Chapter 12: Attack
Knock knock.
Doramen perked up in excitement when he heard a knock at his door. He got up from his seat on the couch and made his way to the front door. He opened it, and couldn't resist smiling when he saw a robot cat standing on his doorstep with a pizza box in her paws.
"Here's your pizza," she greeted, holding the pizza out to Doramen.
"Thank you, ma'am," Doramen replied as he eagerly took the pizza from her.
The delivery girl smiled at Doramen before turning around and walking away. Doramen closed the door and eagerly went to his kitchen, where he set the pizza down on the counter. He put a couple slices on a plate, went to his living room, and plopped down on the couch. After finding a TV show to watch, he started eating.
About ten minutes passed when he suddenly felt something vibrating in his pocket. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the vibrating object, which turned out to be his cellphone.
Oh great, I bet it's Doralien sending me some weird Internet picture he found, he thought crossly as he opened the message.
His eyes widened when he saw that it was actually Doraemon.
"Hey Doramen, you busy?" read the text.
"I'm eating dinner. What's up?" Doramen texted back, suddenly feeling nervous.
It sounds like Doraemon might be wanting to hang out with me… I hope I didn't just ruin everything! He can wait until I'm done eating, right?
A few minutes passed before Doraemon responded.
"Oh, sorry if I'm bothering you. I was wondering if you wanted to hang out. I'm kinda bored," he wrote.
Doramen looked down at his plate.
How long would it take me to eat..?
"Give me 20 minutes or so and I'll come over," he texted.
"Really? Awesome, can't wait!" Doraemon replied, adding a few heart emojis.
Doramen sent one back and then resumed eating.
…
Doramen rang the doorbell to Doraemon's house. Doraemon answered almost immediately, grinning.
"Hi!" he greeted cheerfully.
"Hey!" Doramen greeted back, smiling warmly.
He tried to step inside, but Doraemon wouldn't move.
"Uhh, Doraemon, I can't come inside if you're blocking the way," he said, confused.
Doraemon giggled.
"There's no reason for you to come inside. I already know what I want to do with you," he explained.
"Oh, okay. What do you want to do?"
"I thought it would be fun to go out in the woods together. You know, we could take a walk or something. I kinda want to get away from town for a little bit."
Doramen couldn't help but feel confused. Going out in the woods was not at all what he was expecting Doraemon to suggest. However, he was thrilled at the idea of being in the forest with his lover.
"I would love to go!" he exclaimed.
Doraemon grinned.
"Great!" he replied, pulling out his Anywhere Door. "Take us to the woods on the other side of town."
He opened the door and stepped through. Doramen waited a second before following. He was immediately hit with a rush of adrenaline when he found himself indeed standing in the middle of dense forest. His ear twitched when he heard the familiar sound of Doraemon putting away his Anywhere Door, and turned to look at him.
"Isn't this cool?" Doramen asked.
Doraemon took a moment to look around.
"Kinda dark," he murmured.
Doramen had to admit, Doraemon was right. The trees were blocking a decent amount of sunlight, and casting large shadows all over the ground. However, there was still more than enough light for Doramen and Doraemon to see where they were going.
"Come on, let's take our walk," Doramen proposed, holding out his paw to Doraemon.
Doraemon smiled at him and accepted the gesture. Now holding paws, the two robot cats began to walk through the forest. Doramen couldn't help but keep looking around him. He could never get tired of being enclosed by trees in all directions. Something about it made him feel safe. The smells of tree sap and fresh leaves only made him feel even better.
"I don't go out in the woods very often," Doraemon admitted suddenly. "I wish I would do it more often."
"You should. I love the forest. It- it's…. really cool. There's lots of wildlife out here," Doramen replied, stuttering a little.
"I've always been kind of afraid that I'll run into a bear."
"Bears aren't that common in some places."
Doraemon was silent as he thought it over.
"I don't know, I just don't want to get eaten," he said with a half-hearted chuckle.
"You'd never get eaten as long as I'm around," Doramen mumbled, almost as if he didn't want Doraemon to hear him.
"I appreciate that, but I don't think it would be a good idea to fight a bear."
Now it was Doramen's turn to have a period of silence.
"We should go camping together sometime. I bet that would be fun. You could get more exposure to the woods. I've gone camping with Doralien a few times, and we always have fun," he said in a sudden change of topic.
"Camping sounds like a great idea! We should definitely do that over spring break, or maybe summer break," Doraemon answered, smiling as he imagined what it would be like.
"Yeah, we could explore more forest!"
"We could build a huge, roaring fire, and roast s'mores, and tell scary stories!"
Doraemon was confused when his idea was met with silence. He glanced over at Doramen to see that the red robot cat had a blank look on his face.
"Doramen? Did you hear what I said?" Doraemon asked, wondering if Doramen had been listening.
Doramen was silent for a few more seconds before he shivered, fluffing out his fur.
"Yeah, stories. That sounds fun," he muttered.
Doraemon didn't respond. He avoided any potential eye contact, feeling a little hurt at Doramen's lack of enthusiasm.
I guess he doesn't like the idea of roasting marshmallows, he thought.
Suddenly, Doramen gently pulled his paw away from Doraemon. Doraemon, now feeling more confused, glanced at Doramen. Doramen had his arms partially crossed, his paws tucked against his chest. The bell on his collar was ringing ever so softly with each step he took, due to his paws just slightly bumping it.
At this point, Doramen and Doraemon had learned the basic body language of each other. Doraemon could tell that Doramen was feeling uncomfortable, or possibly insecure. Doramen kept his gaze locked ahead, no longer eagerly looking around him as he was earlier. All of the excitement in his expression was gone.
Doraemon began to feel uncomfortable as well, feeling like he caused Doramen to act the way he was. He desperately tried to come up with something else to talk about, but the urge to apologize instead became too great.
"I'm sorry, Doramen," he murmured. "I didn't mean to upset you."
Doramen's eyes widened slightly as he suddenly stopped dead in his tracks. He put his arms to his sides and looked at Doraemon.
"Don't apologize! Y-you didn't do anything wrong!" he protested.
"You looked so unhappy, though…," Doraemon argued, flattening his ears.
Doramen was silent. His gaze darted around from side to side as he frantically thought to himself. Finally, he resumed eye contact with Doraemon.
"I'm fine. I was just… thinking about something," he said.
"Oh, so I didn't make you upset when I was talking about the s'mores?" Doraemon asked.
Doramen paused. Although he couldn't hear it, Doraemon could see Doramen's chest rise greatly as he took a deep breath. Doramen exhaled just as quietly as he inhaled.
"No," he said finally.
"Thank goodness… I was so worried you were mad at me," Doraemon murmured, putting a paw on his chest in relief.
"I could never be mad at you for something so insignificant."
Doramen spoke so softly that Doraemon was barely able to understand what he said. Still, he was too busy feeling relieved that he hadn't upset his lover to worry about why Doramen had said that so quietly.
…
Doramen and Doraemon continued to walk through the forest for several minutes, thankfully without incident. They ended up changing the conversation topic to school, where they began to discuss how they felt about each of the classes they were in. It was quickly realized that Doraemon was doing better in his classes than Doramen was. Doraemon did his best to give Doramen some tips to improve his grades, but he honestly wasn't sure if Doramen would actually do any of them. He'd learned pretty quickly that Doramen had a tendency to, well, not listen. Despite that, he knew Doramen genuinely cared about school, and he believed that Doramen wouldn't fail any of his classes.
As they continued talking, Doraemon noticed that Doramen was walking a little off. The two happened to glance at each other in unison, making awkward eye contact.
"You okay, Doramen?" Doraemon asked.
Doramen shifted his feet, glancing to the side awkwardly.
"I'll uhh… I'll be right back," he muttered as he began to walk backwards.
Doraemon gave him an awkward smile as he went, having a decent idea of what Doramen was implying. He decided to continue walking in order to give Doramen privacy. He only made it a few feet before suddenly getting hit with a chilly breeze. He fluffed out his fur and shivered.
The sun was really setting now. For a moment, Doraemon considered asking Doramen if he just wanted to go home, but he quickly got a different idea. Since they were at a stopping point for Doramen, why not just create a source of warmth so they could stay out and keep chatting? After all, they were robots, they had some night vision.
…
Doramen glanced up at the sky as he emerged from a thick set of bushes. He was surprised to see how late it was getting. It wouldn't be long before the sky would start to turn that light purple as the sun began to creep behind the horizon.
He glanced around the area and saw that Doraemon was nowhere to be seen.
Did he go on without me? he wondered.
Shrugging, he decided to start walking in the direction that he and Doraemon had originally been walking in. He narrowed his eyes when he began to hear a faint crackling sound.
Is that Doraemon making those sounds? What is he doing?
Assuming that must be where Doraemon is, he followed the sounds. They gradually got louder and louder, and as they did so, Doramen could see something glowing in the semi-near distance. He suddenly froze in his tracks when a suspicion came to mind.
Could Doraemon be….? No… he wouldn't do that… Not now…
His heart began to beat faster. He found himself hesitating to continue walking.
I have to see what it is, and where Doraemon is…
Taking a deep breath, he continued towards the sounds and the glow. The closer he got, the higher his suspicion grew. His heart was starting to pound from the anxiety. Now he was really starting to fear the worst.
Finally, he came to a thicket that was directly blocking his view of the… thing. After some hesitation, he spread the bushes open. Immediately, he was completely frozen in horror.
There was Doraemon, sitting in a small clearing. Next to him was a bonfire, burning brightly against the darkening sky. Doraemon rose to his feet when he saw Doramen. He ran over to his lover and was about to point eagerly to the fire, when he saw the look on Doramen's face.
Doramen was aghast, his eyes as wide as saucers. Intense fear shone brightly in his eyes. His gaze was flickering back and forth between Doraemon and the fire. His mouth was agape with shock. It was not at all the reaction Doraemon was expecting.
"D-Doramen…? Are you okay…?" Doraemon asked nervously. "I…made us this fire to keep us warm so we could keep talking… It was getting really cold while you were gone…"
Doramen didn't answer. He flattened his ears and began to whimper softly. He slowly began to back away from the clearing, his breathing speeding up dramatically.
"Wait, don't go!" Doraemon protested immediately.
He reached out to Doramen and grabbed his paw, trying to pull him back towards the fire. Doramen felt him tug, and suddenly went into panic mode. He let out a blood-curdling shriek as he aggressively yanked his arm away from Doraemon.
Without the slightest hesitation, he turned around and sprinted back the way he came, still screaming. For a moment, Doraemon just stood there. He was so shocked by what he had just witnessed it that he couldn't even process it. After a few seconds, he snapped out of it and chased after Doramen.
"Doramen! Hold on!" he called.
Doramen, no longer screaming, ignored him. He continued to run as fast he could away from the fire. He had to. He had to get away.
As he ran, he glanced behind him to see how close Doraemon was. Since he wasn't looking ahead, he tripped on a tree root and hit his head on the side of a thick oak tree. Whimpering in pain, he dropped to his knees as he held his head where it was now pulsing in pain. His ears were now completely flat against the sides of his head. He leaned against the tree and, with the combination of the fire encounter and the pain in his head, he suddenly began to cry hysterically.
Doraemon almost immediately picked up on the sounds of Doramen's whimpering and sniffling, and was able to pinpoint where he was. He ran up to his lover and dropped to his knees, bringing Doramen into a hug. Doramen trembled violently in his arms. Doraemon could feel himself tearing up from the guilt that came crashing down on him.
"D-Doramen, I… I'm so sorry… I didn't mean to make you upset…," he murmured.
Doramen said nothing. He didn't do anything but continue to cry. He didn't know what else to do. He covered his face as tears streamed down his cheeks.
"Please, don't cry! It's okay!" Doraemon protested, desperately trying to think of something that would calm Doramen down.
Doramen shook his head aggressively. He scooted closer to the tree until he was huddled against its trunk. Doraemon released his hug as he realized that it wasn't doing anything to help.
"It was the fire, wasn't it?" he asked quietly.
Doramen responded by hitting the threshold of crying where one cries so hard that they stop making sound. He sat there in sudden, eerie silence, his chest convulsing violently as he tried to breathe, but his body wouldn't let him. He unsheathed his claws and dug them into the tree bark, slowly dragging his paw downwards to create a gash in the tree. Finally, his body realized it needed air, and he began taking enormous, violent gasps as the crying was making it impossible for him to breathe normally. He turned his head to look at Doraemon and stared into his eyes. Doraemon had never seen such horror and fear in one person's expression. Doramen's eyes were wild with intense fear that spoke of a deep terror within him. His mouth was still agape as he continued to struggle to breathe.
What have I done…? I'm the worst friend ever…, Doraemon thought, not even sure how to process all the guilt and shame he was feeling.
"I-I'll go put the fire out right now!" he exclaimed.
He stood up and ran back over to where he had made the bonfire. It was still burning. Doraemon reached into his pocket and began to frantically dig through his gadgets.
Where is it, where is it? he thought in a panic.
He began to pull gadgets out and toss them carelessly onto the ground around him. Finally, he gasped when he pulled out a very large fire extinguisher.
"I found it! The Super Fire Extinguisher!" he exclaimed to himself.
Without hesitation, he aimed the hose of the extinguisher at the fire and squeezed the handles together. He had to take a step back from the force of the foam being ejected from the extinguisher. Due to its advanced nature, it reduced the bonfire to mere ash within seconds. Doraemon let go of the handles, stopping the flow of the foam. He sighed in relief and put the extinguisher back in his pocket.
I guess Dorami was right— I really would find a use for that thing, he thought.
With the fire extinguished, Doraemon could focus his full attention to Doramen. He quickly made his way back to where he'd left the red robot cat. Doramen was now partially curled up in the crevice between the roots of the tree and the trunk. He was laying on his side with his legs tucked against him in the fetal position. The upper half of his body was laying on one of the larger roots. He had one arm draped across the root, which the other one was still covering his face. He was still crying just as hard as he was before Doraemon left.
"The fire is gone, Doramen," Doraemon announced, crouching down by Doramen's face. "I put it out."
Doramen's crying didn't let up, but it was apparent that he wanted to say something. He leaned up and wiped his face with his arm that was covering it, sniffling and whimpering. Finally, he pulled his arm away and opened his eyes, then looking up at Doraemon. The fear was still there. Doramen was still afraid. Doraemon flattened his ears, but tried to smile.
"You don't have to be upset anymore. The fire's gone," he explained.
Doramen was silent for a moment. He looked away from Doraemon as more tears came.
"I just… want to go home…," he croaked, his voice sounding hoarse from all the crying.
I ruined his night! How could I be so dumb? Doraemon thought shamefully.
"Here, I can take you home," he proposed.
Doramen simply nodded in agreement. Doraemon held out his paw to him, which he generously accepted. Doraemon helped pull Doramen to his feet, which proved to be a bit of a challenge for him, since Doramen was quite heavy. Now standing, Doramen bent down and brushed the sand off of his legs. However, he missed most of it, leading Doraemon to believe that he couldn't see that well from the tears blurring his vision. Doraemon opened his mouth, about to offer to get the dirt off for him, before deciding that it might be best not to touch him.
Maybe I can get him a towel or something, Doraemon thought.
He pulled out his Anywhere Door and looked to Doramen for confirmation. Doramen was just standing there now, trying to wipe away the seemingly endless streams of tears.
"Ready to go home?" Doraemon asked him.
Doramen nodded. He didn't feel like talking. He just wanted to escape the memories.
"Take us to Doramen's house," Doraemon said to the Anywhere Door.
He opened it and stepped inside, immediately turning around to make sure Doramen was following. Doramen was indeed following, and stepped through the Anywhere Door's frame. He looked around the room, recognizing it to be his living room. Without hesitation, he went over to the couch and sat down. Doraemon put away his Anywhere Door and quickly did the same.
For a moment, the two sat there awkwardly. Doramen continued to cry, while Doraemon tried to figure out what he should do. After a few moments, he decided to be brave and leaned against Doramen, wrapping his arms around him. He cringed when he felt Doramen's entire body trembling. Only more guilt weighed down on him. Doramen hugged back and leaned his head on Doraemon's chest. Doraemon rubbed Doramen's back lovingly.
"It's okay, Doramen…," he murmured.
Doramen didn't respond. He shoved his face into Doraemon's chest fur, immediately getting it wet with his tears. Doraemon flinched a little at the sensation, but did nothing to stop Doramen. He wanted to do everything he could to make Doramen happy again.
"I promise I will never do that again. I will never build a fire around you again…," he continued, hoping his words were helping.
Doramen let out a whimper as he began to cry harder. His grasp on Doraemon's midsection tightened. Doraemon flattened his ears, finally getting the message.
Just mentioning fire is making him feel worse… I should talk about something else, he thought.
"Everything's okay now… You're safe…," he murmured.
He continued to rub Doramen's back for a few minutes. During that time, Doramen's mood barely changed. He was still crying, and at that point Doraemon feared he would never stop. Doraemon reached over and began to rub Doramen's sides, testing to see Doramen's reaction. Doramen tensed up and whimpered softly at the sensation. He didn't move, though. Curious, Doraemon continued to rub. He noticed that Doramen's fur seemed thicker there than the fur on his back.
Suddenly, Doramen let out a pathetic groan, like the sound a person makes when they want something but they don't want to move to get it themselves. Doraemon stopped rubbing, confused on what Doramen was trying to communicate. Doramen pulled away from Doraemon to reveal that nearly half his face was wet with tears. He sniffled, giving Doraemon a pleading look.
"I know… this is weird, but… Can you rub my belly?" he asked quietly.
He could barely get his words out between the gasping.
"Rub your belly?" Doraemon echoed, glancing down at Doramen's midsection.
Doramen simply nodded. He rubbed his eyes, his chest spasming as he gasped for air repeatedly. Afterwards, he leaned back against Doraemon, but this time he turned his body so that his belly was exposed.
Doraemon hesitated for a brief moment, before reaching over and resting his paw on Doramen's belly. He was immediately met with very thick and soft fur. He gently shoved his paw into the thick fur before he finally felt his paw hit Doramen's "skin". Finally, he began to gently rub up and down the surface of his abdomen.
Doramen immediately grabbed Doraemon's other arm, which was the closest to him, and hugged it, leaning his head on Doraemon's shoulder. Doraemon was taken aback by this, but decided it wasn't worth it to make any comments. He continued to stroke Doramen's belly, surprised by how soft the fur was. He could feel strands of fur wrapping around his paw as he moved it up and down.
I wonder where he came from to get fur like that, he thought.
He had never seen a robot cat with such thick fur before. He figured Doramen must have come from somewhere cold, but there were so many potential places he could have come from that it was impossible for him to know for sure.
Admittedly, he was finding it relaxing to watch Doramen's belly move up and down as he breathed. He rubbed Doramen's belly for a few minutes, disappointed to see that it didn't appear to be helping. Doramen's crying wasn't letting up at the slightest, nor was his trembling. Doraemon could even look down and see Doramen's feet twitching from how much his legs were shaking.
I can't believe this is happening… I've never seen Doramen even remotely this upset before, and it's all my fault…, he thought.
Suddenly, he got an idea, but it would require potentially upsetting Doramen even further. Doraemon looked awkwardly at him.
"Hey Doramen…," he began.
Doramen simply glanced at him, not interested in verbally responding.
"Can you let go of my arm please? I need it for something," Doraemon said.
Doramen whimpered in protest, but obliged. He let go of Doraemon's arm, allowing Doraemon to immediately shove his paw into his pocket and begin digging around inside. Doramen watched him do this with annoyance, but Doraemon didn't notice. Finally, he found what he was looking for, and pulled out his phone. Without even glancing at Doramen, Doraemon pulled up his contacts and called the only person he knew that could help in a situation like this.
"Hey, are you busy?" he asked into the phone.
"…"
"Great! I need you to come over urgently. I… I made a horrible mistake, and now Doramen is really sad. I need your help to cheer him up."
"…"
"Thanks! See you soon!"
Doraemon then ended the call and put his phone back in his pocket. At that point, Doramen didn't even care about Doraemon's plan. He reached out to Doraemon's arm like a child wanting to be held. Doraemon smiled at him and put his arm back where it originally was. Doramen wrapped his arms around it and resumed crying as he was before. Doraemon resumed rubbing his belly, but at that point he knew it was nearly pointless, since he had help on the way.
A few minutes later, an Anywhere Door suddenly materialized in the middle of the room. The door swung open, revealing none other than Doralien. Doralien stepped into the room and made his way over to the couch, but stopped in his tracks when he saw Doramen. His eye widened in surprise at the state of his proclaimed best friend.
"Wow, this is serious," he said.
"Yeah…," Doraemon murmured, looking down shamefully.
"What happened?"
Doraemon hesitated.
"We took a walk out in the woods together, and then we split up for a minute as the sun was setting, and, well… It was getting really cold, so I built a fire to keep us warm…," he explained shamefully.
Doralien's eye widened even more.
"You… built a fire?" he questioned in disbelief.
"Yeah…," Doraemon murmured, nodding his head. "I didn't know it would scare him, especially not this badly…"
Doralien crossed his arms and shook his head slowly.
"Fire is probably his worst fear. It scares him more than anything else," he explained.
"Oh, I'm a terrible friend!" Doraemon wailed, shoving his face into his paws.
"Hey, you didn't know. It's not your fault."
Doraemon looked beside him at Doramen with a hopeless look on his face.
"He just won't stop crying…," he mumbled.
"I've seen Doramen go through this multiple times before. It's just how he gets when he has an attack," Doralien said.
"An attack..?"
"Yeah. You could also call it an 'episode' or a 'moment'. It's just what I call it when he's exposed to fire and gets upset."
"I can't believe this is happening…"
Doralien stood there for a moment, thinking about what he should do. He took a seat on the couch on the other side of Doramen.
"You okay, buddy..?" Doralien asked softly.
Doramen shook his head. He lifted his face off of Doraemon's shoulder as if he wanted to say something, but he immediately began gasping for air so violently that he couldn't get any words out. After a few seconds, he gave up and shoved his face back into the fur.
Doralien crossed his arms thoughtfully. He watched Doramen continue to cry for a few moments before a smile came to his face.
"Doramen, how about I make you some cookies? Hmm? How about some peanut butter cookies?" he proposed.
Doramen once again lifted his face from Doraemon's shoulder to speak, but he began gasping and whimpering too much to speak. The frustration of not being able to talk made him start to cry harder.
"Do you want peanut butter cookies?" Doralien asked, rephrasing the question so Doramen could answer nonverbally.
Doramen nodded. He wiped his face aggressively, trying to rid the tears so he could look at Doralien properly. Doralien, however, didn't give him time to do that. He got up from the couch and went into the kitchen. He already knew Doramen would have the ingredients needed to make peanut butter cookies.
While Doralien began to prepare the cookies, Doramen resumed his earlier position. Doraemon went back to rubbing Doramen's belly, hoping the combination of the cookies and belly-rubbing would make him happy.
…
Doralien walked into the living room carrying a paper plate. He sat down on the couch in the same spot he had before and offered Doramen the plate. Doramen, despite not seeing Doralien sit down, could hear him, and knew what it meant. He sat up and turned to Doralien, only to be greeted with a plate full of fresh, warm peanut butter cookies. He was too upset to smile, so he simply nodded to show his gratitude, and took the plate from Doralien. Doralien just smiled at him, not really expecting any kind of verbal response.
Doramen leaned his head back on Doraemon's shoulder, but didn't grab his arm. Instead, he grabbed a cookie and took a bite out of it.
"How is it?" Doralien asked.
Doramen wished he could tell Doralien how delicious the cookie was. Instead, he nodded. Doralien shrugged, figuring Doramen was happy with the taste, and leaned back in his seat.
Over the next couple hours, the three robot cats watched two movies that Doralien claimed that Doramen notably enjoyed. Doramen's mood fluctuated dramatically during the movies. There were times where he seemed to calm down, and his crying would slow, before he would suddenly get riled up again and start crying harder. Doraemon felt so helpless watching Doramen go from being content to crying his eyes out over and over again.
Doralien had tried to explain to Doraemon that there wasn't much he could do beyond simply keeping Doramen company and satisfying his somewhat aggressive needs to cuddle. Doraemon felt like he should be able to do more, but he didn't protest. He trusted that Doralien knew what he was talking about. If nothing but cuddles made Doramen feel better, then Doraemon was going to do nothing but cuddle.
After the second movie, Doraemon was growing restless and bored. He'd been rubbing Doramen's belly for what felt like ages. Doramen was going through a calm phase at the moment, but Doraemon knew that at any second he could suddenly start sobbing once more.
Suddenly, a quiet noise began emanating from Doramen. Caught off guard, Doraemon glanced at his lover. Doramen's eyes were nearly closed, but not quite. This told Doraemon that he was awake, so it wasn't snoring that he was hearing. The sound was a constant, quiet sound that seemed to be coming from inside Doramen.
Doraemon moved his paw higher up, closer to Doramen's chest, where he could feel a gentle vibration. For a moment, he feared that Doramen was growling, but he quickly realized that the noise didn't sound hostile or aggressive in nature.
Doraemon looked over at Doralien, surprised to see that Doralien looked very excited. He was looking at Doramen with a big smile on his face.
"What's that sound?" Doraemon asked him as quietly as he possibly could.
"Can't you tell? He's purring!" Doralien exclaimed quietly.
Doraemon was taken aback by that response. He'd never heard a robot cat purr before, other than himself. As he listened, he realized that it was indeed purring. He was fascinated to hear this sound come from a creature other than a domestic cat.
Doramen's eyes finally closed as his purring grew slightly quieter. Doraemon continued to rub his midsection, wondering if Doramen was going to stay awake or not. His arm was really getting tired, but there was no way he was going to stop. He couldn't take the risk of setting Doramen off again.
Doramen's purrs were occasionally interrupted by a soft gasp caused by the crying, but the gasps came farther and farther apart as time went on. Doraemon's guilt was finally starting to lift off his shoulders. He was overjoyed to have found an effective way to soothe his lover. Before, he didn't really know what to do when Doramen was unhappy. Giving him a rice cake didn't always work. Although Doramen really liked rice cakes, it was clear that he didn't love them like Doraemon loved his yummy buns. Doraemon always felt rather uncomfortable when Doramen wasn't in a good mood, because he never had any idea of how to cheer him up. Learning that Doramen loved to have his tummy rubbed was an amazing discovery to Doraemon. Now things didn't have to be awkward anymore.
Suddenly, Doramen's purring faded away until it stopped completely. Doraemon looked down at Doramen's belly and watched his breathing. His breathing was slow and calm. Doraemon looked up at Doramen's face. His eyes were closed, and his expression was completely emotionless. Doraemon realized with a wave of relief that Doramen had fallen asleep.
Finally, he's not crying anymore!
A warm smile came to his face. His guilt finally went away as he realized that he successfully fixed his terrible mistake. He upset Doramen, but now Doramen had calmed down enough to where he could sleep peacefully. He looked over at Doralien. The teal robot cat looked just as happy as Doraemon did. Doralien cautiously got off the couch and walked up to Doraemon.
"I'm gonna go. Thanks for helping calm him down. I really appreciate it, and I know he will too when he wakes up," he whispered into Doraemon's ear.
Doraemon simply nodded, too afraid to speak in fear of waking Doramen. Doralien waved goodbye to him before leaving via his Anywhere Door. Not wanting to disturb his lover, Doraemon stayed right where he was, although he decided to stop rubbing Doramen's belly and give his arm a break. He sat there awkwardly for a moment before he couldn't resist turning his head and giving Doramen a peck on the cheek.
I'm sorry I upset you, Doramen… I had no idea you were so scared of fire… I promise I'll never mention it around you again. But, I can't help but wonder… What happened to you that made you so afraid..?