.
Doramen thought he was going to pass out. He could barely believe his ears. Doraemon had accepted him! Pure happiness swept through him.
He pulled Doraemon into a tight embrace and began to cry. Doraemon became alarmed when he felt warm tears on his shoulder.
"Doramen, are you okay?" he asked frantically.
"You have no idea how happy I am!" Doramen exclaimed, continuing to cry into his new lover's shoulder.
Doraemon rubbed Doramen's back comfortingly.
"It's alright, Doramen," he murmured.
After a few moments, Doramen was able to calm down. However, what he wasn't able to do was stop smiling.
"This is one of the happiest days of my life," he said as wiped the tears away.
"We're officially a couple now!" Doraemon exclaimed, beaming with happiness.
"HOORAY!"
Doramen bounced up and down on the grass like a little kid.
I can't believe it! He said yes! This is amazing!
He grabbed Doraemon's paws and looked into his eyes.
"With you by my side, nothing can stop me from having a happy life."