AU Yeah! August 13: Fake Dating

Moving into the next phase of their careers, Nico and Maki have to confront fake fiances, fake

dates, grabby co-stars, overbearing parents - and even their own relationship is not immune.

Okay, so actress and singing idol Yazawa Nico was now, officially, Christmas cake, and, according to her own representative and very much her studio, at least four years overdue to start dating. Most importantly, be seen with someone attractive, important and interesting where high-quality photos could be taken.

The rub for everyone telling her that had been that Nico - who looked more like 15 than 25 - was still adored by her fans whenever she did a concert (between films) when she declared "Nico-Nii belongs to all her fans!"

Nonetheless, someone at the studio had sent her a text saying she must appear on a date with Haruto, her co-star, today at such and such place at ... well, Nico answered without finishing reading it. "It's in Nico's contract she is with her family on her birthday and the 19th of April when Nico's dear papa died. Nico is sorry but that is not negotiable after the fact. Nico wonders why a studio person would try to make Nico violate her contract, and with such little notice, to boot ..." She sent it and pondered. "But Nico would love to discuss this after today, because Nico only reads Happy Birthday texts on her birthday." And with that she prepared to go home.

She had phoned her mother, Kotono, and apparently Maki had already arrived and had breakfast with her and the kids. Her mother had, of course, taken the day off, and Cocoro had told her university she needed to visit her family and had gotten all her homework ahead of time. Cocoa and Cotarou were doing much the same for UTX. By now, everyone at the Yazawa home knew how important their two days together a year were for the secret couple. No one would bother them after they retired to the bedroom that Nico, then Cocoro, then Cocoa had occupied. Cocoro and Cocoa would both be bunking in Cotarou's room.

Nico's father had indeed died near, but thank Heaven not on, Maki's birthday, and the family custom was to meet on whatever free day Nico had near that time. She believed he would have wanted her to leverage that excuse to have a little happiness. To preserve that, she pledged she would not bring up the Haruto issue until she was back in her apartment.

Twenty-two-year-old Nishikino Maki had her own issues to deal with. Heedless of her need to prepare for medical school, set up her apartment, and so on, her parents had assigned her to an o-miyai with the son of a physician at Nishikino Hospital. She had texted her mother saying she had plans with her best friend Nico (a friendship her parents strongly disapproved of, of course) and that she would only ever consider an o-miyai if her parents learned to respect her time and her goals. Of course, her parents remembered Nico's birthday and had chosen to give her an order for precisely that reason. Maki had already hinted after graduating university that she didn't care more about taking over the hospital than she did about living her own life. It was a shame, she'd written, but if her only child wasn't suitable to take over the hospital then they should find someone less self motivated and more obedient perhaps. But this struggle was only starting.

She felt wonderful being at breakfast with the Yazawas, all of whom were adorable and without Nico's grumpy quirks, to be honest — instead of glowering at some stranger at a marriage meeting. She pledged not to mention it until it impinged on their relationship.

When she got back to her apartment after a tear-filled farewell to Maki and her family, Nico checked her messages and mail. Apparently, her representative had come to terms with her studio, which had apologized. But also apparently, she had only gained a reprieve. Her representative was urging her to go on public dates with Haruto, and basically agreeing with the studio that it was her duty to them and her career. It wasn't like Nico didn't kiss men over and over in films, including Haruto. Being Nico's girlfriend meant Maki understood that came with the territory. But what Haruto might assume he had a license to do on these dates was another story. She couldn't fight everyone, so she would have to strategize,

Satou Haruto and Suzuki Riku met for coffee, which wasn't unusual. Nor was Riku complaining to Haruto. It was a bit unusual that Riku had, essential l'y, been jilted by an aspiring female doctor, however. In addition to being an up-and-coming plastic surgeon trainee, a skill not presently strong at Nishikino Hospital, he was notably handsome and this was a first.

Not that he had a thing for the little bookworm daughter of the Nishikino, of course. It was a hundred percent his dignity and pride at stake. The way the parents had informed him, it seemed even the threat of not taking over the hospital hadn't swayed the girl a bit. She regarded an omiyai with Suzuki Riku as a burden and a favor to her parents.

Normally, Haruto would have enjoyed the show. For a future doctor, Riku acted spoiled, like he was a top, leading actor like Haruto. It was unseemly for a medical professional. But the truth was, Haruto's situation with the snooty bitch Yazawa Nico wasn't much better. If she didn't think she'd signed up for dating for publicity, well, it was certainly past time for someone of her advanced age to get a wake-up call. It was probably past time for Haruto to have a marriage and divorce with maybe a child left behind. It would cement his reputation, and help him move into the next phase of his career.

"So, " he asked, opting to be nice to Riku, " Did the parents reschedule?"

It turned out they had, meaning Riku's pouting was completely unnecessary.

"Well, I had a similar problem with an actress who's too proud of herself. We leaned on her agent, and she came around. In the end, that's what matters. Never lose your cool and never lose your smile, Rikkun."

"Ha! You sound like Nico-ni! " Riku was a fan of her films, Haruto remembered. But even he found her cheeriness a bit overdone.

"Well, since she is going to be my future bride, I must get in practice."

"What? " Riku set his coffee down and stared at Haruto.

"The studio wants us to have a romance. I decided having one ex-wife and child would help my career. Between my looks and their pressure, she won't have a chance."

"Well, I can say the same for Nishikino. She clearly won't want to put her career on hold indefinitely while we start a family and the hospital, her parents and I will have to bully her into it. She's an idiot with no idea how many nurses and even future doctors would kill for the opportunity to marry me."

"It irks you, doesn't it? Don't worry, as a fellow pretty boy I know the score. Why should we have to work at something so many of them are begging to give us? How could we show our faces if our competition found out? It's really unfair of these girls, when you think about it."

They finished their coffee, then ordered another round and a dessert. While they were eating, Riku announced he had an idea.

"The parents told me — complained, actually. The two girls know each other. They're best friends."

"Which two? Nico and Nishikino?"

"Bingo. Yes, apparently little Maki was singing and dancing her heart out with her best friend Nico in high school. She was an award-winning concert pianist, too. So she can give our kids lessons while I earn a living at the hospital. And best of all, despite appearances, I can tell her honestly I'm not fooling around with any of the nurses and interns. What a lucky, if not grateful, girl. But that's beside the point. It just occurred to me, we can show them both what public opinion is like. Easy on your side, not so much on mine. But if it works, Nico and Maki will become docile, their friendship will be split up so the Nishikinos will be happy, Nico will be at your command, and all will be right in the world."

Haruto remembered Riku from school — they hadn't had anything to do with each other, being interested in completely different things. But he had a reputation as a schemer. And Haruto wasn't as spoiled and pouty as Riku, but he was, honestly, annoyed at Yazawa. If she brushed him off whenever her friends or family wanted her, their romance wouldn't play in the magazines or entertainment updates, after all. " Go on, " he said, sipping his coffee and showing interest by training his eyes on Riku's. It was far too early to go up to their room.

Nico woke up to a nightmare scenario. Not only was her agent threatening to quit if the studio fired her over refusing to date Haruto; well, she'd seen the signs of that coming. Also the hints that the studio would bad-mouth her making it hard for her to find a new one. But what was absolutely unforeseen was the new twist from the studio. She was being urged to publicly show signs of dating, of all people, her actual girlfriend, Maki! Apparently the plan, the idiot plan, was to hint at a relationship, then tell the press they had faked dating to cover up for their real romances - hers with that asshole Haruto, and Maki's with some peacock of a doctor trainee her parents wanted her to marry. That way, Nico would get the attention and whiff of scandal of having a lesbian relationship without any of the possible fallout, once they'd explained to the press. And the movie would get all the buzz now, and later when they came clean about the fake dating scheme.

"Okay, first, no. It's beyond idiotic. But just out of curiosity, what are Maki or the Nishikinos supposedly getting out of this deal?"

"They want their daughter to become more aware of how important public opinion is to her career and to the hospital."

"So, Maki gets nothing and her parents get to be evil? In theory. In practice, I get a new studio, a new agent, and a new book telling everything I've ever learned about this studio, from its early days on. And 25 is not a bad age to retire if things don't go my way. So it's your move."

"The press won't be your friend — you've given them nothing to write about for years. What do you object to, Nico? Spending time with your friend?"

"Of course not! " Nico ignored the buzzing noise of an incoming text. Almost ignored it — she did glance at it.

"Then, why be so unreasonable? For one thing, you can spend less time with Satou-san and more time with Nishikino - what's the issue?" However, there was no response at Nico's end. Then:

"Fine."

"What?"

"I agree to play along. I will meet her at Dorofune tonight, in fact. " There was a pause.

"Ehhh ... isn't that in n-chome? And for lesbians?"

"Isn't it better to have us cooperate?"

"But when it's time to explain ..."

"Let us deal with that, this is a hostile undertaking, after all. From the top down."

"And she would agree?"

"She has agreed. We were texting each other while you were talking."

Nishikino was much more docile than Riku had been expecting when she arrived at the hospital to return his phone, which he had mislaid at her parents' house. She didn't say much, but she was appropriately meek. But when she turned to go, he thought for sure he saw a smirk on her face. Well, it wasn't like he understood women, or wanted to. He could tell she was very pretty, and that probably explained her reticence. It couldn't be fun having a future husband who was prettier than she was.

Haruto was surprised to see a message from Riku already. Apparently, Yazawa and Nishikino had been browbeaten into accepting the plan, and were even "meeting" at a lesbian bar that also accepted men, usually gays, every day except Saturdays. Riku planned to go there to spy on them and make sure they were playing along, and asked Haruto to come, too.

It was a nice idea. They had a built-in excuse for being there together, in disguise, and they could compare notes, make plans, and watch the two girls, who, Haruto felt, were a bit slippery compared to how they presented themselves. It was important to make them realize how completely they were at the mercy of society and the authority figures over them.

Of course, getting the message was a bit surprising, given he and Riku had left the hotel they spent the night at together, celebrating their plan, only a few hours before. If you had a reputation as a ladies' man you could get away with much more than an actress could, he'd realized a long time ago. The fact that he would have to spend much more time with Riku in the near future wasn't an unpleasant idea at all. He made sure that he was both stylish and unrecognizable before he left his penthouse apartment to meet up with Riku.

When Riku got a text from the Nishikino patriarch that he should watch out for the girls at Dorofune, he was a little annoyed, but it clearly would ingratiate him to the family more, and the whole plan was his idea, so ...

Maki's father never even noticed his daughter playing with his phone. She'd been doing so for years, and he had a practiced ability to focus on the important things.

It was odd that Riku hadn't mentioned papa Nishikino in his text, and even forgotten he'd sent it. Definitely a bit odd. Well, they'd had a bit to drink the night before, after all. At any rate, there they were, both in disguise, and with a clear view of Nico and Maki's table. The only annoyance had been that buxom, glasses-wearing waitress who had taken a couple of photos of him and Riku, without warning, then shyly apologized, saying they were both as handsome as celebrities. Haruto couldn't make a fuss now without exposing his identity, but that waitress would be fired.

He didn't note that her garb wasn't quite the same as the rest of the waitresses wore. In his fast-paced career he'd learned early to focus on the important things.

Yazawa and Nishikino were really going for it, Riku noted. He did not approve. If you were in the public eye, like an actor or a doctor, there were certain things you did not do in public, whatever you got up to in a hotel or an out-of-the-way inn.

They had held hands the entire time, and gazed into each others eyes lovingly. Every once in a while, they kissed.

Well, the plan called for them to only make a couple of appearances. When they finally explained to the entertainment press that they were pretending to date in order to draw attention from their "true" romances, perhaps there would still be rumors that Nico was bisexual. It probably wouldn't hurt either of them as long as they did their duty to society.

As he finished his second drink, he almost spit it out. As it was, Riku coughed before drawing Haruto's attention to the person who had joined them at their table. It was a very gossipy woman from the leading lesbian magazine in Japan.

"Put papa on speaker, mama. Now."

Nishikino Kikuko was not used to that tone from her daughter. She'd been having a bad feeling about her for a couple of weeks now, but maybe not bad enough.

"I am with the main reporter for PROUD, mama and papa. You don't know anything about it — it stands for Proud Rezzes Of Unstoppable Drive." It's a lesbian magazine. I am telling her that the Nishikinos hate gay people, including their daughter, and would like to refuse to treat them. I am also telling her that you threatened to destroy my medical career unless I marry a gay trainee you chose for me and break up with my fiancé. Do you have anything to add, or does that cover it? Don't worry, it's already enough to make the national news."

"What do you mean, gay?" her father stammered out.

"Well, he is here in this gay bar in ni-chome with his lover - Nico is texting you a picture of them … got it? Anyway, I believe that's the term you use. His lover is Nico's co-star, in fact. Isn't it a small world?"

By this point, a furious Riku had dragged Haruto over to where they were sitting. Maki didn't let them get out a word. "Sit!" she ordered. "I am on the phone with my parents right now." She spoke to her phone again. "Your future son-in-law seems to be worried about something. Probably the fact that I don't plan to give up being a doctor to have his babies to hide the fact that he only loves men? I am just guessing. It would be hard to take over the hospital that way, wouldn't it? Then again, I am only a female."

"You know very well, Maki, that the Nishikino name goes with the blood children, male or female," her mother said, forcefully. In fact, Maki's father had taken the Nishikino name for that exact purpose.

Riku got up again. Maki glared at him. "You and the other peacock might want to try not talking loudly about your disgusting plans for Nico and me in the dining lounge of a hotel a friend of ours works at. Listen, worm. I have absolutely nothing to lose. Can you say the same? If not, I never want to see you again, anywhere. Ever. Including my family's hospital. Leave."

Nico was laughing openly when Maki turned back to her phone. "It seems your chosen fiancé has other plans. Do you have anything to add, either of you?"

There was a pause. Then Maki could hear her mother had taken the phone off speaker.

"Regardless of what your father or I may have wanted, he will not in any way interfere with your personal life any more, Maki. I apologize on behalf of both of us."

"Oh, is that so?" Maki asked, sarcastically. "Well, then, now that misunderstanding is cleared up, me and Nico and her co-star and this nice lady will try to work out a story that won't be too revealing about the boys. After all, the big story is that we were high-school sweethearts who can finally follow our muse and be together. I know you need an early night's sleep, so I will talk to you later."

With that, Maki ended the call and turned to her table companions. Haruto was still in shock, but finally one worry had wormed its way up to his awareness. "Yazawa-san, you aren't going to back out of the movie, or anything like that?"

Nico was smirking. "Why would I do that? Maki and I would both prefer you have no desire for anything but playing the role as it's written, in fact. Of course, if you pull anything else in the future, this nice lady will be forced to tell the public who the fake names in the article are, and when we had our encounter. But really, you'd be my pick as a leading man, hands down, Haruto."

"Now," Maki added with a wink, "that you know your place, that is."