26. Stick of Destiny

Prompt: All I Ask

Setting: Modern day AU

Genre: Established relationship. Romance, humour.

860 Words

Rukia sat against the wall, hugging her knees, barely noticing how cold and hard the tile floor was. She took slow, even breaths; in and out. Oddly enough she didn't feel nervous anymore. When the thought had first come to her, and again back in the store when her trembling fingers had quickly snatched the package off the shelf, her head had been a right mess of panicked thoughts chasing one another in a vicious cycle of anxiety.

But now her mind rang clear and calm, and only the sickly heaviness that had settled in the pit of her stomach remained. It was not a flutter of butterfly wings, no, she was far beyond that! Rather, it felt like a bunch of fat, restless maggots burrowing into her gut.

Rukia leaned her forehead against her knees and silently begged the seconds to tick by faster. Wasn't it time already? It had been ages, how much longer did she have left?

Three minutes. Rukia snorted. It had sounded like a short wait, but now that she actually sat here, holding her breath, it felt like forever. She was rapidly nearing the point where she didn't even care what the result would be – she just needed to know. This waiting was torture. Whatever the answer was, she knew she could pull through. All she was asking was to find out whether or not –

Her cell phone's timer started to beep loudly and Rukia jumped. Three minutes were up.

Her limbs felt like lead weights as she scrambled up from the floor and peered into the sink. Her breath caught as the measly plastic stick sealed her fate with two thin lines.

Oh.

Oh shit.

Oh god.

Oh…

Rukia slumped right back to the floor.

Well, she thought wryly to herself, now I do know. She waited for the panic to settle in, but it stayed gone.

Cautiously she got up and glanced again into sink and at the stick of destiny.

Yup, still positive.

Rukia swallowed. Her mind was already racing: trying to catalogue all the things she would need to do next, and all the ways how her life was going to change… but despite that everything still felt clear and calm.

Except for the maggots still happily wriggling in the pit of her stomach.

Rukia took a deep breath and met her violet eyes in the mirror. She smoothed down her hair, combing the errant strands with her fingers. Then, she threw the stick into the bin and left the bathroom.

The whole day passed in a daze. Her mind was still pre-occupied with making plans for the future. She knew that Ichigo had noticed how distracted she'd been all day, and could tell he was nearing the end of his patience.

She felt bad for him; they never held any secrets from each other and this kind of knowledge was the kind that she had to bite her lip to keep it from bursting out.

She wanted to tell him, she needed to tell him. It wouldn't be real, wouldn't feel real until she told him – but she just didn't know how.

Rukia had never been one to beat around the bush, she told things as they were, often to the point of bluntness… but this wasn't the kind of news she could just blurt out. She needed to figure out how to approach the subject.

She frowned at the mug of tea she was cradling in her hands and shook her head. But then, that was easier said than done. Maybe she would just toss it out there and hope for the best. He could handle it, right?

She glanced at Ichigo as he was coming out of the kitchen. He stopped as he felt her gaze on him and looked up, meeting her eyes with a dark scowl.

Then again…

Ichigo crossed his arms, his stance gaining a confrontational edge.

There it comes, Rukia thought. Really, it was a wonder he had lasted this long.

"Just spit it out and get it over with," he barked, irritation colouring his voice. "Your mind has been elsewhere since this morning. You keep looking at me and biting your lip – it's obvious that you've got something you want to say. So just spill it already."

Rukia studied him for a moment. Oh what the hell, she'd have to tell him eventually.

"All right, since you insist." Rukia set down her mug and folded her hands in her lap. "But first I want you to sit down and try not to panic."

His scowl deepened but he obediently sank down on the sofa across from her. He looked at her expectantly and Rukia squared her shoulders and fumbled for words, drawing a blank. Guess she was just going to blurt it out after all.

"I'm pregnant."

"You're what?" Ichigo's eyes widened.

"I took a pregnancy test this morning and it was positive. Congratulations."

Ichigo gaped at her as the loaded silence around them stretched. Rukia half-expected him to start to hyperventilate, but he didn't. Instead, his face fell into a pained grimace of horror.

"Oh shit, Byakuya's going to kill me."