Chapter Text
Yhwach is dead.
Yhwach is finally dead after nine long and arduous years. Yhwach is dead and now the balance of the universe is slowly crumbling without a king.
Ichigo stumbles away from the corpse, dropping the bloody Zangetsu. It's over. Everyone is finally avenged. He needs to… he needs to go tell his family. Yuzu, Karin, mom, dad…
His legs buckle under him before dropping him to his knees. He braces himself for the impact, but strong arms wrap around him to slow his fall.
“Careful now. You've lost a lot of blood.”
Ichigo smiles despite his exhaustion and presses himself closer to his lover.
“I'll survive. We both will. We both did…” he trails off before laughing.
“Holy fuck, we did it!”
He feels Sōsuke chuckle above him before a touch on his chin makes Ichigo lift his head.
Amber against dark honey, the emotions Ichigo sees in those mesmerising eyes must reflect on his own. Concern, relief, satisfaction, and most of all, depthless love and devotion.
Ichigo lifts his hand to wipe some soot from under Sōsuke's eye before pulling him into a deep kiss.
It's soft and intense and all the more sweet for it. He feels something metallic and jagged scratch his cheek before it's jerked back. He quickly catches the wrist and sets the hand back against his face, all without breaking the kiss.
When they part a few moments later, Ichigo keeps ahold of the hand and brings it closer to examine it.
“We'll need to get this fixed.”
The hand is a few shades paler and a bit larger than his own. The remaining skin is smooth excluding a few rapidly healing cuts and scars. Almost half of the palm is covered in metal with three of the fingers being completely made of it. Or at least they should be. Two are cut in half and the final one is broken just enough that the wires are showing.
Ichigo lifts the hand and brushes a light kiss along the knuckles. He doesn't care that the jagged edges cut open his lips.
Sōsuke pulls him into another kiss, licking the blood off his lips in the process. Ichigo blindly searches for Sōsuke’s right shoulder and when he finds it, he takes a firm grip and relocates it. Sōsuke winces in pain but doesn't break the kiss.
When they part they stay silent, just enjoying the closeness.
“After we get out of here, let's go to a remote place and build a house there. It would be next to an evergreen forest. We could make a wall of it one-sided glass, so we could see all the birds and deer”
Ichigo can feel his lover’s smile.
“Blood loss getting to you, my dearest?”
“Shut up.”
Sōsuke chuckles at the fake venom before speaking.
“We could grow an orchard of plums and cherries. As well as some rowans for the birds”
“That's a great idea,” Ichigo declares. There's a reason he's dating this asshole. “Let's also plant a huge garden of flowers and herbs. That way there'll be butterflies in summer.”
They fall into a comfortable silence. The earth shakes. Neither of them has the energy to flee.
“Bunnies.”
Sōsuke hums inquiringly.
“We could get bunnies in the cottage. They're so soft and fluffy. I've always wanted one as a pet.”
“Of course my sunrise. I'll get you all the bunnies you could ever want.”
Ichigo can practically feel the fondness dripping from the words. He smiles and nuzzles into Sōsuke’s neck.
“You won't forget me, will you?”
The hands around him squeeze him tighter.
“Of course I won't. I could never.”
Ichigo also tightens his hold.
“I know.”
They drift into unconsciousness in a tight embrace. After a few minutes the sounds of people approach. They're calling for something, seemingly searching.
The earth rumbles ominously.