Work Text:
Nobita Nobi was a simple sixteen year-old boy, attending the second year of high school. He didn’t have any particular hobbies, aside from making figures with strings, gunning and sleeping.
«Nobita-kun! Mom has been calling you for a while now!» Doraemon exclaimed, suddenly entering his room.
Doraemon was a robot cat that came from the 22nd century. Why? To save Nobita’s future, of course! They started off badly, but they became the bestest of friends year after year.
«Ah! What time is it?!» Nobita jumped out of his bed, freeing himself from the blanket. He started running around the room, as he looked for his school uniform.
«It’s almost eight! Hurry up!»
Doraemon sighed, “Nobita-kun never changed… I can’t believe he gets to school late at his age!” he thought. Once Nobita finished dressing himself up, he went to the kitchen to take a quick toast and dashed out of home—forgetting to greet his mother—to run towards the school. When he arrived, Nobita sighed in relief realizing he came just in time to see his friends enter.
«Nobita-san!» Shizuka called him.
«Hey, Nobita! Still late as usual, huh?» Gian told him.
Suneo smirked, «He’s always the same»
And Dekisugi was with them, as well, «Hello, Nobi-kun»
They all were his classmates for years, since kindergarten to be specific. Shizuka Minamoto was his long lasting crush for years, but seeing she wasn’t particularly interested, Nobita decided to get over her as he only wanted her to be happy (though he still admitted she was his crush). She also improved much with piano and violin, surprisingly!
Suneo Honekawa had always been a rich kid, still such a self-centered and show off kind of guy. Yet, Nobita had a lot of adventures and bonds with him when they were children. That couldn’t change now, right?
Takeshi Gouda, although he started working out and having a lot of girls and admiration from everyone, he still called himself Gian, and everyone kept calling him that. He still was a bit menacing when talking to people, but had fortunately understood not to beat up people just to have something for himself.
Hidetoshi Dekisugi, still the genius of his class and everyone admired him for his intelligence. Still, the opposite of Nobita who didn’t want to compete with him. Even in high school, Nobita was still jealous of his skills, yet Dekisugi always lent him a hand.
They all went to class together once the bells rang, Nobita wasn’t ready for the lesson—physical education at the first two hours of the day? That was too tiring for the poor thing!
«Ah, Nobita-san!» Shizuka exclaimed, calling him from the corner of the field, «Don’t tell me you’re already tired, it’s just the first leap!»
Nobita sighed, «I just can’t… I stayed up all night to study and now I can’t keep my eyes open…»
«Really?» she asked, «Come on, Hide-san and I will help you out!»
Not that Dekisugi could listen in time, anyway. But he came a moment later, helping Nobita to get up with Shizuka. They started running around the field again, Nobita already regretted not asking Doraemon some kind of gadget that would help him run faster, before going to school. When the run finished, it was time to play basketball.
Although Nobita was good at aiming, it wasn’t really the case for basketball; but at least he slightly improved with sports through the years. The two hours of physical education ended, they all headed to the changing rooms together.
«Nobita,» Gian called him. Nobita looked up at him, but he didn’t even have time to dodge, so the taller guy slapped him on the back with his towel, laughing.
«Hey!» he exclaimed, grabbing his own towel in hand as well.
«What do you wanna do now?» Gian asked, pretending to hit him again, making him flinch, «Huh, just kidding»
Nobita laughed and finished dressing up, wearing his uniform. They went back to class and passed another three hours of lessons. Nobita wasn’t particularly interested in hanging out of class, like Suneo and Gian—he would have gone out with them in elementary school and the first period of junior high school, but then didn’t anymore—and preferred staying with Shizuka, chatting with her and the other girls, and Dekisugi when he was around and wasn’t reading one of his books, which was surprisingly the case of that day.
Things like these wouldn’t have ever happened in elementary school, Nobita thought, or at least very rarely. He barely even talked with Hidetoshi because he was jealous of how he always managed to spend more time with Shizuka than him. But now everything seemed different, he looked at his “rival” with different eyes. Probably because of his kindness, his absolute desire of listening to whatever everyone wanted to tell him, and most likely because Nobita himself matured and thought there was literally no reason for hating him at all, and Doraemon would have agreed with him.
When Nobita went back home after school, everything seemed to be flowing normally. Doraemon wasn’t there in the afternoon, probably because he was hanging out with Mii-chan. Nobita was still surprised of how Doraemon could keep that relationship long-lasting, but wasn’t the same thing with his friends?
He then suddenly heard his phone ringing, and when he checked the name on the screen, he happily picked up the call.
«Hi, Shizuka-chan!»
«Nobita-san, I’m going out with Hide-san today to get some bubble tea. Would you like to join us?» she asked.
He wasn’t sure why she wanted to go out with both of them, but since it was Shizuka, he thought he couldn’t not accept.
«Of course! Give me five minutes to change, alright?»
«Take your time, I told him to come pick you up so you’ll both reach out to me»
«Okay, then! See you!»
Nobita ended the call and quickly chose between some other clothes to go out. He was sure that day would have tired him out at night, but his crush and his current best friend were asking him to hang out together, this was his opportunity! He chose a simple dark yellow shirt—totally not his brand color when he was a kid—blue jeans and simple sneakers. Just when he was about to go back downstairs, Nobita heard the bell of the door ringing.
When he opened it, he found a smiling Hidetoshi waiting for him.
«Hey, you came in advance!» Nobita exclaimed.
«Well, I didn’t want to make you wait… but you didn’t either!» they laughed, «Come on, Shizuka-kun is waiting for us»
Nobita nodded, «Mom, I’m leaving!»
«Take care out there!»
Nobi closed the door once he went out and started walking in the street with Dekisugi, they stayed in silence for a moment, Nobita analyzed his friend’s outfit—it was carefully chosen too, from what he could see—a cyan shirt with various patterns on it, black jeans and simple sneakers, similar to his but with white heels.
«So, Dekisugi,»
«Oh, I’ve been meaning to tell you for a while, but you can call me by my first name»
«Right, um,» Nobita shyly scratched his head, «After all this time, Shizuka-chan and you are… dating, right?»
Hidetoshi’s eyebrows raised, he tenderly chuckled at Nobita’s genuine confusion, «What? Oh, no. We’ve been best friends since childhood, you already know very well. What made you think that…?»
«Nothing! Just… your bond seems quite stronger since then»
«Oh, no» he giggled, «Actually, I like someone else, if you want to know»
Nobita’s eyes widened in surprise, he had his mouth open to talk, but he couldn’t formulate anything with common sense, «Oh… I wasn’t expecting it, you didn’t seem like the type. Usually… people get crushes on you first»
«There are still many things you don’t know about me, Nobita-kun» Dekisugi paused for a few seconds, «I… can call you by your first name, as well?»
«Of course you can»
«Thank you»
They walked together in silence for several minutes. Nobita could feel the awkwardness so tense he could cut it with a knife. They couldn’t stay in silence for too long… someone had to say something.
«So, uh…» he broke the silence, «No hard feelings for Shizuka-chan, right? Since… you told me you like someone else…»
«Oh, absolutely» Dekisugi nodded, «Don’t worry»
It seemed to have gone easily, but Nobita wasn’t so convinced. On the other hand, Dekisugi seemed to be quite happy and satisfied. Their attention shifted towards the fountain, where Shizuka was waiting for them. She chose to wear one of her cutest dresses, Nobita could feel himself to cloud nine.
«Hey, Hide-san, Nobita-san!» Shizuka raised her right arm to greet them, and the two reached her at the same pace. «Sorry for the delay, I had something to do» she told them with a wink.
«Don’t worry, we didn’t wait for too long» Hidetoshi reassured her with a smile.
«Where are we going to take the bubble tea? Did you have a place in mind?» Nobita wondered.
Shizuka glanced at Dekisugi and turned towards him, «It’s a cozy coffee house where we often stop by to study together! It’s a pretty recent place too, but it already has a lot of customers»
Nobi looked at them in confusion, «A coffee house where you can study together?»
«Yeah, it’s different from the usual cafes. These kinds of coffee houses have more space, it’s like staying in the living room of your house and despite it being crowded, you don’t feel bothered by the noises» Dekisugi explained, «There’s also the rule of not yelling, and a smoking ban»
«Ah, so it’s perfect for students and people who want to take a break after work!» Nobita commented.
Shizuka smiled at him, «I’m sure you’ll like it! Let’s go!»
They arrived at the coffee house a brief while later, it was just as cozy as Shizuka and Dekisugi said. It had a big couch and armchairs at the center of the place, near the counter. On the other side, there were tables with chairs. And right next to the couch and chairs, other tables with places facing the big glass windows.
«It’s wonderful!» Nobita commented, looking around.
«Right?» Shizuka smiled, «Shall we order?»
The trio stood in front of the counter to order their bubble teas and, checking the menu, they decided to order three pieces of shortcake for each of them. The place wasn’t too crowded for that day, perhaps because it was still afternoon and some people were still at work. After ordering, they went to sit on the big couch since they saw no one took it for the time being. Their orders arrived some minutes later and they thanked the waitress.
«Everything looks so good!» Nobita commented, taking his piece of shortcake first to taste it, «The taste is even better than its appearance, I could cry!»
«We should take you here more often» Hidetoshi replied, only to get a glance from Shizuka, and he turned back to look at Nobita, «I… think it’s a good place to study elsewhere other than your own home!»
But the boy with glasses was distracted by something else, «Oh, they even have Dorayaki on the menu! I should tell Doraemon and see if he wants to try them» Only then he realized Shizuka had her phone in hand as she got up.
«I’m sorry, I really have to go! My mother is urgently calling me»
From his glance, Nobi could see Dekisugi seemed rather betrayed by his own best friend for some unknown reason. His cheeks were also colored in a shade of pink. Could it be “I like someone else” was just an excuse, and he liked Shizuka like Nobita thought when they were younger?
«I hope you’ll have fun! The next bubble tea will be my treat, I promise!»
Hidetoshi followed her with his glance, his eyes slightly thinned into a forced smile, waving at her, «Of course, see you later, Shizuka!»
«Bye, Shizuka!» Nobita greeted her with a smile and once she left the coffee house, he turned back towards his friend, «So… what are we gonna do now? Aside from finishing our cakes»
«Oh! Um…» Hidetoshi thoughtfully looked down, «We could take a stroll outside and look through the showcases»
«Good idea!»
Once they finished eating the shortcakes and paid for their orders, they left the coffee house with their bubble tea in hand. Nobita took a sip of his own, and chuckled by himself.
«Huh? Have you seen something funny?» Dekisugi asked.
«No, no» Nobi replied, «Just the fact we went out with Shizuka reminded me of Doraemon’s own date with his girlfriend»
The word “date” seemed to have awakened something into Dekisugi. His face darkened once again, and his eyes widened in surprise. It was just a brief moment, thus Nobita fortunately didn’t seem to have noticed, and Dekisugi’s thoughts were interrupted by his laugh.
«But you’re right, ours wasn’t a date. I just thought of it because of the bubble teas»
Hidetoshi shyly giggled, «…You’re right» He then looked around as they walked past a video game store. When Hidetoshi walked to the showcase, Nobita followed him quickly, seeing his friend staring at the Breath of the Wild special edition Nintendo Switch.
«I didn’t know you liked The Legend of Zelda» Nobita thoughtfully commented, and paused in realization, «No, wait… I should’ve known when you dressed up as Link for Halloween back in 2013» he chuckled.
Dekisugi looked back up at him, letting out a little laugh, «Yeah, but it wasn’t even well made. I’ve sewn the costume myself, and I didn’t even have a wig»
«It was cool anyway! Remember when we had to stop Gian and we were riding Shizuka’s broom to get rid of the monsters? I guess we’re still rivals on that point of view, you were really good at aiming with your bow»
All these words said by none other than Nobita made him blush once again. And it was the third time happening that day.
«Oh, c’mon, Nobita… you’re flattering me»
Nobita looked through the showcase and rapidly turned towards him, «Hey, I have an idea! There’s a shooting target there, why don’t we play some rounds?»
«Why not? Let’s finish our bobas first, they don’t allow drinks inside»
«Oh, right»
They drank their bubble teas and after throwing the plastic glasses in a trash can they entered the store. Nobita asked about the shooting target some meters ahead of them to one of the staff members and the man accompanied them to the room.
«There’s currently a contest, if you win at least ten matches you can win the new Breath of the Wild Switch! Wanna try?»
Hidetoshi’s eyes started shining at that suggestion. He already had one copy of Breath of the Wild but still didn’t have the opportunity to buy the console’s special edition as well. Nobita approached him, patting his shoulder to catch his attention.
«How about we both play? In case one of us loses» he said, «I’ll give you mine if I win!»
Hidetoshi looked at him in surprise, «What? Are you sure?»
«Yeah, I know how much it means to you. I unfortunately didn’t play it much and for me, it doesn’t have the same meaning as it has for you»
«Nobita, I…» he glanced down, then looked back up at him, «Thank you…»
Thus, they started playing with the shooting target with the toy guns in hand. Nobita’s confidence with aiming took Hidetoshi by surprise. Nobita was known to be a clumsy, not really intelligent boy at school. After all those years, it was the first time Dekisugi effectively saw his classmate, always claiming to be good with guns, in action. But he had to focus on his own target, not his.
Nobi already gained three points, and Dekisugi followed him with two. They soon ended in a tie, winning eight matches together. They kept going with the ninth, Hidetoshi did his best not to peek at his friend too much. And at the tenth, Nobita won.
«Congratulations, here’s your prize!» The same staff member suggesting that they take part in the contest brought the box with the console, handing it to Nobita, «It’s incredible! It’s so rare to see someone so quick at aiming and shooting»
«Thank you!» Nobi widely smiled, taking the box with the special edition console. He then turned around, approaching Dekisugi, «Here, as promised!»
Hidetoshi glanced down at the box. He did want it, but Nobita won it with his talent, where he failed at.
«Nobita… are you sure?»
«Of course I am, I told you! I know how much it means to you, and I’m okay with what I have at home»
Only at that moment Hidetoshi realized Nobita was serious. Although he always had that gentle and humble side he loved even when they were younger. Dekisugi took the box Nobi handed him, his cheeks started darkening when their hands grazed against one another for a second.
«Thank you, Nobita. Really… I cannot put my gratitude into words»
«Oh, stop it!» Nobita chuckled, «Promise me you’ll play with it as soon as you get home»
«I will!»
At the moment they left the game store it was early evening. The red sky and cozy breeze embraced them as they walked in the street to go back home together, fortunately they had to walk the same street in the same residential neighborhood. Their peace didn’t last long, two familiar figures showed up in front of them in hurry, with baseball bats and gloves.
«Gian, Suneo?!» Nobita exclaimed.
«Why do you act so surprised? You ditched us!» Suneo responded, his expression rapidly changing as he looked at Hidetoshi, «Hello! What were you doing?»
«Don’t change the topic, Suneo! Dekisugi had to come training with us too!» Gian slapped his shoulder, luckily not too strong to hit him like when they were younger.
Nobita and Hidetoshi exchanged a quick look, and since the first dealt with the duo more often, he was the first to talk, «Listen, Hidetoshi and I were hanging out with Shizuka today, and then we spent the day together. We really couldn’t be there»
Gian and Suneo weren’t surprised of Nobita hanging out with Shizuka, he’d always use her as an excuse to do something else instead of actually taking part in important activities they had organized. But now Dekisugi was there too. And he didn’t even call him by his last name, but his first, it never happened. Since when had they become so close?
At the same time, hearing Nobita using his first name had some effects on Hidetoshi himself, as well.
«Is that so?» Suneo peeked down at the bag Hidetoshi was holding in his left hand. He instantly recognized the store they went to, and his eyebrows raised, «Is there something interesting in that bag?»
Nobita felt a shiver down his spine when the super rich Honekawa asked that. It didn’t bring anything good. And Dekisugi was way too honest.
«Nobita won a special edition Switch for me! Breath of The Wild’s one»
«What did you say?!» the duo yelled in unison.
«It’s true» Dekisugi nodded, «Did you know Nobita is really good at shooting games?»
«Ah, really?» Gian looked down at Nobita, who started chuckling nervously. «Well, I too will show my qualities! In a week, you’ll surely see me on TV»
When Gian suddenly changed the subject, Suneo’s eyes slightly thinned and looked away, not wanting to listen seemingly because he already knew. Nobita and Hidetoshi instead gave him a curious gaze.
«For what, exactly?» Nobita asked.
«I will soon become the Ultimate Fighting Champion!» Gouda yelled proudly, «They’ll train me to take part in important matches, tournaments… you know, all that kind of stuff»
Nobita and Dekisugi slowly nodded, exchanging a look with a discreet smile, and they looked back at him.
«Well, sounds like something you would do» Dekisugi commented.
Suneo turned towards them, alternating his glance between Gian and the duo, «Yes, but you know I don’t agree.»
Nobita’s eyebrows raised, «Why not? It’s the sort of sport Gian was looking for»
«Don’t you know how dangerous it is?» Suneo rested both his hands on his own waist, «Gian can be strong all we want, but the people he’s gonna meet are professional fighters. A lot of them are still in rehab»
Hidetoshi thoughtfully hummed at Suneo’s affirmation, «If you put it this way, then… it’s true»
«It just sounds to me that you don’t trust my skills» Takeshi pointed at his friend, «I will join the MMA, it’s been my dream forever! And no one can stop us when we have dreams, you said it yourself! I couldn’t do much with singing, but I’ll do better with fighting!»
Honekawa didn’t reply. Nobita and Dekisugi knew there was no way of convincing Gian to give it up, it was already too late and he made up his mind.
«I have to go back home now, my mother is waiting for me to help her!» Gian raised a hand to greet them, rushing to the opposite side of the street, «See ya!»
The trio greeted him from afar, waving their hands at him. When he disappeared from their sight, Suneo sighed deeply and looked up at them.
«I’m worried about him, it’s not that I don’t trust him like he said…»
«It’s understandable, after all he’s still your best friend and it’s kind of you to worry» Nobita affirmed, «Gian has just a hard time accepting it»
Suneo stayed silent for a brief while, tightening the grip around the baseball bat he was holding. «Well, see you tomorrow»
«Bye, Suneo!»
They greeted him, waving their hands once again. When Honekawa went the opposite way, Nobita and Hidetoshi kept walking home by themselves.
«I’ve never seen Suneo so worried about Gian» Nobita commented. He turned towards Dekisugi, noticing his expression to be almost blank, so thoughtful he didn’t seem to hear Nobi’s affirmation.
«Perhaps there’s something more» he then murmured.
«Something more?» Nobita wondered.
«Have you seen Honekawa’s expressions, and did you hear his tone of voice?» Hidetoshi turned to look at him sternly, «I’m not really close to them, so I don’t know, you’ll have to correct me if I’m wrong. But Honekawa seemed to be quite upset, he’s really afraid of Gouda hurting himself, and I sympathize with his thoughts. I would be worried sick too if the person I like suddenly decided to do something so dangerous»
Nobita’s eyes widened as he listened carefully. Suneo and Gian had always been close since elementary school, although Gian’s aggressive personality didn’t always bring the best out of their friendship, and not even Suneo’s overconfidence. Yet, all over the years their relationship improved and now in high school it was impossible to see them one apart from the other.
The last thing Dekisugi said, though, made Nobita raise his eyebrows in confusion. Hidetoshi did mention there was someone in his mind, someone he liked. But what did they have to do with this?
«Wait…» Nobi scratched his own chin, frowning, «You think… Suneo likes Gian?»
«Well, that’s why I told you to correct me if I’m wrong…» Dekisugi shyly chuckled, «But from how they acted, it seemed like that to me. Or, maybe, they’re even already dating»
«I don’t know… Gian always liked women. Suneo, well… when that thing happened he did blush, but—well, it doesn’t have anything to do with that now, haha!» Nobita interrupted himself before continuing, «But in any case, I never thought of it»
Hidetoshi failed to understand what Nobita was saying about Suneo earlier, and why he was so embarrassed about it. He simply smiled at him, «Sorry if I jumped into conclusions»
«Don’t worry!» he smiled back at him, «Looks like we’re already at your house»
Dekisugi nodded and approached the residence’s gate, «Thanks for keeping me company, I look forward for us to hang out again»
«Sure! See you tomorrow!»
Once Nobita got back home, he went straight to his bedroom while waiting for the dinner to be ready, and Doraemon told him everything he and Mii-chan did during their date. Nobita resumed his day as well, while Doraemon started cleaning his gadgets, something he did weekly. The boy instead lied on the floor, staring at the ceiling thoughtfully.
«Something wrong, Nobita-kun? I thought you said you enjoyed your day with Dekisugi»
«I did» Nobita replied, «I’m just thinking about when we met Gian and Suneo»
«Did they bother you again?» Doraemon asked, putting the last gadget inside his pocket.
«No… Gian told us he wants to join MMA, and Suneo doesn’t agree with the idea because he’s worried he could hurt himself» he started explaining, «And because Suneo seemed even more worried than usual, Hidetoshi said there might be more. It’s possible that Suneo likes Gian, or they’re already dating!»
Doraemon turned around and sat next to him, «I’m not so surprised, they probably realized their feelings for one another» he commented, «So Gian wants to join MMA, huh? I get why Suneo is worried, it’s a dangerous sport and Gian’s physique changed drastically as he grew up, although he’s training and he keeps training according to the sport’s schedules, he could risk any kind of injury. Even professional athletes can’t avoid it!»
«Yeah, I know…» Nobita sat on the floor to face him, «But I’m curious to know if Hidetoshi is right about them!»
The robo-cat sighed, «As usual, you want to peek into other people’s lives… I could use the Questionputer, but we’d need Gian or Suneo’s DNA»
The boy rapidly got up, «Leave it to me! I just need the Anywhere Door» he then rested a hand on his forehead, «Ugh, I stood up too fast»
«I got it, I’ll do it» Doraemon’s eyes thinned, as he took the Anywhere Door out of his pocket. Nobita opened the door carefully, as its destination was set to Suneo’s bedroom. The rich boy was sitting on the chair in front of his desk, drawing something on his notebook. Nobita swiftly snatched one of his hair and closed the door, setting the next destination to Gian’s bedroom.
«Oh…? He isn’t home yet» he murmured, closing the door.
«Let’s talk to Suneo first, for the time being» Doraemon took the Anywhere Door back to his pocket, and pulled out the next gadget, «Questionputer!»
Nobita put the single hair he took from Suneo inside the machine, and the screen displayed the boy’s face.
«Suneo, how is your relationship with Gian?» he quickly asked.
«Too straightforward…» Doraemon commented.
«How can I describe it?» AI Suneo began, «I’d say it has pretty much improved through time. And now… we recently started dating»
Nobita gasped in surprise, «Hidetoshi was right! How could he read it so easily…?»
«We started this out to give us a chance, because we realized we had feelings for each other» AI Suneo concluded.
«I have another question, when did Gian start to think about joining MMA?» Doraemon intervened.
AI Suneo annoyingly hummed, «He always had that thought, but I never guessed he would really take action and try to join for real» he continued, «He is well aware of the risks, and I warned him, but he won’t to listen to me» he paused for a moment, and looked through the screen, «Maybe… if I start dating someone else, he’d stop…»
«No, no, no, that’s not the solution!» Nobita exclaimed, putting his hands forward, «If you date someone else, Gian would only try to impress you more and keep training under those harsh coaches!»
«Nobita-kun, Suneo can’t hear you because this is an AI reflecting his thoughts!» Doraemon sighed, «But you’re right… we know how Gian can be»
«Nobi-chan, Dora-chan, dinner’s ready!»
They heard Tamako yelling from downstairs, and Doraemon turned off the machine to put it back inside his pocket.
«You could try to talk with them at school tomorrow» the robo-cat said.
Nobita nodded, «I hope nothing bad happens»
After dinner, Nobita couldn’t help but think about what happened that day and what AI Suneo told him and Doraemon. He had been staring at his phone for a while, deciding whether he should’ve texted Suneo himself, or Hidetoshi.
At the same time, Hidetoshi had received Shizuka’s call. They would usually call each other in the early evening, but Shizuka couldn’t be home until later that night.
«You left me with Nobita completely alone, without even warning me! It was so embarrassing at first…»
«You did enjoy it though, right?» she asked, and took his temporary silence as a yes, «You could think about asking him out again! So, what did you do?»
Dekisugi lied down on his bed, «Well, we took a walk… then we went playing a shooting game and he won a Switch for me, you know, the Zelda one»
«So romantic!» she exclaimed.
He cleared his voice shyly, «Then we met Honekawa and Gouda, and—» He froze, hearing a notification from his phone. He had to put Shizuka on speakerphone to hear her as he checked it, «Woah, it’s Nobita!» he jumped sitting on his bed.
«Oh! What is he saying?» she curiously asked.
«He’s… saying that I was right» Dekisugi clicked on the notification.
Hidetoshi Dekisugi: Right about what?
Nobita: About Suneo and Gian!
Nobita: I used the Questionputer, one of Doraemon’s gadgets. And we asked Suneo about the MMA thing
Nobita: He thinks that if he were to date someone else, maybe Gian would change his mind
Nobita: But I don’t think so, I know Gian well. He would just try to impress Suneo more and put himself in danger
Hidetoshi Dekisugi: That’s true…
Hidetoshi Dekisugi: But now you have to tell him, it would be too suspicious if you knew without him actually telling you
Nobita: Should I tell him tomorrow? Or now, through text?
Nobita: I can’t stand Suneo when he’s mad!
Hidetoshi Dekisugi: You probably shouldn’t have checked on his thoughts
Hidetoshi Dekisugi: Just pretend like you didn’t do it. Talk to him normally, ask him the same questions you asked with Doraemon’s gadget and see if he says the same things. If it helps you, we could talk to him tomorrow, alright?
Nobita: Okie dokie!! Thank you ♥
Hidetoshi stared at the screen for a brief while, and his eyes widened in realization, «Stop everything! He sent me a heart!» he yelled.
«What?! Screenshot or it didn’t happen!» Shizuka exclaimed.
Dekisugi quickly screenshotted the chat, sending it to his friend. He then replied to Nobita with a “Goodnight!” not sure how to reply next because of his heart. «Perhaps it was just a mistake…»
«Well, it’s the first time you text each other about something that doesn’t involve school» Shizuka said, «He rarely sent me hearts too, I don’t think it’s a mistake»
Hidetoshi tightened the grip on the phone with both hands and glanced down, tears streaming down his cheeks, «Now my brain will just create illusions around this, I’m so delusional…»
«Hidetoshi, it’s late! Turn off your lights!» he heard his father from downstairs.
«’Kay!» The boy did as requested, and turned off the speakerphone, «I have to go, Shizuka»
«It’s okay. Goodnight!»
«Goodnight»
As their call ended, Dekisugi stared at the screen of his phone for a brief while, pondering on what to tell Nobita next.
Goodnight ♥
Goodnigh|
Goodn|
Goo|
G|
|
Have a good|
Have a|
Ha|
|
Hidetoshi Dekisugi: You’re welcome. And goodnight! ♫
Hidetoshi cursed himself for not being able to reply as he wanted. He felt stupid, and shrinking smaller. He then sighed and left the phone on the nightstand next to his bed, closing his eyes.
***
They went to school the next day, and the atmosphere was already starting to get strangely awkward. Suneo didn’t want to talk with anyone after what happened the previous evening, and even Gian seemed to be feeling down. Nobita wasn’t sure how to apply Hidetoshi’s advice from last night, and Shizuka tried to blend into her friends so she wouldn’t watch what was happening. She wasn’t supposed to know, after all, and her best friend told her everything but it had to stay between him and her. Only the professor’s arrival could save them from that embarrassing moment.
For at least two hours, they were saved from talking to each other. No one was ready for what was about to happen, and Nobita mentally prepared himself to talk with Suneo later. He shouldn’t have told him that he already knew his situation with Gian, that’s for sure. As Hidetoshi advised, it was better to pretend like he didn’t know and ask the same questions he asked the Questionputer.
The first three hours came to an end, and it was lunchtime. Suneo was the first to leave the class, and Nobita followed him in a hurry—Hidetoshi came with him a moment after.
«Suneo, wait!» Nobita called him.
Suneo turned around, perplexed, «What?»
«I wanted to talk to you about what you said yesterday» he replied, «I got a bit worried»
The foxy boy instantly laughed it off, «Worried? There’s nothing to worry about, why should you be worried? About me? Hah!»
«The way you’re acting just makes me worry even more…» Nobita murmured.
Hidetoshi approached them, «Excuse me, Honekawa, if I intervene…» His attendance made Suneo’s eyes widen, «I thought about your words from yesterday a lot and I know how you feel. I know how frightening it can be when someone you really care about is doing something threatening their life»
Suneo’s eyes started watering, and squeezed them shut as he felt the tears wanted to come out without permission. He reopened them to look at Dekisugi, «So you know,» he bit his lower lip to stop it from trembling, «There’s no reason to hide it. I love Gian,» he sighed, «And because of that, it hurts me to let him join that organization. But I cannot do otherwise»
No more questions were needed, as he already admitted everything by himself. Nobita mentally sighed in relief, but at the same time it was painful to watch both his friends suffer.
«So… there’s nothing else we can do more than wait?» he then asked.
Dekisugi nodded, «Exactly» he turned towards the other boy, «Honekawa, I’m sure Gouda loves you the same way. You just need to talk more, communication is important in these cases»
«I can try, but Gian is always so stubborn, I can’t stand it» Suneo nervously growled, and looked up at the duo, «Speaking of… what were you two doing by yourselves? And now you even call each other with your first names… is there something I don’t know?»
Hidetoshi instantly felt his face hotter at the question, while Nobita simply smiled.
«We just became closer, that’s all! We’re friends, there’s no reason to be too formal around each other»
Suneo analyzed the two’s expressions. While Hidetoshi blatantly blushed, Nobita naively smiled as if he didn’t know. Just like Dekisugi instantly understood Honekawa’s situation, he understood his. Nobita was completely oblivious.
«Sure, that makes sense…» Suneo replied, «I’ll see you later, I need some time to think…»
The two watched him walk through the hallway, and Nobi approached Dekisugi to talk.
«I do hope he’s going to tell him»
Dekisugi nodded, «We’ll just wait for news from Honekawa-kun now»
«What news?»
Recognizing the voice from behind, Nobita and Hidetoshi gasped in surprise. They slowly turned around, seeing Gian’s smiley face, seemingly unaware of what they were talking about.
«Ah, Gian!» Nobita exclaimed, «You see, Suneo told us he’s going… uh…» he tried to think about it quickly, «He bought a new game! He invited us to play it with him at his house today»
«Really? He didn’t tell me anything about it, and we always talk about everything» Gian arched an eyebrow.
«Oh, well, that’s because it’s actually a surprise!» Hidetoshi added, acting a hit on Nobita’s elbow, rapidly giving him a wink before glancing back at Gian, «Honekawa meant it to be a surprise but we unfortunately told you by mistake… he’s going to get really mad now…»
Gouda’s eyes started shining, «He’s so thoughtful!» he said, taking their hands, «Don’t worry, I’ll talk to him about it! He won’t get mad at you»
«No, no, don’t do it!» they yelled in unison.
Gian looked at them in confusion, «Why not? What’s with the secrecy? You’re acting so weird»
At this point, they couldn’t find any good excuse. Yet, their silence made Gian realize something.
«Ah, I get it now!» he chuckled, «You two are dating now, and Suneo is the only one who knows!»
What made him think of that? Nobita and Hidetoshi exchanged a quick gaze, the latter’s cheeks slightly colored in a shade of red, and in this situation Nobita couldn’t certainly say no to Gian.
«Y… yeah! How’d you guess that?»
Dekisugi glanced at him in shock, «Nobita!»
«That is so sweet, I just knew it when I saw you yesterday!» Gouda opened his arms to embrace both of them, «It’s so nice of you to tell Suneo! Did you know we’re also dating? We could do double dates!»
«Double dates?» the two asked.
«Yes! Double dates are so fun, it would be our first one!» He let them go, and waved a hand with a smile, «I’ll go see where Suneo has gone, we can chat later! See ya»
Gian walked through the hallway, the same way Suneo went, until he got the next direction wrong. Nobita sighed in relief, while Hidetoshi stayed suspiciously silent.
«So, uh… I guess we’ll have to double date now!» He then noticed his friend still didn’t want to talk, «Um… I’m sorry, I hope it’s not too bad for your crush»
«No, uh…» Hidetoshi finally spoke, his tone went hushed, «I just need some time to process, will you excuse me?»
«Oh, sure»
Dekisugi rushed back to class, Nobita peeked inside and saw Shizuka instantly reaching him. That was weird, but understandable. He didn’t go back to class, too curious to see where Gian went. He roamed the same way Suneo and Gian previously crossed, looking around to see if he could at least spot their figures. Only two minutes later he could hear a voice coming from the right.
«I told you! You didn’t want to believe me, but it’s true» he heard Gouda say.
«Don’t change the topic, Gouda Takeshi!» And when Suneo called him by his full name, it was serious. «You have to drop that coach immediately»
Gian crossed his arms, «That’s incredible, you’re never happy with what I like to do! First you didn’t like my singing, then you want me to quit training? That’s too much to ask»
«I never said I didn’t like your singing, I just said you could take singing classes! It’s important to be mindful of your voice to prevent damaging it,» Suneo continued, «But if you damage your body you won’t recover easily!»
Gian thoughtfully hummed, uncrossing his arms, «Then we should make a bet»
«A bet?»
«Exactly» Gouda nodded, «I will join MMA, and you’ll watch everything I do, you’ll be my manager. If I get hurt, I’ll quit immediately. But if I don’t, I’ll keep fighting and you’ll still be by my side»
Suneo tilted his head curiously, staring at his eyes, then sighed, «Will you really quit if that happens?»
«Yes»
«Deal.»
Nobita watched them shaking each other’s hands from afar, and proceeded rushing back to his class. Hidetoshi was still talking with Shizuka, not to mention he still felt dull from what happened earlier. Or more like nervous, but at the same time too awkward with Nobita. He thought it should’ve been better talking to him after school, maybe through text, as soon as he got back home.
4:23 PM
SupahNobi!!: I’m sorry I couldn’t talk to you but I didn’t have time, now I can tell you what I saw
Dekisugi: You mean the reason why you took so long to come back to class?
SupahNobi!!: Exactly
SupahNobi!!: So after Gian told us about the double date thing, he found Suneo and they made a bet in which if Gian gets really hurt the first time, he will quite
SupahNobi!!: *quit
SupahNobi!!: Ah yeah and sorry for yk… the date thing, I didn’t mean to upset you, it was just to distract Gian
Dekisugi: Don’t worry haha
Dekisugi: It’ll be hard to convince Gouda-kun but it’s okay
Dekisugi: But let’s not think about that now
At the same time, Hidetoshi cursed himself for not being able to type a simple question. It was his opportunity and felt like his hands were freezing in time.
Hidetoshi Dekisugi: How about we hang out? Tomorrow
Hidetoshi Dekisugi: Around afternoon? Let’s take advantage of these sunny days
Nobita: Sure, why not, I’m free!
Nobita: We could return to that coffee house, I promised Doraemon to bring him some dorayaki from there
Hidetoshi Dekisugi: Sounds good!!
At least something good came out of that day. He absolutely had to tell Shizuka, since she was the first to tell him to take the chance as soon as he could. He also reassured himself as he remembered Gian’s suggestion of doing double dates, Suneo probably wouldn’t have agreed. Thus for the next day, it was just him and Nobita. The two of them by themselves for the first time.
Hidetoshi remembered the few times he was alone with him, but they were children, Hidetoshi wasn’t still aware of his own feelings—not completely, at least—and only realized in middle school thanks to Shizuka, although she was always the reason he would stay close to Nobita most of the time, in the first place.
But that didn’t matter. Dekisugi couldn’t stop thinking about their date, this time without Shizuka. He wondered when he would take enough courage to confess his feelings, too.
***
«Hidetoshi asked me to hang out despite everything that happened today» Nobita commented, leaving the phone on the floor next to Doraemon’s plate of dorayaki, «I thought it was awkward for him… but that’s okay! I can bring you the dorayaki from that coffee house»
Doraemon pondered on what Nobita told him previously. He mistakenly answered affirmatively when Gian asked them if they were dating, and then Dekisugi willingly decided to ask him to go out with him the next day.
«Is there something you’re not telling me, Nobita-kun?»
«Why?» Nobita comfortably rested his hands behind his head, lying on the floor.
Doraemon thoughtfully hummed. No, the boy was totally oblivious.
«Ah, nothing» the robo-cat waved a hand, chuckling, «I just thought of something but I was wrong»
«You’re acting strange…»
***
The next day, Nobita and Hidetoshi met at the same coffee house they went to with Shizuka. This time, being alone, they decided to take a table for two and took their orders. It was a Saturday, and the coffee house would often change the menu for a weekend special. Fortunately for Nobita, the dorayaki were still there. When their orders arrived, they started eating and drinking together as they chatted.
«I never knew you had two hamsters!» Nobita commented, after Hidetoshi had told him his history with pets.
«Well, I originally had three of them… but the first one recently passed away, and now the second is really old. I adopted the third one this year»
Nobita sipped on his drink, his eyebrows lowered, «I never had pets… or at least, not at home. I only had them through my adventures with Doraemon» he chuckled, «They weren’t the typical pets a person would have, either»
Dekisugi smiled, «It would’ve been interesting to join you. I remember having so much fun when we went exploring an unknown place together, or creating something from scratch»
Nobita had come to the realization that despite not always showing interest in it, he wanted to be invited to some of their longer adventures. His eyes then widened, placing the glass of his drink on the table, «Next time Doraemon brings us to another adventure, I’ll hit you up!»
«Really?» Hidetoshi glanced back at him, surprised.
«Of course! I’m sorry we didn’t have the possibility to do that before, and I hope you’ll enjoy it when we happen to organize another travel again»
Hidetoshi’s lips curved in a hopeful smile, «Thank you»
When they had to leave their coffee house, they looked through the glass doors bitterly, seeing it started raining and they didn’t even bring an umbrella. They were sure it was going to be sunny until evening.
«We have to run,» Nobita sighed, «But my house is too far, I’d get really tired»
«My house is nearer» Hidetoshi affirmed, «You could stay for a while, until it stops raining»
The other boy happily cried, «Thank you so much!» He then opened the door, «Ready? Go!»
They took their jackets off and put them over their heads, rushing out of the coffee house under the rain drumming on their backs. Unfortunately, their jackets weren’t enough to prevent them from getting wet, but it was the least they could do at that point. Through all the way to Dekisugi’s residence, the only sounds audible between the two were their panting and gasping from tiredness, which only led Nobita to laugh uncontrollably as he realized even the perfect Hidetoshi Dekisugi could get tired by running.
«Nobita?! What’s gotten into you?!»
«Nothing, it’s just the rain is really fun!» Nobita exclaimed, taking his jacket off his head to run without it, and trotting along light-heartedly. Hidetoshi stopped for a few seconds, observing him in complete awe. He proceeded following Nobita without the jacket on his head too, and influenced by his laugh he burst in laughter as well.
They only stopped in front of Dekisugi’s residence, Hidetoshi rang the bell but he was ready to pull the keys out of his pocket if neither of his parents were home. Fortunately, Akira seemed to be there. Nobita didn’t remember Akira much, he only knew his own mother was best friends with her—and was shocked to see how young she looked, even if some years passed.
«Hide-chan!» she called him affectionately, accompanied by a gasp of surprise seeing him all wet from the rain, «There’s Nobi too! You both caught the rain…»
«I’m sorry, the forecast said it was going to be sunny and…» Hidetoshi didn’t have time to finish, Akira quickly welcomed them inside and closed the door.
«They probably got it wrong, it’s not your fault» she reassured, «Nobi-kun, do you need to call your mother?»
Nobita nodded, «I’ll do it right away, thank you» he sighed, pulling his phone out of his pocket, «My phone got wet too…»
Akira shook her head, «Don’t worry, I’ll call Tamako myself» she smiled, «Hide-chan, take your friend to the bathroom and wipe yourselves, lend him some clothes for the time being»
Instantly, Hidetoshi’s mind couldn’t register more than what his mother told him to do. He slowly nodded, as he accompanied Nobita to the bathroom. He started taking two robes for themselves, and alternated his glance between Nobita and the door, pointing at it with a tilt of the head.
«I, huh, I’m going to bring some clothes you can wear» he murmured.
«Alright!» Nobi smiled at him before Dekisugi could leave the bathroom, and proceeded undressing himself to leave his wet shirt and pants to dry. Doubtful if he should’ve taken the boxers off too, he shrugged and did it anyway, leaving them next to his clothes, and wore the robe Dekisugi gave him.
«Here» Hidetoshi came back with some comfortable shirts and pants, only to be speechless at the sight of Nobita’s exposed skin under the still open robe, which he closed calmly. Nobita took some seconds to see that his friend was staring at him, and smirked.
«Did you just blush?»
«Wha—» Hidetoshi let out a laugh, his face all red, «No way! Uh, you, you can wear these» he then handed him a pair of pants and a shirt, his eyes widened once again seeing the clothes on the bathtub, «Wait you… you also took your boxers off.» He noted.
«Of course I did, they’re dripping wet!» Nobita replied.
«I didn’t think of it, I’m going to take a pair of those too…»
Once they finally wore something comfortable, Akira warned Nobita she told everything to Tamako, and that he could stay there overnight since they wouldn’t have gone to school the next day. Hidetoshi prepared a spare futon for him, much to his dismay, he only thought at that moment he could pretend not to have it to share the bed with Nobita. But Nobi seemed to be thinking about it more.
«I always sleep on a futon, and despite the fact I fall asleep everywhere… I’d like to try your bed!» Nobita then looked back at him, «Ah… I… don’t mean to be rude. I appreciate what you did for me»
«It’s okay!» Hidetoshi reassured, «I can sleep on the fut—»
«Oh, no. Don’t do that, we can sleep together»
What. Dekisugi froze for a brief moment, and slowly turned towards him with his eyes widened. Nobita clapped his hands once, «No, no, sorry, you’re right. I’ll sleep on the futon»
«No, I mean… you can sleep next to me»
«Oh» They stared at each other, until Akira’s voice from downstairs calling for dinner interrupted them. Once they got downstairs with the complete Dekisugi family, they had time not to think about that moment for a while, until they went back to Hidetoshi’s bedroom to prepare for the night.
«I was wondering, I hope I’m not being rude asking this» Nobita caught his attention, «Your mother looks… so young. She’s known my mother for a while now, but I never noticed she looks much younger than her»
Hidetoshi sat on his bed, «Yeah, I rarely share this with other people, but don’t worry. My mother had me when she was really young, she was our age»
The other boy’s eyes widened, «Really? But your father…»
«Is much older? I know» he sighed, «It’s… complicated. They love each other, but they’ve done something wrong. Which is why I don’t always feel comfortable in class, I can’t talk about everything that comes to my mind like other people do» he looked up at Nobita, «But I think that, at the same time, I got lucky. Because at least my father was there for her, along with his sister, when it happened. Not every teen mom has this fortune»
Nobita glanced down, only to look up at him a brief moment later, «So… when you go visit your grandparents out of town…»
«It’s my father’s parents. I’ve been trying to get along with my mother’s parents, but it’s always so hard. It’s like they’re forcing themselves to love me»
Nobi sat next to him on the bed, «I’m sorry I brought this up, now I feel guilty» he apologized, his eyebrows lowering.
«No, it’s okay» Hidetoshi stilted a chuckle, «You’re the only person I’m willing to confess some of these things, along with Shizuka-kun» he paused, looking up at him, «In fact, I think you need to know something else»
Nobita crossed his legs comfortably on the bed, «Oh, what is it?»
Dekisugi mirrored him, crossing his legs to turn completely in front of him, «Okay, um… do you remember when I told you there’s someone else? Someone else I like, and not Shizuka» As he saw Nobita nodding, he continued, «I’ve never been interested in Shizuka-kun romantically, not even in girls in general. The person I like is a boy»
The boy fixed his glasses up to his face, «Oooh, it’s totally okay, you know»
«Yeah, but that’s not the point» Hidetoshi added, taking a deep breath, «It’s actually you»
«Me?» Nobita rested a hand on his own chest, staring at Hidetoshi in surprise. At that moment, Nobita truly realized how things were going on in the past days. Shizuka leaving them alone in the coffee house, how Hidetoshi would often act shy in front of him, and Gian mistakenly thinking they were dating—because they looked like they were effectively dating, although it hadn’t been established. But Nobita liked Shizuka, or so he always thought until that moment.
He always thought of Dekisugi as his rival, but would always admit he was handsome, kind, smart and good at sports. He was perfect, though he wouldn’t think the same of himself.
«But why?» Nobita then asked him, «Don’t you think you deserve somebody better than me? I’m clumsy, I don’t do anything to bring my grades up, all I do is sleep and read comics…»
Hidetoshi frowned, instinctively taking both his hands between his, «That’s not true.» he countered, «Everyone has their unique talents. You excel at things I don’t, and it’s normal,» he smiled, «You could teach me more about gunning, for example… you looked so cool when we went to the video game store that day»
Nobita loved receiving compliments of any sort, but receiving compliments from Dekisugi? It was a whole different story. He held Dekisugi’s hands, but freed one hand to scratch the back of his head, «Ah, yeah? I looked cool?» he giggled, «I’m so happy!»
Hidetoshi couldn’t help but share a chuckle with him, «Yes… that’s why I asked you to hang out again» he admitted, «I like you a lot, I couldn’t stop thinking about you»
The last sentence made Nobita realize that, effectively, Hidetoshi was on his mind as well. It was always Nobita, Shizuka and Hidetoshi. Now it was just the two of them, in his thoughts. Dekisugi tightened the grip on Nobi’s hand which was still holding his, and with the other hand he caressed his cheek, until their lips softly came in contact with each other. Their muscles relaxed, and their lips craved for more. Hidetoshi found himself lying on the bed with Nobita on top of him, his hands grasping the boy’s shoulders as he hungrily kissed him.
Only when Dekisugi felt something hitting his nose, they stopped and their lips parted, they stared at each other. Nobita’s glasses fell right on his face. Hidetoshi snorted, trying to hold back a chuckle, but then laughed, and Nobita followed him a second after.
«It felt so different…» he then commented.
«Different? From what?» Hidetoshi questioned.
«From Suneo, I rem—» Nobita’s eyes widened, «Oops.»
«You kissed Suneo? You mean this wasn’t your first kiss?!» he exclaimed, before thoughtfully looking away, «Wow, no wonder it felt so good»
«It wasn’t a kiss, more like I had to kiss him to bring him back to normal! It was Halloween, I think around 2014»
«It’s still a kiss!»
«It’s not like we made out» Nobita excused himself.
Hidetoshi stared at him for a brief while, blinking twice. «Let’s sleep, now» he said evasively, while Nobita rolled next to him on the bed, «Are we too tight? Do you feel comfortable?»
«Yeah, it’s alright»
Hidetoshi glanced back at him with a smile, «Goodnight, Nobita. Can you turn off the lights?»
«Sure» Nobita raised a hand to reach the button, and clicked to turn it off, «Goodnight»
On Sunday, Hidetoshi opened his eyes and realized he had been hugging Nobita all night, with his cheek nuzzling in his chest as the boy kept sleeping profoundly. Hidetoshi softly chuckled at the sight of his—soon to be?—boyfriend’s expression in his sleep, and started giving him some kisses on the right cheek. Nobita slowly opened his eyes, still drowsy, and yawned, covering his lips with a hand.
«Good morning, the sun is already out» Dekisugi murmured.
«Morning…» Nobita greeted back, his voice lowering in tone as he tried to wake up, «I don’t usually wake up this early on Sunday… but it’s the first time I sleep with someone next to me»
«My alarm didn’t ring today» Hidetoshi noted, taking his phone from the nightstand, which started ringing loudly. He quickly turned it off, «Now it did. We could take a walk outside, what do you think?»
Nobita nodded, slowly getting up, «Do you think my clothes are already dry?»
«Perhaps, let’s have breakfast first»
After he had taken his dry clothes back, Nobita left Dekisugi’s residence with Hidetoshi, silently walking in the street with the breeze caressing their skins and the fresh scent of wet grass after the rain of the previous day. When they arrived at the open lot, they noticed Suneo sitting on top of the culverts, thoughtfully staring ahead of him.
«Suneo?» Nobita called, catching his attention.
Suneo turned towards them with a sigh, «Hi…»
«You don’t look too good, is there something wrong?» Hidetoshi asked.
«It’s always Gian…» the rich boy began, «He’ll fight his first match tonight. And since we made a bet two days ago, I have to go as his manager and check on him»
Nobita sat next to him, «Isn’t it better? You can take care of him»
«That’s not the point, I didn’t want him to go in the first place and now I’m stuck with this situation» Suneo rested his elbows on his own knees, «But I can’t leave him all alone…»
Hidetoshi sat on the other side of the top culvert next to him, «Honekawa-kun, we can come with you if you need»
«Yes! You can’t leave Gian by himself, but we can be there for both of you» Nobita agreed.
Suneo leaned himself up to alternate his glance between the two sitting on both his sides, he wiped a tear coming out his right eye and nodded to himself, in an attempt to give himself some determination, swallowing the slight lump forming in his throat.
«Alright» he muttered, «Thank you, guys»
«You don’t need to thank us, you’re our friends» Hidetoshi told him and glanced at Nobita nodding in agreement, «So it’s tonight, right?»
«Yes, exactly at nine» the foxy boy replied, «My cousin, Sunekichi, is going to accompany us. So if you need a ride…»
«What if Shizuka-chan comes with us? We’ll be pretty tight» Nobita claimed, «It’s better if we reach you with Doraemon’s help»
Suneo’s eyes widened, not expecting such a suggestion from him, «Oh, alright then… we’ll wait for you. Or rather, I will. Gian doesn’t know and it’s probably better we don’t tell him for the time being»
«You’re right» Dekisugi observed him jumping down the culvert, stepping ahead, «And we look forward to your news, give us a text whenever everything is ready»
Suneo nodded, he silently turned around only to greet his friends a couple of seconds later, slightly waving his hand. Nobita and Hidetoshi greeted him back, Suneo took a brief while to actually walk away. Thinking about what Gian told him about them, he hoped his own relationship with Gian would return like the one Nobita and Hidetoshi were having; although he didn’t know they only confessed each other’s feelings the previous evening, and weren’t dating for a longer time like Gian mistakenly assumed.
Nobita sat closer to Hidetoshi on the culvert, staring the way Suneo walked despite being already gone. They turned towards each other, not knowing what to do. The best solution was to split, Nobita went back home and Hidetoshi rushed to Shizuka’s house so they could go to Nobita’s together. Only when they were all reunited, the two explained the current situation to Doraemon and Shizuka.
«This sounds tricky…» the robo-cat commented, «We can’t do much about it, aside from giving all of our support to Suneo and Gian»
«I do hope Takeshi-san doesn’t get too hurt…» Shizuka added. She observed the closeness between her two friends, Hidetoshi even seemed more jovial than usual. He briefly told her what happened the previous evening when they were crossing the way to Nobita’s house, and couldn’t help but smile, piquing Doraemon’s curiosity.
«What have you seen that caused you to smile?»
«Doraemon…» Nobita began, taking Hidetoshi’s hand in his, «I’m sorry we didn’t have time to tell you»
Doraemon’s eyes widened, «I knew it!» he pointed at them happily, «I knew there was something going on!»
The two glanced at each other with a shy chuckle, and Doraemon’s mind went immediately to Nobita’s future. He was supposed to marry Shizuka, wasn’t he? He never considered the possibility that Nobita had feelings for someone else—Dekisugi, even. But whatever made him happy was okay in any case.
«Suneo will give us a text whenever we can go,» Nobita reminded, «Why don’t we do something in the meantime?»
«I have my piano lesson this afternoon» Shizuka announced.
«And I have another date with Mii-chan!» Doraemon added.
Hidetoshi slowly turned towards his soon-to-be boyfriend, «I guess we’ll be by ourselves again»
«Maybe we can start from where we were interrupted» Nobita suggested with a smile, getting up from the floor. It was said completely out of context mainly for Doraemon and Shizuka, who looked at them in between being perplexed and embarrassed, yet the tone used by the boy in glasses made Dekisugi blush as well. Guessing they wanted to have some alone time, the robo-cat and the girl greeted them and left the room respectively flying out of the window and from the door.
«Nobita-kun… what did you mean by that?»
«Well,» Nobita glanced up at him getting up to stand next to each other, «We can recreate our date here at home. But I gotta say, I miss your cuddles from when we were in bed this morning»
«…Really?» Hidetoshi cursed himself for stuttering, but he could feel the butterflies running around his stomach from the euphoria, «So… what do you want to do?»
«Remember when I borrowed some books from you? I still have one of them because I’m still reading it…» Nobi embarrassingly scratched the back of his neck, and approached his library to take the said book, “Journey to the Center of the Earth” by Jules Verne—an author Dekisugi always claimed as one of his favorites, «We could read it together»
Dekisugi found himself staring at the boy. It had always been his dream, to have a loving partner to read books together. He once read a book for Nobita some years ago, but it was with the help of a gadget, but this time it would’ve definitely been different. Hidetoshi took the book Nobita handed him, and they sat on the floor once again, only so Nobita could rest his head on the boy’s lap comfortably.
Hidetoshi cringed at first, his cheeks felt hotter as he wasn’t expecting him to do that. He’d only had to get used to the feeling. Thus, he opened the book where Nobita left the bookmark, and started reading out loud, his soft voice already soothed Nobita to close his eyes, even more when Hidetoshi started caressing his scalp while reading. Sometimes he would comment about the characters’ actions or how the story proceeded, yet Hidetoshi was glad the cuddles weren’t distracting Nobita at all, and that he didn’t fall asleep. He really liked that book, and he most importantly loved the voice reading it.
They stopped an hour and a half later, being called for lunch by Tamako downstairs. Hidetoshi closed the book, and Nobita got up to put it back in his library.
«Ow, I wish it lasted longer» he whined.
«We can continue later,» Dekisugi suggested, «I never thought you were so clingy»
Nobi’s eyebrows raised, «Did that annoy you?»
«Not at all!» he admitted, «I… could do it forever»
«Yes, please»
Nobita received Suneo’s text a while later, it was already eight and thirty in the evening, he’d imagined they went in advance to prepare themselves for the match that would start at nine. Once he sent them the location, Doraemon gave a Take-Copter to Shizuka and Hidetoshi so they could follow them by flying. They arrived at the facility, and rushed downstairs where Suneo stayed with Gian, in his changing room. Nobita knocked the door, and when he heard a “come in,” by Suneo, he opened the door.
«Hey,» he greeted, followed by the others, «Is Gian already upstairs?»
«Yeah, I was waiting for you» Suneo replied, «We can go»
«Are you okay?» Shizuka asked in worry, as he approached the rest of the group. The rich boy simply nodded, and took a deep breath.
«I can do this. Gian needs me»
They made it in time for the beginning of the match. The humidity caused by overcrowding in the place was so heavy it made the group feel like they were being crushed although no one touched them, the closeness only made the temperature increase. Suneo hurried in front of the ring, where Gian was already pushing the opponent with strength. The rest of the group followed him, and at that point Gian had a hard time rejecting him, the opponent already charged his arms for an atomic drop.
«Don’t give up, Gian! I know you can do it!» Nobita impulsively yelled.
Suneo gasped, «Nobita, what are you doing?!»
«I’m encouraging him, we should all do that!»
Gian had only the time to peek where Suneo and the rest of the group were, he forced himself to respond to the opponent’s attack, grasping his arms tightly to turn him in the opposite direction. The encouragement by his friends was part of his newfound determination to keep going, even amidst the pain. His opponent pulled himself back, quickly turning towards Takeshi to pull him closer to him, and drop his back against his own knee backwards.
«No, Gian!» Suneo exclaimed, little tears streaming down his cheeks.
The opponent chuckled in satisfaction, as he lifted Gian up to fake a vertical suplex, and jumped in his back to make Gian land on his head. The boy’s sight already became blurry, the last thing he could see was Suneo screaming at the ring. Yet, the impact was so strong and too close to the end of the ring, that Nobita took the impact of Gian’s foot landing on the ring right on his face, hurting his nose badly with the heel of his boot.
«Nobita!» Shizuka and Hidetoshi called him in unison.
Doraemon and Suneo glared at Gian’s opponent in rage. «Are you nuts?! You saw we were here!»
Nobita fell on the floor, unable to stand properly. Hidetoshi kneeled down to support him, taking the back of his neck with the left hand and gently patting his cheek with the other. Nobita’s nose started bleeding, and Shizuka rapidly handed Hidetoshi a napkin to calm the hemorrhage, or at least to wipe him until it would calm itself.
«Nobita-kun! Nobita-kun! Wake up… please!»
«Nobita-kun!»
«Nobita-kuuun…!»
Nobita slowly opened his eyes, recognizing Doraemon’s voice waking him up. The robo-cat sighed in relief, the boy could see empty comics of all genres all scattered around the floor of his room.
«Good grief… you scared me! You enjoyed your trip to a romantic comedy way too much»
Nobita took the book he was sleeping on, it was a pink book full of roses and sparkles. «I almost forgot it was the effect of a gadget…» he rested a hand on his forehead, «Yes, it was… strange, but I felt really well. It was almost real and… I kind of wish it was.»
Doraemon blinked as he looked at him, «What did you see?»
«Dekisugi…» Nobita murmured, «I wonder if there’s really a possibility this could happen»
Doraemon took the filled comic with Nobita’s dream and started reading it, his eyes widened from astonishment, «Woah…!» He then turned towards the boy, «This is unexpected,» he commented with a smile, «I’m sure you can find out only by talking to him!»
«Do you think it could work?»
«Of course!»
***
«C’mon, Hide-san…»
Shizuka crossed her arms, staring at Hidetoshi holding a letter in his hand. They stood in front of Nobita’s locker near their classroom.
«You have to put it inside his locker before he gets here» she remarked, «Which shouldn’t be so hard since he’s always late»
«I know, but I was thinking… what if he doesn’t…» Dekisugi glanced down, sighing. Shizuka froze in place, she pointed behind him and he turned to see Nobita, «Ah! Nobi-kun!»
«Good morning, what are you doing here?» he asked, opening his locker to put his shoes and a comic inside, Shizuka and Hidetoshi stepped backwards to let him pass. The girl playfully pushed her elbow against her friend’s, and he slowly nodded.
«Nobi-kun…» he called, catching his attention. Dekisugi handed over the letter, «Will you read this after class?»
Nobita’s eyebrows raised, closing the closet with his key. He turned towards the boy, taking the letter with a smile, «Sure thing!»
Hidetoshi smiled back widely as his cheeks took color, «Thank you!»
«We can walk to class together, what do you say?»
The two of them started crossing the hallway together, and Shizuka stayed behind to observe them happily.
«They’re so cute!»
Fin ♥