So... Apparently I'm Her Husband Now

Inside the hospital, the lights were blinding.

I set Yuna down on the nearest chair and looked around for a nurse. The moment I saw one, I sprinted towards her.

“There’s a pregnant woman in the lobby.” I said quickly. “She collapsed. Severe dizziness, weakness… can’t stand.. she needs help immediately.”

The nurse was already moving. “How many weeks?” she asked while grabbing a wheelchair and calling over a colleague.

I realized I had no idea.

“Um.. late? Big?” I gestured awkwardly and uselessly at my stomach, immediately regretting it.

The nurse gave me a look. She probably thinks I’m the dad who doesn’t even know how far along she is.. “We’ll ask her ourselves. Come.”

Within seconds, there were gloved hands, measured movements, calm voices. They transferred her into a wheelchair while firing questions at her. “Name? Weeks pregnant? Pain? Bleeding? Baby moving?”

I took everything out of my hoodie pocket that Yuna had asked me to bring and waved at the nurses like a stressed-out NPC.

“Here! She told me to bring these.” I said.

“Good.” the nurse nodded. “You can wait in the family room. Or come with her if she wants.”

Yuna’s fingers grabbed my sleeve.

“Please… stay” she whispered.

The nurse’s gaze went from her to me. “husband?

I opened my mouth to deny it.

“Yes.” my neighbor lied at the same moment.

We both froze.

Her cheeks were already flushed from everything, but I swear I saw an extra shade of red creep in.

I could correct her. But I guess she feels uncomfortable being here, in an emergency, with the baby's father nowhere to be seen. I get it. So I said:

“...yeah... something like that.”

Beautiful. Perfect. 10 out of 10 recovery Ren….
How did I fail that as miserably as it could get.

The nurse raised an eyebrow. Not exactly judging. “Ah. I see. Complicated.” she murmured, more to herself than to us, before pointing us down the hallway.

They hooked her up to monitors in a small room. Blood pressure cuff, IV line, a sensor that let us hear a fast, steady thump-thump-thump. The baby’s heartbeat. I didn’t realize I’d been holding my breath until I exhaled.

“Baby's heart rate is fine” the doctor said after a moment. “That’s good.”

He checked her blood pressure again, frowned, and then turned to me.

“You.” he said. “You’re her partner?”

“Uh..” i managed. “Sort of..”

How do I keep fumbling like that..?

“Then listen carefully.” he said, in the exact tone my old math teacher used when I failed a test. Just.. disappointed. “She’s severely dehydrated and hypoglycemic. Low blood sugar, not enough fluid. Her body probably warned her for days and she ignored it until it gave up on being nice to her.”

He turned back to her, voice softening. “You haven’t been eating regularly, or did you?”

Her eyes slid away. “....Not really.”

“She’s been working too much.” the doctor said. “Let me guess, long hours sitting? Staring at screens?”

I raised a hand helplessly. “Guilty as charged, but I didn’t make her do it.”

The doctor snorted. Then he gave me a look again.

“Take better care of your wife.” he said. “Her health can affect the baby too. She’s not just responsible for herself anymore.”

My brain short-circuited on the word “wife” for a second.

“Right.” I said, because arguing about relationship status in an ER seemed like a bad idea.

“I’ll make sure she eats. And drinks. Two liter, right? That’s what they always say on TV.”

“At least.” he replied. “Small, frequent meals. No more pulling all-nighters. She needs rest. Stress is the last thing her body needs right now.”

Yuna twitched a little too hard when he said “no more all-nighters.”...

He scribbled something on a chart, then nodded to both of us. “We’ll keep her under observation for a bit and run some blood tests, but if everything looks good, she can go home in a few hours. Don’t worry..” he added. “The baby is okay. You scared us more than he did.”

Her eyes finally filled with tears. This time from relief. She turned her head toward me.

“I’m… really sorry.” she whispered. “For… all of this. For waking you..”

Again. Why is she apologizing?

“There you go again.” I said trying to smile. “Do you also apologize to your stomach when you’re hungry?”

A small laugh escaped her.

While the nurse adjusted the IV drip, I slid my chair a bit closer to her bed.

For a while, we just listened to the beeping machines and that soft, reassuring thump-thump-thump.

Then she spoke again. “I thought.. I was going to lose him. It would’ve been all my fault..” she said, voice barely above the monitors hum. “ I was trying to reach my phone… but nothing worked. I couldn’t even knock hard enough on the wall.”

“You did enough.” I said. “You didn’t give up. That’s more than most people manage. You were scared and still asked for help. That’s all one can do.”

She swallowed.

Silence again. Then, without looking at me, she said quietly. “Do you.. think I’m stupid?”

That came out of nowhere.

“For collapsing? No.” I said. “For living off of three sips of water a day, and probably instant food.. maybe a little. But I’ve done worse.” I said, trying to make it sound positive.

Her hand brushed her belly. “The father doesn’t care.” she murmured suddenly.

The words were so flat it took me a second to process them.

I watched her face. She stared at the ceiling, eyes dry now. As if she’d cried this particular set of tears already..

“He said all the right things.” she continued. “He promised he’d take responsibility. That he loved me. That we are a team.” A bitter smile tugged at one corner of her mouth. “Then I told him about the baby and… he vanished. He blocked me everywhere. As if cutting me out of his life was as easy as deleting a file.”

My hands curled into fists in my lap.

“I’m sorry.” I said quietly. It sounded lame, but it was all I had.

“What’s worse is..” she hesitated. “I still have to see him. Sometimes. We’re in the same… circle. Same industry, I guess you could say. I can’t avoid him, even if I try.”

I thought about how tired she looked the 2 times I saw her. The all-nighters. The weird “please don’t perceive me” outfit.

I wanted to ask more. Ask what “circle” meant. Ask who this guy was so I could punch him in the face.

But the way her fingers tightened around the blanket told me that was as far as she was willing to go tonight.

So I just said. “He’s an idiot.”

She blinked, surprised.

“Anyone who walks away from this,” I added, nodding at her stomach, “is an idiot. And a coward.”

Her eyes glistened again, but she smiled faintly. “You.. dont even know me. Don’t even know the full story..”

“I know enough.”

She opened her mouth, then closed it again.. The nurse came back, interrupting whatever she might’ve said.

“Her levels are stabilizing. You can let her rest. She’ll be fine.”

I nodded, suddenly aware of how heavy my eyelids felt. The adrenaline was wearing off. My cold feet became noticeably worse again. At least the nurses gave me some slippers.

Yes, I actually drove to the hospital barefoot.

By the time the sky outside went from deep blue to pink, they discharged her with a stack of papers, a lecture about hydration, and a follow-up appointment. I helped her back into the car and drove slower this time.

When we reached the apartment building, she hesitated before getting out.

“Thank you.” she said again. “Really.. I owe you so much… Sukegawa, right?”

“Just call me Ren. We’re neighbors right? And if you really feel like you owe me something, then pay me back by not collapsing again. Eat. Drink. Sleep. Repeat.”

She laughed weakly. “I’ll try.”

“And if something feels off.” I added “I’m literally 10 steps away. Knock on the wall again if you have to.”

She nodded, her eyes meeting mine for a brief moment.

“Okay” she said.

I watched her disappear into her apartment before stumbling into mine. I collapsed face-first onto my couch. It was morning already.

My phone buzzed against my leg.

Half-asleep I glanced at the screen.

New e-mail.

From my agency.

Subject: Invitation - 32 Streamer Special Tournament Collaboration (Game: ChonkyWonky)

I tapped it open, scanned the walls of text until one line jumped out at me:

Special Guest: Top VTuber “LunaZero”

I stared at the name.

LunaZero.

The rising star in the VTuber industry. She’s probably the most famous one in all of Japan right now.

“No way.” I muttered. I’ve heard a lot about her.. my little sister is a hardcore fan of her. Normally the VTubing bubble doesn’t really overlap with mine though..

Then again… stranger things had already happened this week.

Like me, the burned out number 1 gaming streamer in Japan, carrying a pregnant stranger through the night as if it were normal.

I closed my eyes.

“Please..” I whispered to no one in particular. “Let this tournament be less complicated than my neighbor.”

Even though.. I gotta admit... for the first time in months.. maybe even years.. I feel like I have a purpose again.