It became a habit of his to inhale her scent whenever he could because it brought a sense of calm into him. Ever since Rukia hit her eight months she had been getting crankier about the littlest things, which included her bed that she still practically shared with her grandmother. She immediately went to his room and upfront told everyone she was going to sleep with him because it was more comfortable.
And no one, not even Ichigo, objected to her.
Who would when she was biting everyone's head off because of her discomfort?
Thankfully, ever since they started sharing the bed—and getting suggestive winks from everyone around them—Rukia had been feel more relaxed and less of a bitch. And Ichigo was happy to know he was one of the causes for it. Although they stopped having sex because of the discomfort, by sharing the bed it helped bring them closer in some intimate form.
"Mhmm," Rukia groaned as she was suddenly pulled away from her sleep. "Ichigo?"
"…yeah?" he answered with his voice slightly muffled by her hair.
Rukia lifted her head to peer back at him before dropping her head back on the pillow. "It's time for you to get up."
But Ichigo just snuggled closer to her.
"Ichigo," she grunted, "Don't make me kick you off the bed."
"This is my bed," Ichigo growled at her, "You should be the one getting kicked off."
"But it's too comfortable for the likes of you," she retorted. "Besides, how can you deny me when I'm nine months pregnant now?"
Ichigo's eyebrows jumped up at the mentioning of the baby. A small smile graced his face as his hand came down to rub her huge stomach, a habit of his ever since he first felt the bump on her stomach.
Rukia smiled as she placed her hand over his. "We're almost there."
"Yeah," he whispered as he leaned forward to kiss her temple. His lips pressed butterfly kisses all the way down to her neck, earning him soft giggles from the woman next to him. "You're quite ticklish today," he joked as he nipped at her neck.
Rukia sighed as she leaned to give him more access. "That's because you're being extra gentle today," she commented as she turned her head to receive his kiss against her lips. They both smiled through the kiss as it started to deepen. She moaned at his sweet touches before forcing her eyes to open and look to the side. "Ithigo," she mumbled against him.
"Mhmm," he merely sighed.
"Ithigo," she tried again, "School."
"Later," he muttered as he started to kiss down her neck.
Rukia sighed in contentment, focusing on his expert tongue as it washed away the uncomfortable feelings during the last month of the pregnancy. "Ichigo," she breathed.
The orange head sighed, his warm breath waking up goosebumps as he pulled away. "Alright I'll leave," he groaned in defeat.
She chuckled at his expression. "Thank you."
He jokingly glared at her as he got out of bed. Grabbing his school uniform, he made his way to the bathroom as Rukia went back to sleep. As the warm water poured over his head, Ichigo sighed as his muscles relaxed. And that was how his mind started to wander off again.
Every morning after Ichigo started to wake up to the pleasant sight of Rukia curled up next to him, wearing one of his oversized shirts, made his heart beat faster. There was a sense of pride at seeing her like that, and it grew whenever he felt their child punching and kicking against the womb. It only heightened his desire to hold his child as soon as possible.
The days were counting down, and everyone was nervous. The nursery between their rooms was all ready for the arrival of the baby, thanks to the help of their friends. And everyone kept their phone on during school just in case his phone dies and Rukia needed to reach him.
Isshin has been bouncing off the walls in excitement while the twins were trying to calm him down. The only one acting calm around the house was Yume, who would only laugh behind her hand at the constant craziness. Ichigo only trusted her to help Rukia if she suddenly went into labor. Since they live only in a neighborhood clinic, they didn't have the equipments needed to deliver a baby. So they would have to go to Karakura Hospital as soon as possible. And Isshin couldn't be trusted behind the wheel when that day comes.
Turning off the showerhead, Ichigo stepped out of the shower and dried himself before putting on his uniform. Just as he stepped outside, he looked up to see the older woman smiling at him. "Ah, ohayo gozaimasu."
"Ohayo," she greeted back, "All ready for school?"
"Yup," he smiled as he made his way back to his room. "Do you want me to wake up Rukia?"
She shook her head. "Let the poor child rest. She will be miserable later on so it's best to leave her alone. I just wanted to know how you're doing."
"Okay, I guess," he shrugged his shoulders. "I just can't wait for the baby."
"None of us can," she smiled him as she made her way downstairs.
With a big smile, he returned to his room, making sure to close the door quietly behind him. Tossing his other clothes and used towel on his chair, Ichigo grabbed his bag and started checking to make sure he had all of his books.
"Mhmm, Ichigo?"
He looked over to see Rukia rubbing her eyes as she lifted as much of her upper body as possible. He smiled at her cute look as he went over to sit on the bed next to her. "Sorry, did I wake you again?"
"Mmph," she grunted as she dropped back down.
Ichigo leaned down and kissed her cheek. "Sorry."
"It's okay," she sighed as she tried rolling onto her back, only to roll back to her side, her back now to him, when an uncomfortable feeling ran across her chest. "I'm really sick of this."
"Only a little more," he said as he placed his chin on her shoulder.
Rukia was about to reply back when a sudden feeling ran across her stomach this time. "Umph!" she bit her lower lip to stop herself from shrieking.
Ichigo sat up and looked over her in worry. "Rukia?"
"I'm okay," she grunted as she started taking in deep breaths, "It's coming and going more frequently now."
He frowned as he leaned over to peer at her face properly. "The contractions will get worse as time goes on. I guess the baby might be here sooner than expected."
Once the pain subsided, Rukia let out a sigh of relief. "It's gone now," she whispered.
He lifted his hand and swept it across her wet brow. "You want me to get Yume-san or someone else to stay with you?"
She shook her head as she turned her head to look at him. "I'll be fine after some sleep. Just go before you're late."
Ichigo frowned but didn't say anything knowing she would only argue against him. So he bent down to kiss her one more time. "Call me if something happens." When she nodded, he weakly smiled at her. "Get some more sleep." Again she nodded as she turned her head to face the wall again. With one last look, Ichigo pushed himself off the bed and made his way out of his room. As he arrived downstairs, he smiled as his family greeted him.
"Ohayo, oniichan!" Yuzu grinned brightly like she always does.
"Ohayo," he greeted back as he sat across from Karin. "So what's for breakfast?"
Karin grunted. "Just simple toast and jam. The smallest stench makes Rukia-neesan sick so she decided to keep things simple."
Ichigo glared at the plain food in front of him as if it was his enemy. "Well, Rukia is asleep now so let's get some real food."
"No," Yuzu cutely scolded him, "I want Rukia-neesan to be as comfortable as possible, asleep or awake. And you can't argue."
The older brother groaned as he spread the jam on his toast. "Well then, I'm only going to take this and go; I have a lot to do. Also, I think Rukia is starting to feel contractions. Check up on her every once in awhile, okay?"
"Roger," Karin lazily saluted at him.
"And make sure the old man stays away from her," he reminded.
"Don't worry!" Yuzu smiled, "I already locked the door to the clinic so he can't come in."
Ichigo nodded as if to say 'good job' before heading out. "See ya."
"Have fun at school!" she waved after him.
And once the door closed, Karin ran forward to turn the locks just in time to hear her father struggling to open the door from the outside. "Che, I almost forgot."
"NOOOOO!" Isshin cried.
Ichigo, who had thankfully been spared of his father's crazy antics, quickly ran away before the old man could change his mind about getting inside the house and come after him instead. Only when he was a couple of blocks away did he slow down to a walk. "Fucking old man," he huffed as he tried to catch his breath, "Popped out of nowhere."
"Talking to yourself?"
Ichigo looked up to see Hitsugaya staring at him with his bored look, completely different from Hinamori who was standing next to him with a bright smile. "What do you want, Toshiro?" Ichigo grunted.
The young genius glared. He never liked being called by his name. "We were just on our way to school when you popped out of nowhere."
"Were you running away from your father again?" Hinamori asked as the three started their walk to school.
"Yeah, he's been getting crazier now that the baby is almost due."
She giggled at the thought. "I can't wait to see Takeshi-kun."
"How's Kuchiki taking the last month?" Hitusgaya asked.
Ichigo shrugged his shoulder. "She keeps complaining about feeling uncomfortable. And she keeps waking up in the middle of the night because she can't find a good position without bothering the baby."
"Does he kick really hard?" Hinamori asked as she lightly pouted as if to remember something. "I remember reading somewhere that when babies kick it hurts a lot."
"Apparently it gets worse by the month," Hitsugaya informed her, "And most often their kicking wakes the mothers so it's almost impossible to calm them down. In the end they suffer a lot from it."
"And become scary bitches," Ichigo grunted, remembering the one night when the baby was kicking so hard that Rukia actually ripped up one of her Chappy plushes in pure frustration.
When Hinamori noticed his expression, she smiled as she made him an offer. "How about I come over after school and take her to a spa?"
Ichigo shook his head. "That sounds really nice but she doesn't want to get out of the house. She's afraid of going into labor when I'm not around."
"Has she started contractions yet?" Hitsugaya asked.
The orange head nodded. "Really late last night. I kind of freaked out and thought she was going into labor until Yume-san came in and reassured me it was still too far apart."
"That means the baby is going to be here soon!" she squealed.
Again Ichigo nodded with a smile.
Ichigo felt like he was about to lose his mind. Every few minutes he would check his phone to see if Rukia called him. And during breaks he would quickly call home only to get scolded by Karin for using up her minutes. Still, he was grateful that his sisters decided to skip school that day to take care of Rukia, who seemed exhausted.
"Anything?
Ichigo shook his head.
Tatsuki sighed as she leaned against the window next to him. "You're starting to get me all worked up with all these phone calls."
He snorted as he flipped his phone close after the fourth call he made that day. "Now that Rukia started contracting, I'm close to falling apart. And it's not helping that I can't get rid of her pain-stricken face from my head."
"Calm down," she slapped him on the back, "You're acting like you're going into labor. And don't forget there are three people there to help her if anything happens."
"I know but still—"
"This is your first kid so of course you're worried," she continued, "But don't start freaking out. It's going to affect Rukia when she sees you."
Ichigo nodded as he took in a deep breath. "Right."
"Good."
"Anything?"
The two looked up to see Renji walking up to them. Ichigo shook his head, the same answer he gave Tatsuki when she first asked the same question.
"Man, this is nerve-wrecking," Renji sighed as he stood before them. "I keep checking my phone too."
"We're all a little tense right now," Tatsuki said as she looked around the room. And sure enough their group of friends was all checking on their phones before looking up at Ichigo to shake their head.
"I hope that baby comes soon so he can give all of us a peace of mind," Renji grunted.
"Hear hear," she agreed.
"How's Rukia putting up with everything?" Renji asked.
Ichigo immediately cringed. "Bad."
"Sucks," he mumbled. "I'm sure she hates having slept with you now—OW! What?" he glared when Tatsuki suddenly punched his arm.
"Dumbass, don't say shit like that," she scolded, nodding her head at the distraught looking Ichigo.
"Oh, right…Dude, you know I was only joking right?" Renji tried to laugh but it came out weakly.
The orange head stared at the red head in complete annoyance. "Shut it before I do it for you."
"Got it." He made a motion with his hand as if zipping his lips close before walking away.
Tatsuki rolled her eyes after him before returning to her conversation with Ichigo. "I know you're going crazy with the baby almost due, but calm down. It's not going to speed this up."
"I know that, but it's not easy."
"Well, try," she told him before walking back to her seat.
Ichigo groaned as he pulled himself away from the cool window to return to his seat as well. He, out of all the people, wanted the baby born now. He was tired of checking his phone constantly, hearing Rukia groan in pain, and the lack of sleep since she kept moving around during the middle of the night. Not to mention he hated seeing her in so much pain and discomfort.
"Only a little longer," Chad, who had came over to pat his friend on the shoulder, quietly said, "Calm down. We're here for you if anything happens."
Ichigo nodded up at him. "I know. Thanks for the reassurance."
The giant also nodded back before returning to his seat. Ichigo noticed he was slightly sweating from nervousness. It seemed everyone was being affect by the baby even though they were trying to act strong in front of him.
It only did worse against his nerves.
Ding ding ding!
The others flinched when the bell suddenly rang. Orihime and Tatsuki couldn't help but check their phones, mistaking the bell for a call.
The teacher entered the room and looked around once before landing on the two. "Let's start class. So please put away your phones," he said.
"Hai," the two girls quickly shoved their phones into their desks and watched as the teacher opened his book.
Ichigo groaned as his teacher started his lesson. What he wouldn't give to get out of class and go to Rukia—
Ring ring ring!
"Kurosaki! Is that your phone?" the teacher yelled.
"Sorry," the orange head quickly apologized while reaching for his phone in his bag.
"Sensei, you shouldn't be so harsh on him," Keigo grinned, "He has to keep his phone on in case Kuchiki-san goes into labor…" his words died off as those words registered into his own head. "ICHIGO!" he threw himself at his friend and started to cry, "Why did you take the beautiful Kuchiki-san away from me?"
"Let go!" Ichigo quickly kicked his 'friend' away and flipped open his phone to read the text message that arrived.
It was from Karin. And she only wrote two words. But they were enough to make his entire face pale as white.
'It's time.'
"WHAT THE FUCK!" he shot up from his seat and quickly grabbed his bag.
"Where do you think you're going Kurosaki?" his teacher yelled at him.
"IT'S TIME!" was all he said before he quickly ran off.
The entire class was silent before his words sunk in. "IT'S TIME?" they all screamed together. Chad, Uryuu, Orihime, Tatsuki and Renji quickly grabbed their bags and ran after the orange head.
"HEY! WHERE ARE YOU FIVE GOING?" the teacher shouted. But when he noticed Keigo trying to sneak his way to join them, he grabbed the back of his collar and yanked him back. "Oh no, you're not going anywhere!"
Keigo's cries were the last thing they heard before they quickly left school.
Ichigo huffed as his chest rose and fell in rapid speed as he looked around the hospital. Knowing where to go, he quickly ran up the stairs—elevators took way too long—and made it up to the second floor. He ran for awhile before skidding to a halt.
"Where's Rukia?" he asked when his family—plus Yume—came into view.
"Oniichan!" Yuzu gasped, "You all sweaty."
"That's not important," he huffed, "Where's Rukia?" he asked again.
"Inside," Karin pointed to a room.
Not giving a damn he was being rude for not thanking her, he quickly opened the door and entered. The moment the door closed behind him, his friends arrived and joined his family—plus Yume—in the waiting room.
"Rukia?" Ichigo whispered.
The said woman turned to see him taking small steps closer to her. She tried her best to smile. "Ichigo, you sure got here fast."
Hearing her exhausted voice, Ichigo finally rushed over and held her hand. "How are you holding up?" he asked as he wiped her sweaty hair back.
Rukia sighed. "I'm exhausted. The doctor said we might be ready to push in five more hours or so."
Ichigo nodded as he kissed her hand. "How're you dealing with the contractions?" he joked, trying to lightened the mood.
A snort came from her as she tried to wiggle her painful body into a more comfortable position. "I'm going to kill you later," she threatened.
Ichigo chuckled but a frown quickly appeared when her face contorted in pain and grasped his hand tightly. "Rukia?"
"Umph!" she bit her lower lips, "It's getting more painful!" she grunted.
Concerned, he didn't say anything when she started gripping his hand in a death grip. A few seconds later, she finally relaxed and slumped back on the bed. "Rukia," he wiped the sweat off her brow again.
She only responded with a small smile, keeping her eyes closed as she tried to control her breathing. "Don't worry so much," she said, "It's all worth it."
"Is it?" he asked without thinking.
Rukia opened her eyes as she continued smiling at him. "Of course it is. I wouldn't give up this baby for anything in the world," she told him before a frown appeared on her face. "Why? Do you regret this?"
Ichigo looked deep into her eyes before leaning forward to place a light kiss on her lips. "Of course not. I should be considered lucky to have you as the mother of my child."
A weak chuckle came from her as she closed her eyes again.
For the next five hours the two stayed still while contractions came and went, along with the nurses and doctor to check on her progress.
Soon, it was time.
"Okay, looks like we're just about ready to start pushing," the doctor settled herself in front of Rukia and smiled sweetly at her. "You ready to become a mother?"
Rukia took in a deep breath before nodding.
Ichigo just kissed her hand that was in his tight grip as they got everything ready.
"Okay," the doctor said after taking another look between Rukia's legs, "Start pushing, Rukia-san!"
Minutes went by and Rukia grunted in pain as she continued pushing. Her body was going numb from the pain that felt like it was splitting her body apart. Her screams echoed throughout the room and had a vice-like grip on Ichigo's hand.
But the pain was all worth it.
In a few minutes she was going to be a mother.
"I need you to keep pushing, Rukia-san!" the doctor cried out.
Rukia took in another deep breath as she strained her body to push with all her might, her hand tightening its grip around Ichigo's fingers. But the orange head was too observed in comforting Rukia that he ignored the bone-crushing pain.
He wiped away her sweats, kissed her hand and her forehead while whispering words of encouragement into her ears. If he couldn't share the pain, the least he could was comfort the woman who was giving birth to his baby.
In a few seconds he was going to be father.
"The baby's crowning! Keep pushing!"
Rukia gasped in pain as she pushed.
"Here's the shoulders! Just one more big push Kuchiki-san!"
Rukia gritted her teeth as she gave one last push and then—
"WAH! WAAHH!"
—the most beautiful sound in the world entered the room.
Ichigo and Rukia both looked up and saw the small body of their baby being lifted up into the air for them to see from between her legs.
"Congratulations! It's a boy!" the doctor announced.
A big smile tugged at Ichigo's lips. He was a father… He now had a son. Ichigo turned back to Rukia only to see her lightly smiling as she fell back on her bed, breathing heavily out of exhaustion.
Ichigo cut the umbilical cord, and waited for the nurses to clean up his son and check his health, while the doctor focused on cleaning up Rukia after she had pushed out the placenta. Soon, when everything was said and done, Rukia was handed her son. The nurses and doctor walked out, leaving the new parents alone.
"He's beautiful," Rukia whispered, leaning down to lightly place a kiss on her son's forehead.
"Yeah, he really is," he whispered as he carefully brush the small bit of hair on his son's head with only the tip of one finger.
"You want to hold him?" she asked.
Ichigo looked down into her eyes before nodding. "I guess I'm going to have to sooner or later, right?"
She smiled. "You're not going to drop him. Just don't forget to support his head."
"Che, such a natural mother," he smirked as he carefully placed his arms under Rukia's. Once she felt Ichigo had a secure hold, she carefully pulled out her arms placing their newborn baby in his arms.
Rukia felt her chest fill with warmth and contentment as she watched Ichigo gently rocked their son, making small cooing noises to comfort the baby who seemed to be waking up. He grinned at his scrunching face. "He's really small."
She giggled. "Why don't you take him outside and show the others," she said.
Ichigo looked at her and smiled. "Right. Be right back." He stood up and gently walked outside, only to be confronted by their family and friends.
"It's a boy," Ichigo grinned widely with pride.
Kurosaki Takeshi was finally here.
A/N: this chapter was a lot shorter but I really like it. I didn't write too much about Takeshi because the remaining chapters of this story will be focused practically on him (besides the two parents, of course). I never seen a delivery nor hung around people in their last month of pregnancy before so I wasn't quite sure how to write the first and last scene. But I did what I could and did a little research. Hopefully it came out well.
Thanks for reading and please review! They really encourage me.
Preview for next chapter:
Bringing the baby home
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