Chapter Text
“Good boy, Toshiro,” Ichigo praised with a fond grin that only grew when rounded, bright teal eyes focused up at him, his precious dragon smiling with flushed cheeks. He wrapped his arms around his small form, pulling him close and hummed as the small man rubbed his cheek against his chest, scenting him.
The feeling was familiar, constant when they were at home together, especially when Ichigo returned from the college where he worked. Toshiro said he smelled like too many other people after being at work all day - and he should only smell like him.
Deep mahogany eyes once more took in the sight of the wonderful dinner that had been laid out upon the table. Toshiro worked from home, writing on too many subjects for Ichigo to keep up with, really whatever the prodigy’s mind became fixated on. He had several nom de plumes and was published many times over Ichigo’s own publication rate, but that wasn’t surprising to him. And he didn’t mind.
He was so proud of his stunning mate.
They had mated Toshiro’s following heat after Ichigo had confessed his feelings to his gorgeous roommate. It had still taken several days to convince Toshiro to allow him to kiss him - several weeks for him to allow him to properly pleasure him. By the time his heat came again though, both were decided and ready. Ichigo didn’t remotely want to spend his existence with any other soul as his partner. He wanted to become his dragon’s life mate.
Ichigo had known Toshiro could be as hot as he was cold, and he hadn’t been disappointed. He happily bound his dragon to him, accepting Tosiro’s claiming bite and reiatsu infusion in return, though both were shocked when Toshiro could pour reiatsu into him through the mark. Toshiro worked it out later, with Hyourinmaru’s help - who he was ecstatic to be able to hear again.
Ichigo’s binding had flooded him with a vasto lorde’s reiatsu, which healed the damage that had been done to him and granted him Zangetsu’s instant regeneration ability. When he bonded with Ichigo in return, he was very pleased to discover that Ichigo had gained immunity to his ice. Even if he lost control, he couldn’t harm his mate.
Healing also meant that he could leave his gigai, and Toshiro had been so adorably pouty about still looking exactly the same as he had for the past several decades. Ichigo was quick to reassure him that his youthful appearance didn’t bother him in the slightest - he loved him regardless of how old he appeared to be. Hyourinmaru had also confirmed that it was his icy reiatsu that had stopped the aging of Toshiro’s soul, so it wasn’t anything that any amount of time was going to remedy, only something that they had to learn to accept. Well, Toshiro had to learn to accept it - Ichigo couldn’t have been more endeared with his precious little dragon’s appearance and how well he fit in his arms when he held and carried him.
For a long time, Toshiro barely left his gigai, self conscious about looking so young and being treated differently by others. But Ichigo didn’t treat him any differently and he knew the gigai felt a bit suffocating to his powerful mate. Gradually, he was able to convince him to remain out of it at home. It helped soothe his mate a bit when it became evident that, since Ichigo had become infused with his ice, his soul had also stopped aging as well - so he wasn’t leaving him behind - and their physical bodies still aged together.
The only person that was aware Toshiro had regained his powers was Rangiku and they were very content to keep that secret, happy living out relatively normal, human lives together.
Their only real, lingering concern was about what would happen when Ichigo inevitably died, but Ichigo wasn’t worried. He was certain he’d be able to go with his love back to Soul Society and they’d continue their existence together. After all, they were a part of each other now - soul mates. His soul belonged with his dragon, just as Toshiro’s belonged with him.
Toshiro had gradually embraced the omega dragon instincts within him, and though most of the time he was just as fiercely independent and confident as he’d been when Ichigo first met him, he did thoroughly enjoy doing things to take care of his alpha and soaked up praise and physical affection from him like a sponge. So coming home to a wonderful dinner like this was a fairly common occurrence, unless his dragon was so wrapped up in his writing that he lost track of the time. On those nights, Ichigo would make him dinner instead, gently extracting and coaxing him from his work when it was ready.
Ichigo felt gentle kisses being placed upon his chest, drawing his focus back to center on his gorgeous mate. His heart melted even more, his fingers carding through the soft strands of winter white hair.
“Such a good boy…” he murmured, his tone filled with an impossible amount of love and longing.
His heart still fluttering as bright teal eyes captured his own, his dragon tilting his head upwards.
Even after all these years…
His breath still hitching as he heard his gorgeous mate’s gentle purr, his soft tenor voice murmuring, “Love you.”