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Outside of house chores and garden trimming and groceries, which Ichigo assumes full command of, he does not exert much control on what his wife does. He does not hover on her, meddle on her activities work and off-work, and has no qualms on whoever she speaks with (though he knows the names of the guys who deliver their milk and house mail and usually spies on them in guarded amusement - while crouched in bushes - as they attempt to low-key flirt with his oblivious wife).
Rukia responds in kind: not meddling in his business outside (not that there are many: occasionally out for a drink, that sort, or roughhousing), lets him stay on a riverbank on some days to think, and joins him for tea on quiet afternoons - or for liquor, during late nights. They brawl, too, on some mornings, with her drawing his blood and tearing his muscles first. Likewise, she is on a first-name basis with an 8th seat officer (of a division he doesn't remember) who doubles as the president of an appreciation club set up for him. Rukia invites the members to meet in their division compound weekly, gives them free matcha and rice cakes, to annoy him.
But just the same: they let each other know where they are, and make no demands of each other's attention, he keeps the meal warm for her - as she does for him, and at night, when he climbs to her bed, or she climbs to his, and they hold hands, they are assured that theirs is a shared life.
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Some time after lunch:
"Would you like to meet my friends, Ichigo?" asks Rukia quietly, unmoving on her futon as she reviews their division's budget summary report for the month.
Ichigo is busy filing folders at the corner of her office. Behind him are fully parted shoji screens, where Seireitei is quietly humming with life, or dead life.
Ichigo pauses, looks over - blinks blankly at his wife across the room twice, thrice - she looks up and blinks blankly at him too but offers none much else. He resumes sorting through her filing cabinet when she looks down, he makes no question and she remains quiet anyway.
"Grhhr," he grunts at her, a mean rumble coming from his throat - alright.
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Ichigo safely counts her friends as his as well, which isn't a very large circle, he would know everyone.
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a/n: this isn't that ch 4 i meant to lengthen.