Chapter 18: Doraemon's Birthday
Doramen tapped his foot impatiently as he watched the timer on the oven slowly tick down.
"Can't this thing cook any faster?" he asked, glancing behind his shoulder.
Doralien was sitting at the table in the nearby dining room, sorting through his textbooks.
"Relax buddy, it'll be done soon," he replied.
"You sure it'll be done before you have to go?" Doramen fretted, crossing his arms.
"Yes, I'm sure."
Doramen lifted his leg and kicked his foot back and forth along the smooth hardwood floor. He continued to watch the seconds tick by on the timer.
Doralien put his textbooks into his pocket and stood up. He walked into the kitchen and came up beside Doramen.
"You're really just gonna stand there?" he asked.
"It's almost done," Doramen pointed out. "Might as well stay here."
Doralien glanced at the timer. It had less than a minute left. He went over to the counter and put on a pair of oven mitts. He didn't even have to say anything to know that Doramen wouldn't feel comfortable putting his paws into the hot oven.
A few seconds later, the timer went off. Doramen looked at Doralien, clearly expecting him to open the oven. Doralien smiled at him and went over to the oven. He opened the door, revealing a chocolate cake sitting delicately on a baking sheet in the middle of the rack. Doramen peeked around Doralien's shoulder and looked inside. He smiled, delighted at the sight of the cake, but his smile quickly faded when he started to feel the heat from the oven. He took several steps backwards and stood beside the counter, fiddling his paws.
Doralien reached into the oven and gently grabbed the small baking sheet the cake was sitting on. He straightened, then cautiously carried the cake over to the counter. A large cloud of steam floated up from the cake's surface.
Doralien quickly went back to the oven and closed it, then turned it off. He returned to the counter and slipped off his oven mitts.
"How does it look?" he asked, looking at Doramen.
Doramen came up beside him and sniffed the cake.
"It looks great! And it smells delicious!" he exclaimed.
Doralien opened a drawer and pulled out several squeeze-able packets of frosting. He set them on the counter in front of Doramen.
"Knock yourself out, buddy," he said with a smile.
Doramen's eyes lit up with excitement. He immediately grabbed one of the packets, which was labeled with dark blue, and began to smother the top of the cake in icing. Doralien stepped back and watched his friend decorate the cake.
After decorating the top of the cake, Doramen began to cover the sides of the cake with the same color. Soon, the entire cake was covered in blue icing.
"How does this look?" Doramen asked, pointing to his work.
"That looks great!" Doralien praised.
Doramen's smile grew. He grabbed another pack of icing, this one labeled with yellow, and began to delicately write on the top of the cake. He bit his lip, concentrating.
After a few moments, he set down the packet of icing. He once again looked at Doralien expectantly and pointed to the cake. Doralien leaned over and took a peek. "Happy birthday Doraemon" had been written in Doramen's distinctly sloppy handwriting.
"Great job! I'm sure Doraemon will love it!" Doralien exclaimed.
Doramen giggled happily, a light blush spreading across his cheeks. Doralien glanced behind his shoulder to check the clock on the oven. He gasped and dug through his pocket to make sure he'd grabbed all of his supplies.
"I gotta go, Doramen. Class is about to start," he said hurriedly, giving Doramen an apologetic look.
"Aww, okay. Well thank you for helping me with the cake," Doramen replied, disappointed but still in a good mood.
"No problem, buddy. Tell Doraemon 'happy birthday' for me!"
Doralien pulled out his Anywhere Door and told it to go to the Robot Academy. He said his goodbyes to Doramen and left. Once the door disappeared, Doramen turned his gaze back to the cake. Its delicious smell was making him salivate.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He opened his text conversation with Doraemon, and pressed a button to call him. The phone made the distinct muffled noise that indicated it was calling Doraemon's phone. Doraemon picked up after a few rings.
"Hello?" he asked.
"Hey Doraemon! Happy birthday!" Doramen greeted.
Doraemon giggled.
"Oh, thank you!" he said.
There was a brief silence as he realized something.
"Wait, shouldn't you be in class right now?" he asked.
"Well, uhh… I may have skipped school," Doramen answered sheepishly.
"You skipped school? Why?"
"Because it's your special day! I want to be here for you!"
Doraemon was silent for a moment.
"Well, that's very nice of you. You're welcome to come over at any time," he said.
"I'll be over right away!" Doramen exclaimed.
"Okay! I'll be waiting for you."
Doramen hung up the call and immediately went over to the pantry, where he rummaged around and found a cake holder. He came back to the kitchen and gingerly set the cake onto the bottom part of the holder, then put the lid on.
I hope he likes this, he thought.
He picked up the cake holder and left his house, then began to carefully make his way to Doraemon's house. A nice breeze ruffled his whiskers. He loved the climate of September: not too cold, but not too hot. It was the perfect balance between summer and winter. The leaves on the trees hadn't quite begun to turn red and orange yet.
A few minutes passed before Doramen spotted Doraemon's house come into view. His smile grew as he became excited. He walked faster, making sure to keep an eye on the cake.
Soon, he arrived. He walked up to the front door and knocked. Footsteps approached the door, and then it opened.
Doramen fought hard to keep his smile as he gazed at Doraemon. The guilt of what he'd done suddenly came crashing down on him as he was reminded of it. He tried to speak, but his words caught in his throat.
"Hey Doramen! Please, come in!" Doraemon greeted, stepping to the side.
Doramen swallowed hard and walked inside. Doraemon closed the front door and came up beside him.
"What's that you got?" Doraemon asked, pointing to the cake holder that Doramen had in his paws.
Doramen looked down at it. He was still struggling to stay positive.
"Something for you," he answered bluntly.
"Is something wrong, Doramen? You don't look very happy," Doraemon said, putting his paw on Doramen's shoulder.
Doramen sighed sadly.
"You shouldn't be spending your birthday like this," he murmured.
Doraemon was silent. He knew what Doramen was referring to.
"I don't mind, really. It's okay," he murmured.
Doramen looked at Doraemon, then let his gaze lower. His ears flattened as he stared at the large bump in Doraemon's belly.
"I'm sorry this is happening," he mumbled.
Doraemon was silent for a moment. He wanted to choose his words carefully.
"Stop putting yourself down. It's been almost four months now. This wasn't ideal, but at this point we need to just accept it," he scolded.
"This wouldn't be happening if I just hadn't been selfish," Doramen argued.
"You keep saying that like you were the only one who had an opinion."
Doraemon paused, averting his gaze and blushing.
"I wanted you to do it. We both wanted to. That doesn't make you selfish. It wasn't your fault that it didn't go as planned" he continued.
"I guess," Doramen mumbled, shifting his feet.
Doraemon suddenly grabbed Doramen's collar and pulled him forward, making their lips connect. Doramen nearly dropped his cake from the shock. Doraemon released the kiss after a few seconds, smiling at the deep blush on Doramen's face.
"Stop worrying, Doramen. This isn't your fault. I don't blame you for any of this," he said.
Doramen finally nodded in acceptance. It was hard for him to stay upset after that kiss.
"Okay," he mumbled.
"Now, come on, I want to see what's in that container," Doraemon said, gesturing to the cake holder.
Doramen smiled a little and took Doraemon to the kitchen. He set the container down onto the counter and took the lid off.
"Wow! A cake! Thank you so much!" Doraemon exclaimed, his eyes lighting up. "Did you make this?"
"Me and Doralien cooked it together," Doramen answered sheepishly. "Which by the way, Doralien wanted me to tell you happy birthday."
"Well tell him I said thank you for the cake."
Doraemon opened a nearby drawer and pulled out a knife and two forks, then went to a cabinet and got two plates. He cut two slices from the cake and put a piece on each plate. Then, he handed Doramen one of the forks.
"Oh, thank you, Doraemon," Doramen said with a smile.
Doraemon smiled back and picked up his plate. Doramen watched as he used his fork to dig out a piece of the cake slice, then stuck the piece in his mouth. He chewed for a few seconds, then his smile grew.
"This is great!" he exclaimed.
"Oh, I'm so glad you like it!" Doramen said, putting his paws together.
He grabbed his slice and also took a bite.
"Wow, you're right! This is pretty good!" he continued.
Doraemon gestured for Doramen to follow him. He took Doramen into the living room and sat down on the couch, then gestured for Doramen to sit down beside him. Doramen did so without hesitation.
"I'm really glad you were able to come visit," Doraemon said.
Doramen nodded in agreement. He hated that Doraemon was forced to stay home all day with nobody to hang out with. The yellow robot cat had managed to make a deal with the Robot Academy over the situation. He was let go from his classes and allowed to stay home, but he was still enrolled, so he was still getting the benefits from being a student. Since he didn't have classes anymore, he wasn't receiving schoolwork, and therefore was not learning. The deal was that he would have to make it up later by either enrolling in summer school or piling on an extra semester at the end and delay his graduation.
Doramen, Doralien, and Dorami all still had to attend their classes as usual, leaving them unavailable to spend time with Doraemon. Although Doramen had tried to get let go as well since he was the father, he was denied since he was still fit to attend school, and Doraemon could take care of himself while everyone was in class. The Robot Academy clearly didn't want to deal with having to let go more than one student over the situation. Doraemon and Doramen had both been heavily scolded by the Academy's higher ups when they went to discuss their options over the situation. The Academy made it very clear that they would not be so kind if Doraemon were to somehow get pregnant a second time, or God forbid, Doramen also became pregnant. Doramen did his best to assure them that neither of those things would happen, but he wasn't sure they ever believed him. He was just thankful that Doraemon didn't have to deal with the stress of work and classes.
To Doramen's relief, Dorami never appeared to be angry about the whole thing. She was always her normal nice and friendly self whenever she talked to Doramen. She'd even offered to help care for Doraemon when Doramen was too busy with homework to visit. Doramen was thankful that she was being supportive, since he'd been expecting her to chew him out for letting such a thing happen to her brother.
He couldn't help but glance back down at Doraemon's belly.
I can't believe I'm going to be a father…, he thought.
He ate more of his cake as he tried to imagine his future. What would the kittens look like? Would they be boys or girls? Doramen couldn't help but blush a little as he imagined one of the kittens looking exactly like him. He and Doraemon had found out that they were only having two kittens, so it was pleasant to imagine one of them being a tiny copy of him, and the other one being a tiny copy of Doraemon.
"What are you blushing about?" Doraemon asked teasingly.
Doramen jolted out of his thoughts. He looked over at Doraemon with a sheepish smile.
"I was thinking about what the kittens might look like," he admitted.
"They'll look like you and me, silly," Doraemon teased.
Doramen shyly shoved a piece of cake into his mouth to avoid having to continue the conversation. He averted his gaze as his mind began to wander more. He couldn't help but continue daydreaming about the kittens. Although he was still upset at his past self for letting such a terrible mistake occur, he had to admit, he was starting to grow excited for the big day to come. The curiosity about what the kittens will look and act like was starting to bug him.
He finished his slice a few moments later, and put his empty plate into his pocket, along with the fork. He looked over at Doraemon and saw that he was eating his last bite.
"So, what do you want to do, birthday boy?" Doramen asked teasingly.
Doraemon blushed a little. He was silent for a few moments, thinking. As he thought, he didn't notice Doramen gradually scooting closer to him.
"It's your special day. We can do whatever you want," Doramen murmured flirtatiously as he wrapped his arm around Doraemon's shoulders.
Doraemon blushed.
"I want to do something… romantic," he said.
"Like what?" Doramen asked softly.
"What do you think about watching a movie?"
"That sounds lovely."
Doraemon averted his gaze shyly.
"Let's go to my room. The bed is much more comfortable than the couch," he murmured.
"Okay! Here, I'll help you get settled in," Doramen proposed, standing up.
He reached out his paw for Doraemon to take. Doraemon did so, and Doramen helped pull him to his feet. The two robot cats went to Doraemon's bedroom, where Doramen made sure Doraemon was comfortable and situated. After that, Doraemon explained which movie he wanted to watch, and thus Doramen retrieved it and got it set up on the TV. It was only then that he joined Doraemon in the bed.
"Comfy?" he asked as he got situated beside Doraemon.
"Yes, very," Doraemon answered with a warm smile.
Doramen then proceeded to start the movie. He leaned his head against Doraemon's lovingly, glancing at his lover to make sure he was okay. Doraemon leaned back, and the two turned their attention to the TV.
About 30 minutes into the movie, Doramen started to feel uncomfortable in his current position. He glanced around, trying to think of how he can better position himself, before getting an idea. He turned his body so that he was now perpendicular to Doraemon and laid on his side, resting his head on Doraemon's chest. Doraemon blushed when he noticed what Doramen was doing, but he decided not to say anything.
Feeling the urge to stretch out his arms in front of him, Doramen had no choice but to drape one arm across Doraemon's chest, and rest the other one on Doraemon's belly.
"Comfortable?" Doraemon asked.
"Very," Doramen answered. "Am I hurting you?"
"Not at all. Just don't put too much weight on my tummy."
Doramen nodded in understanding. He adjusted his head a little until he could hear Doraemon's heartbeat. It was such a soothing sound. For a moment he wondered if he could hear the kittens' heartbeat, but he didn't feel like moving and bothering Doraemon to find out.
I can check after the movie, he thought.
Although Doraemon's belly was somewhat in his way, he was able to enjoy the movie in peace. Doraemon eventually began to pet Doramen's head, stroking his ears and ruffling the fur on the top of his head. Doramen found the sensation to be very pleasing, in a non-sexual way. His ears were very sensitive, so Doraemon's gentle stroking felt amazing. His back arched a little each time Doraemon sent his paw all the way from the base of ears to the very tips.
"Do you like that?" Doraemon asked with concern.
"Yes, that feels incredible when you touch my ears," Doramen murmured.
"Oh, good. I was worried I was hurting you."
"Not at all."
Doraemon continued to pet him, which eventually led to Doramen beginning to purr. He was so relaxed he almost felt like falling asleep. The constant stroking of his ears was giving him a natural high. For a moment, he forgot all about his regret and anger towards himself. Everything seemed like it was going to be okay.
"I love you so much, Doraemon," he said suddenly, leaning forward and giving Doraemon's belly a kiss.
"I love you too, Doramen," Doraemon murmured, smiling warmly at him.
Doramen suddenly got off of Doraemon and sat up. He grabbed Doraemon's collar and pulled him into a deep kiss. Doraemon froze for a moment, taken aback, but was soon able to kiss back. They held the kiss for several seconds, closing their eyes and letting it sink in. Eventually, Doramen broke it, smiling at Doraemon.
"I hope you've been having a good birthday," he said.
"I have, now that you're here," Doraemon replied, blushing lightly.
Doramen blushed darkly, giving Doraemon a goofy, flustered smile. He giggled shyly and rubbed the side of his head.
"I'm glad I can make you happy," he murmured.
Doraemon glanced at the TV and noticed that the movie had ended.
"The movie's over," he pointed out.
Doramen looked over at the TV.
"Oh, yeah, you're right," he remarked.
"Do you want to go do something else now?" Doraemon asked.
"Not yet. I want to stay here."
Doramen resumed his earlier position.
"So, how have you been, Doraemon? Are you happy? Sad? Stressed?" he asked.
"I've been good. This has been hard to adjust to, though," Doraemon answered.
"What's it like?"
"It's… weird. For a long time, I kept getting sick every day, and I felt tired all the time. I didn't want to do anything but lay down and rest. Dorami said she thought I was acting weird. I got mad at a lot of things that I don't usually get mad at. Those things are better now though, but my back hurts a lot, and sometimes my feet hurt too. I just feel… achy."
Doramen nodded thoughtfully.
"Can you feel the kittens inside of you?" he asked.
"Sometimes I feel them moving," Doraemon answered.
"That sounds scary."
"It's not that bad, actually. I kind of like it. It makes me feel like they're safe."
Doramen tried to imagine what that was like. He shivered at the thought of feeling something moving inside of him.
"Are you looking forward to the kittens being born?" Doraemon asked suddenly.
"I guess so," Doramen mumbled.
"You're not excited?"
"I wish this wasn't happening."
"Buck up, Doramen! You're gonna be a dad! Doesn't that excite you?"
"I wish I became a father because I wanted to be a father, not because I made a terrible mistake."
Doraemon flattened his ears, disappointed by Doramen's lack of enthusiasm.
"I'm sure you'll feel better once it gets closer to my due date," he said.
Doramen just shrugged his shoulders.
Suddenly, Doraemon gasped and widened his eyes. Doramen immediately panicked and got off of his lover in the blink of an eye.
"What's wrong, Doraemon?" he asked worriedly.
"I just remembered something!" Doraemon exclaimed.
"What is it?"
Doraemon blushed and fiddled his paws in embarrassment.
"I talked to Dorami this morning before she went to the Academy, and she told me that she had tried to get me one of those huge yummy buns from the bakery for my birthday, but they were out of stock," he explained.
"Oh, that's terrible!" Doramen exclaimed.
"Since she couldn't get me one, I thought about just making one myself… And since you're here, do you want to help me?"
"You want me to help you cook a giant yummy bun?"
"I-if you want to… You don't have to, especially since I know you're allergic…"
"I would be more than happy to help you! Yummy buns are only harmful to me if I eat one. I can touch them and be just fine."
Doraemon perked up excitedly, his eyes shining with excitement.
"You mean it? You'll help me?" he asked.
"Of course! I would love to cook with you," Doramen replied with a warm smile.
"Oh, thank you, Doramen! Come on, let's go get started."
The two robot cats eagerly left the bedroom and headed to the kitchen.
"What should I do first?" Doramen asked as he watched Doraemon already start gathering the ingredients.
"Could you get me the flour? It's in the far cabinet over there," Doraemon answered, pointing to the cabinets at the very edge of the kitchen.
"Sure thing!"
Doramen went over to the cabinets and opened them. He was greeted by several bags of flour, among a few other common cooking ingredients like brown sugar and vegetable oil. Shrugging, he grabbed the bag of flour that was closest to him and carried it back to Doraemon. The yellow robot cat had already set up a little workstation on the counter. He'd moved the cake over by the oven, giving him plenty of space.
"Where do you want this?" Doramen asked, immediately feeling guilty that Doraemon was doing most of the work.
"Right here, please," Doraemon answered, gesturing to an empty space on the counter.
Doramen set down the bag of flour, surprised at how many ingredients were already there.
"You're fast," he commented.
"I've done this a million times. I know exactly where all my ingredients are and where to put them!" Doraemon replied confidently.
"Is that everything we need?"
"Actually, I still need the tools. Could you get me a bowl, please? They're over there."
Doramen only had to take a few steps to find the right cabinet. He picked out a large, plastic blue bowl and brought it back to Doraemon.
"Is this big enough?" he asked.
"That's perfect! Set it down here, please," Doraemon instructed, gesturing to another space on the counter. "Oh, and could you also grab my whisk? It's back by the flour, in the drawer down below."
"Okay!"
Doramen set down the bowl and eagerly went back to where he'd gotten the flour from. He opened the drawer and immediately saw a whisk lying amongst other cooking utensils like spatulas, steak knives, and a ladle. He grabbed the whisk and brought it back to Doraemon.
"Thank you, Doramen. Now we need to take some of these ingredients and put them in the bowl," Doraemon explained. "Would you like to crack the eggs?"
"Sure!" Doramen replied eagerly.
Doraemon slid over the carton of eggs to him.
"Crack four of them, please," he instructed.
"Yessir!" Doramen remarked.
He grabbed the edge of the bowl with one paw and scooped up an egg with the other. Squinting, he carefully whacked the egg against the edge of the bowl until the shell was broken considerably. Then, he grabbed the egg with both paws and separated the two halves of the shell, leaving the yolk to plummet into the bowl.
"Make sure to check for any shell bits! Sometimes they break off when you crack the egg and they fall in with the yolk," Doraemon said.
"Right," Doramen mumbled, feeling a little embarrassed that he'd already been preparing to crack the next egg.
He returned the egg to the carton and looked into the bowl. He looked as best he could, and he saw no shell bits.
"I don't see anything," he reported.
"Good, good. Go ahead and crack the rest of them," Doraemon replied.
Doramen took great care to crack each egg with as much ease as he could. Each time he remembered to check the bowl for shell bits, but he never saw any, to his relief. Once all four eggs had been successfully cracked, and Doramen left to wash his paws, Doraemon poured sugar and honey into the bowl.
"What's next?" Doramen asked as he dried off his paws as quickly as he could.
"Now we use the whisk to stir up the ingredients," Doraemon explained.
"You should do that part. I don't want you to get left out."
"No, it's fine. I want you to do it."
"You sure?"
"Yeah! I like watching you."
Doramen blushed lightly at that. He shyly grabbed the bowl and whisk, then began to cautiously whisk the ingredients together. Doraemon watched him, smiling warmly.
"How is this looking?" Doramen asked, continuing to whisk.
"It looks good, but keep going!" Doraemon instructed.
Doramen nodded in understanding and continued to whisk. He started intently down at the bowl, watching the eggs, sugar, and honey get mixed up together in a big glob.
"That's good, you can stop!" Doraemon said after several seconds of silence.
Doramen immediately stopped whisking. He set the bowl back down on the counter and looked at Doraemon expectantly.
"What now?" he asked.
"Now we add the flour and baking powder," Doraemon answered.
He grabbed the flour and, without hesitation, poured it into a measuring cup and dumped it into the bowl.
"Do you want to do the baking powder? It's only a teaspoon," he said.
"Sure!" Doramen replied cheerfully.
He took the baking powder and gingerly poured it into a measuring spoon, spilling some on the counter.
"Sorry!" he exclaimed, immediately setting down the baking powder as a terrible guilt washed over him.
"Don't sweat it, Doramen. I can clean it up real quick while you put the baking powder in the bowl," Doraemon replied.
Doramen sighed to himself and reluctantly obeyed, ignoring the spill and pouring the baking powder into the bowl. Doraemon came up beside him and swiftly cleaned up the relatively small amount of baking powder sitting on the counter.
"Now we whisk again," he remarked. "Do you want me to do it?"
"Yes, you do it. I want you to do some of the actual fun," Doramen replied.
Doraemon picked up the whisk and bowl and began to whisk away. Doramen watched him curiously, immediately seeing that Doraemon was doing a better job than him.
I need to step it up, he thought.
"Alright, now we refrigerate it for 15 minutes," Doraemon said once he finished whisking.
He took the bowl to his refrigerator and set it inside, then closed the door.
"So we wait now?" Doramen asked.
"Yep," Doraemon replied as he set a timer on his oven.
Doramen leaned against the counter, trying to think of what to do to pass the time.
"Doramen, I just want to say that you've been doing great. I really appreciate the help. I love yummy buns, but sometimes they can be a real pain to cook by myself," Doraemon said, coming up behind Doramen and hugging him.
"I'm glad I've been able to help," Doramen replied as he blushed.
He reached up and hooked his paws on Doraemon's arms as sort of a way to try and hug back.
"I bet this yummy bun is going to come out amazing," Doraemon remarked.
"I hope so…"
….
Doramen nearly leapt out of his fur when the timer finally went off. Doraemon calmly went over to the fridge and retrieved the bowl.
"It doesn't look any different," Doramen commented, pointing to the batter.
"Maybe not, but it's what we want," Doraemon replied.
"So, what's the next step?"
"Now we add a tablespoon of water. Could you do that, Doramen?"
"Of course!"
Doramen grabbed the tablespoon measuring spoon and filled it to the brim with water, then poured said water into the bowl.
"Perfect. Now it's time to cook them!" Doraemon exclaimed excitedly.
He grabbed a large frying pan he'd set on the counter and went over to his stove, Doramen following curiously. Doraemon took a few moments to adjust the heat settings, then set the frying pan on one of the burners.
"Could you get the bowl and a ladle, please? I'm going to get the oil on," he said to Doramen.
"Sure!" Doramen replied.
He went back to the drawer where he'd found the whisk and grabbed a ladle. Then, he passed by the counter and got the bowl, then returned to Doraemon.
"How much of this do you want me to pour?" he asked.
"A lot. I want these yummy buns to be huuuuge!" Doraemon answered enthusiastically.
"Wait, you're making more than one?"
"The frying pan isn't big enough to make just one yummy bun and not have any batter left over."
"Oh, that makes sense."
Doramen scooped up batter with the ladle and began to pour, filling up a large majority of the frying pan before Doraemon eventually told him to stop.
The two robot cats stood for a minute, watching the batter cook. Eventually, Doraemon took a spatula and carefully flipped it over to cook the other side. It didn't take long for both sides to cook, and once they did, Doramen took the pancake and transferred it to a plate on the counter.
They repeated this process for several minutes until they ran out of batter. By the end of it, they were able to cook four pancakes, which would equal two yummy buns. After waiting a few minutes for the pancakes to cool down, they were ready to move on to the final step.
"Gosh, they smell so good!" Doraemon exclaimed as he grabbed a canister of bean paste.
He picked up one of the pancakes and used a butter knife to carefully spread the bean paste along it as if it were a slice of bread. After he got it to just his liking, Doramen came with another pancake and gently set it on top of the first pancake, essentially creating a big sandwich. They repeated this process with the other two pancakes, and now they were finished.
"We did it! We made yummy buns!" Doramen exclaimed triumphantly.
Doraemon didn't even say anything. He grabbed one of the yummy buns and took a big bite out of it.
"How is it?" Doramen asked.
"Wow, it's amazing! I love it!" Doraemon exclaimed.
"Hooray!"
"Thank you so much for your help, Doramen. I really appreciate it."
"Of course, Doraemon! I had fun cooking with you, and I'm really glad you like your yummy buns."
Doraemon flattened his ears as he began to feel guilty.
"I'm sorry you have nothing to eat. I should have whipped you up something too," he murmured.
"It's fine, don't worry about it. I can just eat some more cake," Doramen replied.
He grabbed a plate and cut himself a slice of the cake that was unfortunately cold now. The temperature didn't bother him, though. He ate the slice like it was nothing, while Doraemon chowed down on his yummy bun.
"This birthday has been great," Doraemon remarked.
"I'm so glad I could be here to make you happy, Doraemon," Doramen replied with a warm smile.
"Me too. You've really made my day."
….
"This rain is ridiculous," Dorami muttered to herself as she stepped around a puddle.
School was over for the day, allowing her to finally wish her brother a happy birthday. She'd been worrying about him all day, anxious that he was going to end up not having a good birthday. She assumed Doramen was spending time with him since he hadn't showed up to school, but that didn't do much to reassure her. There was no telling what the red robot cat was up to.
Raindrops dripped off all sides of her umbrella. She couldn't see that well, but thanks to the Anywhere Door, she was able to find the front door to Doraemon's house. She walked up to the door and knocked. It took a few moments, but eventually Doraemon opened the door.
"Hey, sis!" he greeted, delighted to see her.
"Happy birthday, Big Brother!" Dorami greeted back.
"Thank you! Please, come in!"
Doraemon stepped to the side, just like he did with Doramen. Dorami walked inside the house and looked around as she folded up her umbrella and shoved it into her pocket. She stepped into the kitchen and noticed the yummy buns and the cake sitting on the counter.
"Who got you the cake?" she asked, gesturing to it.
"Oh, Doramen did. He cooked it," Doraemon answered with a big smile.
"Doramen made you a cake? That's nice of him."
"Yeah. He's in the living room, actually."
Dorami looked into the living room. She could see Doramen's arm resting on the armrest of the couch.
How long has he been here? she wondered.
Still, she figured she might as well say hello. She stepped into the living room and slowly walked around the side of the couch. Doramen was sitting on the end of the couch, eating another slice of cake. He was watching some movie on the TV.
"Hey Doramen," Dorami greeted quietly.
Doramen looked up at her, surprised.
"Oh, hi Dorami," he greeted back.
"How long have you been here?" Dorami asked.
"All day."
"So that's why you never showed up at school."
"I wanted to make sure that Doraemon wouldn't be alone on his birthday."
Dorami couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt. She wished she could have been around to spend time with Doraemon as well. Not that she didn't trust Doramen to keep him company, but rather she just wanted to spend quality time with her brother on his special day.
Doraemon came into the living room and sat down next to Doramen.
"Do you want anything, sis? You're welcome to have some cake," he said.
"No thank you, you two can have that. I just wanted to check up on you," Dorami replied, walking around to the other side of the couch to stand beside him.
"Here, have a seat."
Doraemon patted the empty spot beside him. Dorami decided there was no harm in sticking around for a little bit, so she sat down.
"Big Brother, how has your birthday been?" she asked.
"It's been great!" Doraemon answered. "Doramen has been spending time with me all day. We've had a lot of fun together. Did you see those big yummy buns in the kitchen? We made those!"
Dorami glanced at Doramen. The red robot cat was looking in her direction, listening to the conversation.
"I'm glad to hear that. I've been worried that you wouldn't have a good birthday because of, well…"
Dorami trailed off. Doraemon fiddled his paws, knowing exactly what she was referring to.
"I haven't let that stop me from enjoying my special day," he said.
"That's good. I hope it hasn't been bothering you too much," Dorami replied.
"It seems like it's been forever since I wasn't like this. I'm getting used to it."
"Have the kittens been troublesome for you?"
"Not really. I'm learning how to manage the pain."
Dorami sighed a little.
"I'll be glad when this is over," she murmured.
Doraemon didn't respond. He didn't want to "trigger" Doramen's seemingly never-ending guilt about the ordeal.
"The only thing that matters right now is that Doraemon is happy and healthy," Doramen chimed in suddenly.
Dorami looked at him for a moment, not expecting him to say anything, before nodding in agreement. She then turned to Doraemon.
"We're here for you, Big Brother. Always. I don't want you to feel like you're all alone in this situation. Me and Doramen are here to help, and maybe Doralien too," she said.
A small smile came to Doraemon's face. He felt reassured by that.
"Thank you," he murmured.
Dorami held out her arms and brought Doraemon into a gentle hug. Doramen leaned forward and also hugged him. Doraemon's smile grew as he hugged them both with each arm.
"You won't go through this alone, I promise you. I'll be here for you as much as I can," Doramen murmured.
Doraemon leaned his head against Doramen's.
"Thank you, both of you…"