The door was jammed shut, as always. The only security measure a lonely house near the hospital needed. With a second shove, he opened it.
"…I'm home," Gorou Amamiya murmured. The slam as he jammed it shut again was the only response.
He kicked off his shoes and stretched, feeling especially old today. Well, that was to be expected when he was exposed to an idol's charm in real life. Truly, Japan's idols existed several planes above the common folk.
Speaking of which, he still couldn't believe he met Ai today. In the flesh. And heard her voice, so full of light and life, and saw her dazzling smiles in person-
YEEESSSSS-!
-and she was pregnant.
-WHHYYY?!
His glasses creaked as he grabbed his hair and wailed silently to the floor.
Ai was the same age as Sarina would have been, right? He had the tact to look away from the mismatch of her public birthday and actual records – it wasn't his place to ask why. Besides, the years more or less matched up – and thankfully, she was older than her given age. Just a couple of days, sure, but that mattered.
A slightly smug grin as she realized that he now knew her true birthday. 'I expect this to be secret, doctor!' And he couldn't help but nod. Pulled along by her words like a fool.
Sixteen years old. A pregnancy twenty weeks along. A secret partner that wasn't around. He couldn't help but imagine the worst, someone taking advantage of her-
-ouch. He pulled back his hands. His fingertips were rapidly turning pink in the autumn night's chill.
He took a deep breath. Then he groaned, slumping on the floor.
No. That was his frustration talking. The Ai he saw tonight – bold, cunning, and strong – wasn't one unable to see through lies. Her happiness was true – that, he had to believe. It was easy to believe.
But she had just said that idols were the greatest liars. 'Lies are the most exquisite form of love.' This twisted form of love she had shared with her partner – was it also a lie?
And besides, it was absolutely none of his business as to who she had fallen for.
The fan inside him scoffed. If he said it enough times, maybe he'll start believing it.
Gorou sighed and stood back up. He would set the rice cooker for the morning – he shouldn't have been skipping meals anyway, and taking care of Ai was a convenient excuse to start cleaning his act up. No matter how much he wanted to find her partner to ask some questions (calmly, with a few of his medical tools at hand), that wasn't what his job was. No, that would be-
Hoshino Ai. I will perform the delivery, ensuring you safely give birth to healthy children.
"Ghk-!"
This time, he couldn't entirely stop his screams to himself as he writhed in absolute agony.
What was he, some corny anime protagonist?! Sprouting impossible lines like that in front of Ai – AHHH! And when she smiled into his eyes – for some reason, it felt so different from her usual smiles, and his heart couldn't help but skip a beat when it was met with that concentrated level of adorableness-
It was all he could do to say goodbye when she left in a hurry afterward, probably holding back her laughter. Ai really was so considerate.
He slapped himself. Gorou Amamiya did not have any nebulous intent toward his patient Ai Hoshino. None. At. All. No matter what Nurse Chatty insinuated otherwise. She was simply blind to the bond between an idol and a devoted fan.
Well, all he had to do was treat her like a normal patient, right? Sure, it wasn't like his hand had been trembling when she so casually gave him her phone number-
A pout at her president was enough to sway him, words of caution dying at Mr. Saitou's lips. 'I trust him, after all! Our talk at the roof really was enlightening!' And really, he wouldn't have been able to deny her either.
His phone buzzed. He was staring into his phone even before he realized he brought it out of his pocket.
AWIM Home Security, introducing the newest-
Blocked. Reported as spam. Deleted. He sighed again as he let his arm drop.
"…man, I'm pathetic."
Once more, he brought his phone in front of him but kept it on with a touch. Sarina's laugh greeted him. She had been so happy as she browsed through the fan websites, adding a comment here and there as she giggled. She had gasped and pouted at him when he had taken the picture, pestering him to delete it and asking him why he'd taken it in the first place – and he couldn't exactly say that the moment struck so dearly because she had seemed just like what an eleven-year-old should be.
If the hand she had been dealt with hadn't been so cruel.
"What would you think about all this, Sarina?"
After a moment's thought, he smiled to himself. He could almost imagine her, hemming and hawing, before coming to a decision. Sensei is a moralist, after all. It makes sense that you'll be mad for her sake. But you better make sure Ai is alright! After all…
He took off his doctor's name tag and turned it over. Ai's chibi face, sealed safely behind the proof of his studies. Sarina's final gift to him.
…we're both Ai's fans for all eternity!
"Well," he said, looking at the words of the small keychain. "I guess I only had one choice from the beginning."
He had a promise to keep, after all.
-o-
"Call me if anything happens, alright? I'll be staying at an inn nearby for two more days."
It was left unsaid that the president would have to go back to Tokyo. That was fine, though. Ai knew that he was doing all he could to support both her dreams. For that, she was thankful.
"Yes, yes, president! See you tomorrow!"
And with one final, anxious glance back towards her, the president shut the door. Ai listened as the footsteps faded away, then leaned back on her bed.
…she wished she knew who the president cared more for. The idol, or Ai.
She lightly slapped her cheeks, scolding herself. No, the prez knew of her lies from the very moment he scouted her, so there was no reason to doubt his efforts. Besides, if he showed any personal concern for Ai, the others would see that as favoritism.
Her makeup switched out and emptied. Carefully crafted insults – something silly about how much she ate on sets mixed in with insinuations about 'charming' the president. The lies didn't hurt, but the reasons behind the girl's actions did.
Before she could even do anything about it, Prez had the girl out of B-Komachi by the end of the week.
Besides, she knew enough about the entertainment world by now. Any normal president would have long kicked her to the curb, if not delivered her straight to the news agencies tied up with a bow.
So yep, prez was good in her books! Agh, if only she could remember if his name was Satou or Saitou! She got his face down, more or less – she just had to look for blond hair and tinted glasses indoors – but she still struggled to put names to faces.
Oh, right. A search on her flip phone revealed that Strawberry Production's president was one Ichigo Saitou. And – huh, she didn't know he was married. Oh, they had a picture of B Komachi as well!
Huzzah for technology! She closed her phone with a smile. Now, she could greet him properly tomorrow morning, with a 'good morning, Mr. Saito- Sato-'
She slumped back on her bed, pouting. In the end, it was prez's fault for having such an indistinctive name.
Her doctor's name had been pretty complicated, as well. At the very least, she had the excuse that she'd just met him.
Though… she did wish to know his name.
She had seen the moment the doctor realized who she was. There was no hiding the flash of surprise, that moment of recognition from her eyes. She had kept quiet, though – and sure enough, he remained professional, even up to his advice to carry her babies to term.
Ultimately, it's your decision. As your doctor, that's all I can tell you.
There weren't very many things that were left for her to decide.
Prez had pleaded to her to really, really think about it, but also reassured her that he would support whatever decision she made before excusing himself. It was his way of telling her that yes, this really was a decision only she could make.
Of course, she had already known what she wanted. Whether the world would allow it was the question.
It wasn't just a whim, to go look for the doctor. The nurse had looked a bit hesitant for some reason, but Ai had teased out the doctor's location from her easily enough.
She really did enjoy the slight autumn chill and the stars' gentle shine. But in the end, she had just wanted to be lied to. Everything will be fine, your babies will be healthy, there will be no need to worry. Doctors must have a lot of experience with that, she had thought. But when the doctor awkwardly brought up her job, admitting that he knew of her-
Well, a truth deserved a truth, didn't it?
In turn, she had told her about the mountain of lies surrounding her. How she wanted her own family, and how she wanted to continue being an idol. How she planned to lie to everyone in the world – that she was pure, that she was beautiful, that she was happy – and that she truly thought of it as an expression of her love. She really did do her best to explain her mind, but she likely came off as a twisted, ignorant girl.
That was fine. That was what her lies hid, anyway.
She had felt so free when she faced him, with the stars as her spotlight and the rooftop as her stage. For once, she was going all out with the truth in front of an audience.
With him, she had seen how a lie could poison the mind. With the doctor, she had waited to see how the truth could break it.
But instead, with nothing but genuine respect and admiration in his eyes-
I will perform the delivery, ensuring you safely give birth to healthy children.
At that moment, the doctor really did look dependable.
Ai admitted that she didn't know how to react, and hightailed it out of there to hide her fluster. Respect for her?! She never had reason to doubt her eyes before, so it was clearly her doctor that was broken.
The promise – she knew it was unreasonable. She knew that there was no way the doctor could guarantee anything. She had browsed the internet at dark nights enough times to know that with pregnancies, anything can go wrong at any moment. The family she dreamed of would be lost before it could begin, and nobody could be blamed for it.
Still, she could believe it was the truth. That the doctor would make sure that her children were born. And thus, for the third time in her life, it felt like a meeting destined by the stars.
So, she decided. She would throw all her trust into her doctor, and believe that she could fulfill all her dreams.
Ai slid down her bed again and found the patient information paper they had gone through today. She skipped through the false name, the false age, the false address, the blood type (that one was true!), as well as a dozen other lies and truths until she found what she was looking for.
Aha. There. Primary Doctor: Gorou Amamiya. A messy signature followed, but that wasn't what she focused on.
Amamiya, Amamiya, Amamiya-
She would surely be able to greet the doctor by his name someday.
AN: Oshi no ko has taken over my brain and muse. I need more happiness in Ai's life, and Ruby also deserves happiness, and so does Aqua ahhh why can't they all be happy-!
And so, this fic was born. It's going to be slow-paced, but hopefully, I'll be able to explore Ai and Gorou in original ways.
Heavily inspired by I really want to stay at your house by ElpisLumina! There really aren't many fics about Gorou surviving – and it's completely understandable since his survival endangers Aqua's entire character. I do have an idea, but it's likely going to split some opinions when (if) I eventually reveal it. Still, I need Gorou and Ai fluff!
Other notes: I'm dropping Japanese honorifics and the like, updates will be slow since university still takes up the majority of my time, and take any medical details with a grain of salt. My actual knowledge of the topics involved is mostly surface-level!