All Bark & No Bite

"So all I had to do was mention kids, and now I have your full, undivided attention again, huh? That's good to know!" Issei laughs while I'm still stunned by this new information.

What else has he been hiding from me?

"And to answer your question, yes, I do have kids." He nods. "To be more specific, I am the proud father of two daughters," he says with warmth in his voice.

"But... I thought humanoid robots were not capable of procreating in the same manner as... humans." I furrow my brows. In fact, I'm a hundred percent sure they can't have children since I never read anything like that in my user manual.

"Oh... No, no, no!" Issei's cheeks take on a slight tinge of pink as he averts his gaze. "They're not actually my biological daughters." He shakes his head. "I adopted them years ago!" he confesses.

"I see, but why didn't you say anything until now? This is quite the important information." I cross my arms and look directly into his eyes.

"Because I thought you knew." Issei looks at me confused. "I had assumed Brainy would have included a segment about my adoption in the dating show profile they had prepared for me."

"No, nobody showed it to me." I shake my head.

"Well, I suppose it must have slipped her mind then." His gaze shifts towards Brainy, who is currently playing with a group of children in the nearby play area.

As we sit back down on the bench, lost in our conversation about family and love, a large German Shepherd comes sprinting towards us, barking frantically. In just a split second, my longstanding fear of dogs, something I've worked so hard to keep in check, resurfaces. My heart rate skyrockets, and my instincts take over.And without thought, I rush towards Issei, seeking refuge in his arms.

[WARNING, WARNING]

[Stress levels are high.]

[WARNING, WARNING]

His grip feels surprisingly tight, the artificial muscles in his arms providing a sense of security I hadn't expected.

Calm down, Airi. It's not like his muscles are real in the first place.

The dog, with its black and tan fur, approaches us in a manner that seems less aggressive and more curious. However, the intensity of its barking is enough to stir up some bad memories I've had with animals of its kind. With my eyes squeezed shut, I could still hear the dog barking, but I could also hear a bit of Issei's laugh.

It's not funny!

"Hey! It's okay," he assures me. "Don't worry, I've got you," Issei says, hugging me tightly.

Then out of nowhere, Brainy appears from behind the camera.

"Oh? Physical contact? Excellent!" She rubs her small hands together. "This will go well with the ratings! Keep it up, keep it up!" The tiny humanoid says with a proud look on her face.

When did she get here? It's like she has a sixth sense.

"You have nothing to worry about, Airi. I think the doggy just wants to play with us." Issei says, as he was trying to ease my fears.

I then slowly open my eyes and look towards the big canine. The dog was wiggling his tail and looking up at me with big eyes. He begins to run in circles around our bench, its eyes darting back and forth between us.

"I'm okay," I reply as my voice wavers a little bit. "It's just that I've never been particularly comfortable around dogs, especially ones this size."

Issei nods in understanding while his gaze is fixated on the canine. Then he slowly extends a hand towards the dog, allowing it to sniff his fingers. After a moment of hesitation, the German Shepherd seems to sense our peaceful intentions and relaxes, allowing him to stroke its fur gently.

As Issei does so, a young girl, who appears to be a teenager, sprints over to us.

"I'm so sorry about this! Bruno is usually well-behaved. I don't know what happened." She says breathlessly as she manages to grab the dog's collar and secure the leash.

The animal, now slightly more restrained, continues to bark, though with less ferocity. The young girl bows her head in a gesture of profound apology.

"It's fine, really!" I reply back, still clutching onto Issei's arm. He, on the other hand, just laughs, while his grip on me is loosening a little bit. I then quickly scooted to the far end of the bench, trying to gain back my composure.

"It was a fun date, but I think Airi is tired," Issei says, his gaze never leaving mine.

"It's about time we head back to Earth, don't you think, Brainy?"

The little humanoid robot, however, was not pleased after hearing Issei's suggestion.

"Not fair! Just when we were getting to the good part!" She sighs before she flies towards the TELE-PORT device, which was located at the front of the park.

Issei stands up, offering his hand to help me get back up to my feet.

"Come," he urges. "Let's head back." I nod and take his hand. With one last look at the German Shepherd and its slightly embarrassed owner, we walk hand in hand following Brainy.

Once we arrive back on Earth, we are greeted by Naomi, who seemed to be waiting for us for some time. The blonde woman waves excitedly before hugging us both.

"Welcome back, you two lovebirds! How was your date?" She giggles.

"It was fun, but we're not exactly lovebirds..." I blush as I shake my head, embarrassed.

"Not yet." Issei says, making Naomi laugh and me blush even more. After a few seconds, Brainy arrives also, along with the camera. She was greeted by Naomi, and they both headed back towards the basement, leaving me and Issei alone in the hallway.

"You know," Issei breaks the silence. "I made that joke about telling you bedtime stories. But if you're not into that, I understand." He smiles.

"I've got another skill that might interest you." His expression then changes to one of mischief, the corners of his lips curling into a smirk.

"I can chase away the monsters under your bed if you need me to."

"In your dreams!" I roll my eyes and laugh.

"Oh, so you're admitting it!" His smirk grows even wider. "You want to be part of my dreams, huh? I'll make sure to remember that!" He winks as he watches me go towards my side of the house.

I then stick my tongue out at him, which only seems to fuel his laughter. I wave goodbye over my shoulder before the door closes behind me. There's something contagious about Issei's playfulness, that's for sure. 

But I don't mind it.

As I step away from the door, I now realize that my parents are going to see this episode very soon. I bury my face in my hands thinking about their reaction.

I'm so embarrassed that I might even crawl under the bed with the monsters!