Here we go, LAST CHAPTER! Soz it took longer to post this chapter, but I was really unhappy with it, and I've been playing around with it for the last few weeks actually, I re-wrote like 3 times and I've decided that this is as good as it will probably ever get. So, wallah!

Quick thanks to everyone who has reviewed, favorited and/or followed, the support has been incredible. Like I said at the beginning, this was just supposed to be a simple plot of no more than 10 parts as my first multi-chapter fic, so hopefully I've done it justice?

I'm sure I'll write something new soon, but I'll probably stick with one-shots for a while because I'm super busy with work and what not. So thanks again, and tell me what you thought of this story as a whole 3 xxx

Chapter 10: Toshiro

"I came to apologise for my actions, Captain," Renji Abarai spoke quietly, his eyes rising from the floor to meet Toshiro's icy gaze, "…I made those comments out of ignorance and stupidity, and for that I am deeply sorry. I know there is no excuse for such behaviour."

Toshiro considered this. If he was being honest, he really was not that mad at Abarai. He had gotten used to people thinking similar thoughts about him and although he was by no means okay with it, he was simply tired of arguing; he just stopped caring what people thought.

Ichigo, on the other hand, was trembling with fury. He was either upset at the fact that his best friend had blatantly refused to support his relationship or angered by the harsh words said about his lover; Toshiro wasn't entirely sure which was ticking him off the most, but it was clear that the strawberry was much more affected by the whole ordeal than him.

"While I appreciate your efforts, Lieutenant, I believe your apology shouldn't be for me, but for Kurosaki. He was the one who got hurt, not me."

"Tosh-," Ichigo tried to protest before being cut off.

"No, he's right, Ichigo," Abarai agreed quickly with Toshiro, "I am really sorry about what I said last night. I should have been more supportive, you're my friend and you deserve to be happy."

Toshiro watched Ichigo closely as the rage etched all over his face slowly died down. Abarai's apology had been sincere, and his eyes showed genuine guilt and remorse for his actions. Toshiro did not doubt that the redheaded lieutenant was honestly trying to make things right, and he could tell that Ichigo was mentally preparing to forgive his friend.

"Okay," Ichigo nodded firmly, "Okay, good."

Allowing himself a small smile, Toshiro watched as the two friends hugged it out. He was glad to be putting this matter behind them before it could escalate, and now Ichigo would not be distracted while they dealt with the issue of his inner-hollow.

Abarai turned towards Toshiro and held out his arm somewhat nervously as Ichigo watched keenly from beside them. The fool was practically bouncing with excitement; Toshiro realised that this is what he wanted all along – his friends and family to know of their relationship and to support them through it. Toshiro smirked a little at the lieutenant's slight unease and his boyfriend's positive mood swing as he reached his hand out to grasp Abarai's. They shook hands firmly; a silent agreement that neither one of them would ever hurt the bumbling idiot they both so dearly loved.

… … …

Rangiku's girly giggle matched perfect pitch with that of Ayasegawa's. They were ganging up on Madarame as usual, who was making a rather large spectacle of himself. Toshiro wasn't listening closely enough to know exactly what they were talking about, but he could hazard a guess that they were discussing yesterday's 'friendly' kendo match and Madarame's subsequent scalping rampage. Toshiro was not exactly sure how he had been coerced into participating but he had to admit that he did have a good time. He was even more grateful that he had been able to erase all those humans' memories.

Looking around the park, he saw all the soul reapers from his mission as well as Ichigo and his friends as they mingled and celebrated. It had been almost a fortnight since the Espada attack, and Aizen had not sent a single arrancar since then. Yesterday, Toshiro had been asked to return to the Soul Society with his team by the head captain as Yamamoto believed Aizen was recovering from his loss of two Espadas and would focus entirely on his original plan of stealing the Oken to reach Soul King. Toshiro and his team would be leaving tonight, and thus Rangiku had organised a celebratory picnic in the park.

He smirked as he watched Rukia Kuchki mildly bully the arrogant Quincy, while Chad watched on silently and Abarai seemed to just be grateful it wasn't him on the receiving end this time around.

Toshiro felt Ichigo wrap an arm around his shoulders and he subconsciously leant against him. He was sad to be leaving his boyfriend's world, but Ichigo would still see him a lot given the upcoming war. He smirked as he watched Ichigo try and politely decline Inoue's special 'banana mustard sushi'.

"No, really Orihime, I'm already so full," Ichigo panicked, his free arm flailing about. Toshiro chuckled quietly as the girl walked away to offer someone else. Ichigo, having let out a breath of relief, caught on to Toshiro's mirth and laughed along with him. He grinned that stupid smile of his – the one that turned Toshiro into a stuttering mess – and leaned down towards him.

"I'm gonna miss you," Ichigo whispered, his mouth moving to Toshiro's ear.

Toshiro rolled his eyes, "You're still going to see me all the time. The head captain wants you on our side for this war."

"Well, of course," Ichigo chuckled as he bent down to press his lips to Toshiro's own.

Toshiro had noticed recently that whenever Ichigo kissed him, he would become completely oblivious to his surroundings. He realised that he hadn't noticed this before as previously they had always been alone when kissing, but now that everyone knew about them, Ichigo would kiss him all the time, no matter where they were or who they were with. This was done much to Toshiro's chagrin. He did not like public displays of affection but as soon as those velvet lips touched his own, he completely forgot what his protests were; he was in his own private world, alone with Ichigo.

Embarrassment was forgotten when a warm tongue flickered against his lips, or when one large hand came up to cup his cheek while the other wrapped around his waist and pulled him close. He couldn't even remember to feel awkward when his head automatically tilted to the side and his mouth opened to let his lover in. He could barely recall his own name, let alone what was happening around him, and when had he twisted his hands in Ichigo's jacket to pull him even closer?

A wolf whistle harshly brought him back to reality and he pushed Ichigo away from him abruptly.

It was Abarai. It was always Abarai.

Ichigo grinned at him as he blushed before turning to his friend and tackling the Sixth Division lieutenant to the ground.

"RENJI!" Ichigo roared, "Stop watching, you perv!"

"It's not my fault you can't keep your hands off him!"

Toshiro blushed harder as the two of them fought playfully in the grass.

"Want us to give them a good beating, Captain?" Rangiku suggested playfully as she snuck up behind him, Kuchki at her side as she looked down upon her two friends with bored but knowing expression.

"Let them go," Toshiro sighed, "It's better that they get it out of their system now, otherwise we'll be dealing with this all afternoon."

Kuchki nodded solemnly in agreement, while Rangiku pouted.

"Ahh boys will boys, won't they, Byakuya?"

Toshiro whipped around to see Captains Ukitake and Kuchki standing behind him as they watched Ichigo and Abarai wrestle. Ukitake looked down upon them fondly, while Byakuya Kuchki looked rather disapprovingly down at his lieutenant.

"Ukitake? Captain Kuchki? What are you doing here?" Toshiro asked, very surprised to see his fellow captains. Rukia too looked equally stunned to see her brother and captain before her.

"We have come to accompany you and your team back to the Soul Society," The older Kuchki answered with next to no expression in his voice.

"But not for a few hours yet!" Ukitake added joyfully, "We came to see how you're all going. Oh Toshiro, you gave us a big scare after that Espada attack."

"Oh…sorry about that," Toshiro replied awkwardly, he still wasn't completely comfortable with Ukitake's level of care for him. He was the only one who seemed to care about him, other than Rangiku, before Ichigo had come along.

"We are just glad you're okay, Shiro-chan," Ukitake smiled and patted him on the back, obviously ignoring Toshiro's eye twitch from the use of that dreaded nickname, "I even brought you some candy!"

The next thing Toshiro knew, his arms were full of different types of candies and he was just as hastily palming them off to Rangiku and quietly telling her to get rid of them discreetly. She collected them and ran off with a knowing giggle.

"Captain?" Abarai appeared next to Toshiro having finally finished his fight with Ichigo and feeling his captain's spiritual pressure.

The Sixth Division captain gave him a disapproving grunt of acknowledgement, but Abarai was not deterred, waving dumbly and asking him how he was. Toshiro had never understood their relationship. Captain Kuchki had clearly shown his distaste for his second in command during the ryoka invasion, but Abarai never seemed to give up trying to impress him.

"Byakuya, Jushiro! Hey!" Ichigo called as he made his way to them.

"Hello, Ichigo," Ukitake greeted him with a smile, "Congratulations on your relationship with our dear Shiro-chan!"

Toshiro's mouth fell agape and Ichigo managed to stutter out an embarrassed 'thank you'. Toshiro was not surprised to find out later that it was Rangiku who had told him. She had told a lot of people apparently, claiming she was making up for the months where she had to keep it a secret.

As afternoon slowly became evening, the light shifted to create a beautiful palette of purples, pinks and oranges in the sky. The evening was winding down, and Toshiro sat on the grass, leaning back into Ichigo's warm hold. The others had broken off into their own little groups as they laughed and played childishly around the park; the obvious exception being Captain Kuchki, who looked like he'd rather not be there at all.

"I spoke to Urahara today," Ichigo voiced softly as he ran his fingers along Toshiro's arm, "He says he might know some people who could help me control the hollow."

"Really?" Toshiro glanced up at him. They had been looking for a way to train Ichigo's inner-hollow but they hadn't been successful so far. He had recommended Ichigo go see Urahara, since that man seemed to know a lot about shady stuff like this, but Ichigo had been reluctant to share this with the flamboyant shopkeeper.

Ichigo nodded in response, "They're called visoreds, or something."

Toshiro could tell he was nervous, so he gripped Ichigo's hand and kissed it lightly, "Well, whatever happens, I'll be there. I'm serious Ichigo, you need to be honest with me about everything that goes on otherwise I won't be able to help you."

"I know," Ichigo exhaled, "Thank you again, babe, I'd be lost without you."

"I know," Toshiro smirked.

Toshiro pulled himself into a squatting position and turned to face Ichigo. The strawberry looked at him questioningly before he opened his mouth to speak. He was cut off, however, when Toshiro pressed his lips to Ichigo's firmly. He was going to miss seeing this idiot every day.

Toshiro pulled back to see a dazed expression on Ichigo's face.

"Wow…" Ichigo whispered, "…just wow."

Toshiro grinned. He knew the feeling all too well and he was glad to see it on Ichigo instead of him. It was hot.

"Come on," Toshiro said as he got to his feet and held out a hand to Ichigo, "We better get back to everyone."

Ichigo did his best kicked puppy expression, but eventually gave up and took Toshiro's hand. The captain pulled him to his feet and was rewarded with a soft kiss to his forehead.

Across the park, the heard Rukia's deafening scream. Ichigo jumped into an attack position but tilted his head in confusion when he saw his dark haired friend jump enthusiastically up to hug her brother.

"She's getting promoted, Kurosaki, calm down," Toshiro said, tugging gently at his boyfriend's arm and pulling the berry out of his hostile position.

"What?!" Ichigo questioned, still watching his friend as she bounced around the place, apparently telling everyone the good news.

"Yeah, Ukitake and I gave our written recommendations to the head captain this morning, and we both had a long discussion with Captain Kuchki about it," Toshiro answered truthfully, "Looks like he's finally come round."

"You recommended Rukia for promotion?"

Toshiro hummed in affirmation, "She deserves it."

And she did. He wouldn't have recommended her if she hadn't. She had taken plenty of initiative on this mission; pulling Ichigo out of his guilty mindset, taking Inoue to the Soul Society and training her herself, and of course, she'd done magnificently as Toshiro's battle partner against Yammy.

The snow crowned prodigy looked up to see Ichigo beaming at him. Before he could ask what was going on, he was pulled into a snug embrace. His nostrils were assaulted with the sweet smell of his strawberry lover and slowly, he wrapped his arms around Ichigo's waist.

"I love you so much," Ichigo whispered.

Later that evening, the eight soul reapers stood in front of the Senkaimon as it slowly opened its doors. Everyone had said their "see you later"'s – because with Aizen around, this was certainly not goodbye – and now they were ready to leave the World of The Living.

Toshiro glanced over his shoulder to Ichigo. The subsititute smiled fondly at him and waved. Toshiro couldn't help but smile back. This damn strawberry was having too great effect on him.

He caught Rangiku swooning like a typical fangirl from beside him, her eyes almost turning into animated love hearts.

"Stop that!" Toshiro hissed as he grabbed her arm and pulled her back to face the gate.

His ears burned as he felt both her and Ichigo grin at him. Why they both seemed to find so much humour in his embarrassment, he'll never know.

Finally the gateway to the Soul Society opened and the soul reapers began to file through. Toshiro went last and managed a quick peak at Ichigo. His boyfriend was blowing kisses at him like the fool he was. Toshiro rolled his eyes at his lover's antics and ran through the Senkaimon.

I love you too, Idiot.

The End.