Disclaimer: Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea (Gake no Ue no Ponyo) is an animated film by Studio Ghibli, written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki. Therefore, I own nothing and bow down to genius.

Author's Note: Don't kill me for this one! This may be an idea I can expand. However, for now, take it as a drabble.

Ham

Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea

February 3, 2011

Sōsuke indulged her too much. That he knew. Anything she wanted, especially ham, she received it. Hell, that one time she had asked to eat it off of him was one time too close to crossing the line. It was close, but didn't cross.

He let her do it, and begrudgingly loved every minute of it.

Each and every minute.

Ponyo's childlike enthusiasm transferred over into every aspect of her life. Her adoration-for him, food, exploration, nature-was limitless. That was one of the things he loved most about her. The only thing, which unnerved him to no end, was that she didn't know social boundaries, appropriate behaviors, and when to just not say something that could ultimately receive stares of scorn and disapproval.

Most recently, she had commented, in public, about their… bedroom activities. When they came home, to their modest house, Sōsuke tried his hardest to not slam everything around while he was preparing dinner. (There were a few things that she was able to make, but nothing he was in the mood for. They all had ham as their main ingredient. He couldn't take much more ham.)

"I wonder..." Ponyo, said, pressing her hands to her abdomen. "Have I been eating too much?" She lifted her shirt, seeing a small bulge where her normally flat stomach should have still remained flat.

"It's a possibility," Sōsuke responded, putting the bowl down a little too heavily on the counter. Each satisfying rip of lettuce helped calm his nerves.

Ponyo frowned, removing her shirt completely. She unsnapped her skirt, letting it fall to the floor. All that remained was a pair of white underwear and socks. No matter how much his mother had insisted, when they were growing up, that she wear one, Ponyo would never wear a bra—unless it was a special occasion.

Sōsuke turned at the noises, accompanied by her whimpering, and almost jumped out of his skin when she stood there, inches away, poking her stomach.

"What are you doing? Why did you take your clothes off?"

"Something feels wrong."

"So you got naked?"

"I've gotten fat, been eating more, and now all I want to do is either get sick everywhere or make love on the kitchen floor."

"Wait, get sick?"

"Yes? That's why I keep waking up early without coming back to bed. I thought I was sick, but I feel like it's much worse. Am I dying?"

"Wait. Wait."

After an hour-long phone call to his mother, Sōsuke was instructed to bring his wife to the doctor. Even if they were married, they were young and incredibly fertile.

He spent the car ride explaining the word fertile, and just what exactly that meant to them. Dinner was forgotten—even if Ponyo had been complaining about it before, during, and after the car ride to the hospital.