A/N: Inspired by deathberryprompts' prompt of the week "Satisfied." I disgust myself with how fluffy I made this.

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or The Notebook like God why do we even have to say it anymore

...

Rukia is hungry.

Correction, in more crass terms: Rukia is so fucking hungry.

Of course its nothing like her childhood days in Rukongai. She hasn't become so privileged as to forget the days of cold, wet hunger sitting deep within her belly, of the countless moments she would trick a street vendor just for a dango to share with friends.

But... She's never been so... Angry about it.

Which may or may not have to do with the kicking mountain of her belly.

"I didn't even know a gigai could have hormones," she monologues to her half-awake husband in bed. "Urahara did not mention this. The mood swings, the constant pee breaks, these swollen breasts, the-what do you call it again, Ichigo?"

"Morning sickness. Jesus Rukia, it's three in the morni-"

"The real problems are these cravings," she continues on without listening to her husband. Ichigo groans and covers his head with a pillow. "I don't even know what I want. Do I want sukiyaki? Do I want ice cream? Mochi? Tonkatsu? Umeboshi onegiri? All of it?" She pauses. "Probably all of it."

"We have leftover sukiyaki in the fridge, don't we? We made it for dinner the other night? A ton if I remember correctly."

Silence.

"You ate all of it, didn't you?"

"Your child and I consumed it already, yes."

Ichigo slaps a palm to his face. "Well... There's ice cream in the freezer."

"Yes, I believe so." Ichigo thinks he's in the clear, closes his eyes and is a few moments away from a happy dream and then-

"But I don't know if ice cream's what I want right now-"

"Fuck! Okay Rukia, what do you want?"

A slap to the belly and Ichigo yelps. "Don't you use that tone with me Kurosaki, not when I'm carrying your offspring giving me these issues in the first place."

"Okay, okay, sorry. Quit it with the guilt trips before you turn into Renji on Poker Night. Just... What do you want to eat?"

"'It's not that simple.'"

"I refuse to help you if you're going to quote the friggin' Notebook."

"Well, it's not!"

"Fine... Flavors. Salty? Sweet? Spicy?"

Rukia pauses for thought. "My most notable cravings right now are for salty flavors... And... Creamy."

Ichigo eyes her. "Creamy?"

"That's what I said, idiot."

"Got it." He gets out of bed hastily, stumbling around in the dark to find pants and a shirt.

His wife sits up. "Where are you going?"

"Corner store."

"This late at night? They're not gonna have much."

"No, trust me, they'll have what you need." He pecks her on the lips hastily. "Be right back."

Fifteen minutes later, she hears the front door open, a yelp and a curse in what she can only assume is Ichigo stumbling over the threshold for the fifteenth time. Then distinct mumbling as his footsteps move into the kitchen, banging the cabinets this way and that.

"Don't bang the cabinets, you'll break them again!" She shouts at him from the warm, cozy bed. A pause, then more mumbled cursing-but the cabinets definitely close gentler this time. She chuckles and waits.

Clumsily shuffling into the bedroom, he puts a plate on her lap before climbing into bed.

She stares. "What is this?"

"A sandwich."

"I see that, but what kind of sandwich?"

"Just eat it."

"Wait, let me turn on the light so I can see-"

"You won't want to eat it once you know what's inside."

"Then why would I eat it, moron?!"

"Trust is a beautiful thing in marriage, honey dearest. In the living world, you could say it's kind a of deal breaker."

"Oh shut up." She rolls her eyes, takes a bite and... Wow.

This is. Exactly what she wanted but couldn't put her finger on.

"Good?" His voice sounds a bit disbelieving, but she nods and takes another bite.

"This is great," she murmers around a mouthful.

"Yeah?"

"Yes. Now can you tell me what it is, or will I have to temporarily blind myself with the light so I can see for myself?"

"It's... Pickles and peanut butter."

She drops the sandwich. "What."

"Yeah, apparently it's a pretty infamous snack for pregnant women in America. My mom had it once before she had us and craved it at least twice a week each time she was pregnant. Dad would gag every time he made it for her. He hates peanut butter."

"Who would hate peanut butter?"

"My dad. I told you, he's a freak of nature." He watches her pick the sandwich back up, biting blissfully into it. "So we good? We okay?"

"Yes. I think so."

"No more Shakespearian monologues about food before sunrise?"

"Shut your mouth or I might send you back out there."

He rolls over, grumbling. She watches his back for a moment, can't help but think he'll be a good dad.

We can probably do this.

"Hey... Ichigo."

"What."

"... Who's the man?"

"Rukia, don't patronize me."

"I don't ever patronize your masculinity, your tip top manliness that come with your very lickable abs and killer biceps. Now," she begins again, gently scratching his back with one hand- "Who's the man?"

A brief silence. "I'm the man."

"You're the man," Rukia agrees, continuing to eat her sandwich as Ichigo hides a small smile into his pillow.

...

A/N: Okay so my head canon is Rukia wouldn't normally watch Notebook, but you know pregnant!Rukia is all about laying in bed watching Netflix all day and she's still feeling emotional about some animal documentaries so she sees it pop up and is like why not? She thinks it's dumb but damn there's some quotable moments in there that'll drive Ichigo nuts so it's totally worth it.

Hope you enjoyed-please review!