They moved in with Ichigo's dad, with not much more than the clothes they were already wearing. No one had to help them move in. Ichigo's old bedroom was pretty much how he had left it before college, blue bed sheets, a small desk, and plenty space in the closet. Not that they would need it. Ichigo sat on the twin bed and bent over to hold his head in his hands. He had no idea what they were going to do now. Everything was gone. Everything he had worked for, had built for himself. He took a shuddering breath and pulled his hair. He didn't think that there was any coming back from this.

The door opened and shut softly as light footsteps prodded over to the bed.

"How're you doing?" Toushiro voice was rough like an elderly smoker's.

Ichigo shook his head and he felt Toushiro rest his cheek against his shoulder.

"We're okay and we're going to be okay."

"How can you be so calm?" Ichigo growled, letting go of his hair and fisting his borrowed sweat pants. "We lost everything; doesn't it mean a thing to you?"

He felt Toushiro tense and he let out a heavy sigh. When he looked up, Ichigo was surprised to see that his eyes were watery.

Ichigo swallowed as he sat up and stared. "Shiro?"

He took a deep breath and flung himself against Ichigo's chest. He wound his arms around Ichigo's waist and buried his face into his shirt.

"Shiro?"

He took a heaving breath. "I didn't lose you. Of course, I'm scared of what's going to happen. I don't know how we're going to make it back from this. But if I focus on that I can't… I can't. I could have lost you as well…"

Ichigo pulled him close. He still smelt strongly of smoke, and Ichigo felt a pang in his chest. While he had showered and changed Toushiro had been on the phone with the insurance company. While he had sat in a daze in the waiting room Toushiro had called his father. While he had been checked over by the paramedics Toushiro gave his statement to the firemen. He hadn't given himself time to think about what was going to happen. He had just been trying to keep the both of them safe.

Toushiro's shoulders were shaking ever so slightly and Ichigo pressed a kiss to his forehead. "I'll run you a bath," he mumbled.

Toushiro nodded.

Ichigo didn't remember much of what happened the night before. He had been exhausted from his shit at the hospital and almost dead to the world. Toushiro had shaken him awake and at once he began to cough on smoke. Their apartment had been full of it. They assumed that the fire was in the hallway outside their apartment. So, Toushiro had pushed him into the furthest corner of their room and curled around him. Sirens were already blearing in the distance. It took the fireman an agonising fifteen minutes to comb through the building to find them. Their lungs had been filled with smoke and they had nearly suffocated, but Toushiro refused an oxygen mask until he saw Ichigo safely inside the ambulance. Ichigo pulled a pillow to his stomach and curled around it. He was wearing his dad's clothes now, but he would have been dead if it wasn't for Toushiro, and the amazing man had somehow found the sanity and time to shove both of their wallets and car keys into a pillow case. They had lost the apartment and everything in it, but at least they still were connected to their bank accounts and could still drive. And they were both still alive, even if they would be wheezing and coughing up smoke for a few weeks.

Toushiro stumbled back into the room wearing a pair of Karin's old sweat pants and one of Yuzu's oversized knit sweaters. His eyes were rimmed with red though. Ichigo rolled over to give him room on the bed and wrapped his arms around him when he slid under the sheets. His hair now smelt of the twin's apricot shampoo.

"Yeah," Ichigo mumbled, "We're going to be okay."


Did I say that I was back to regular updates? Whoops.

This chapter was brought to you by geishaaa :)

- Mymomomo