Author's Note: Hello everyone! This is my first Bleach fic and I want to apologize. No, I don't think it's going to be a bad fic (please don't run away!) but it isn't beta'd and I'm not exactly up-to-date on the whole Bleach show or Manga. As far as I still know (except that I've read a bunch of Bleach fanfics and I know better) everyone is still in Hueco Mundo. So... please let me know where I make ghaffs. I love hearing from you, and you help me to write better! Thank you, and please enjoy!


Renji wasn't stupid. Most people didn't think he was stupid per se, but his loud and brash manner kept people from seeing his true cunning. His gutter trash past and abrasive tendencies did keep him back, but one thing he did well was read people. Reading people was an invaluable skill to have in the Seireitei, especially when his captain was mister-no-expression Kuchiki Byakuya.

Captain Kuchiki was a calm man with a quiet fierceness that scared the shit out of most shinigami. However, Renji knew how to read his captain. He could tell from the subtle tensing of the Captain's jaw that he'd managed to piss the other off and was about to be on the receiving end of a lecture. He could see the flash of humor in a quick quirk of Kuchiki's lips when he'd managed to amuse the severe man. He could tell from the flat look in Byakuya's eyes when the man was bored out of his mind with paperwork and needed a tea break.

From these subtle signs Renji had managed to become the exact vice-captain that the Sixth Division needed – a perfect counterbalance to his captain's stark strength and absolute rule. He was the guy that the other officers could go to when they had questions. Renji was the person who dealt with complaints and conflicts, and he was often the bridge between the Sixth Division ant the others of the Gotei 13. He was the human half of the Sixth Division's leadership, complete with his own faults.

He could do this because he knew Byakuya. He could read Byakuya and derive meaning from the few hints his Captain dropped. It made him the peacekeeper of the Division, and the only person besides Rukia who could be considered close to the austere man.

He'd also been able to recognize the hidden qualities of Byakuya's countenance that he admired, such as the hidden sense of humor and his hidden sensitivity. Over time, Renji had realized that he the stark man had – dare he think it – feelings.

He also recognized that Byakuya still felt the pain of his wife's death very deeply, and hadn't looked for new love since, even though the wound of her passing seemed to be slowly healing. Rukia filled some of the empty space left by her death, but it wasn't a place that Renji wanted to fill until it had healed and his Captain was ready to move on. Although Renji had fallen in love with Byakuya, he wasn't looking for a relationship with him. Honestly, he wouldn't know where to begin with a romantic relationship. He'd never really had one of those before. Sex, sure, but never romance.

Not that romance wasn't his thing! He just… wasn't expecting it. He liked the idea of a romance as much as the next guy, but he didn't think he'd ever be swept off his feet. Nor did he expect to sweep anyone else off their feet. For Heaven's sake, he hadn't even been able to grab Rukia's attention back when he had a thing for her. Now, with his love for Byakuya, his feelings of brotherly love toward her had a sort of irony to them.

In dealing with his captain, though, his feelings couldn't show through. If Byakuya ever caught wind of Renji's feelings… well, Renji didn't know that Byakuya would do anything. If the Captain did respond to Renji's attraction, he would probably deny them. For all Renji knew about Byakuya, he didn't know if the other man was at all open to a homosexual relationship.

And that's what Renji wanted – a relationship. He'd done friends with benefits before and one-night-stands, but those tended to either get messy or left him feeling empty afterwards. As it was, he'd been celibate for… for… for way too long if he couldn't figure out how long it had been since he'd gotten laid.

Since the whole Aizen thing, though, he'd been too busy with his role as Vice-Captain and the increase in hollow activity since Ichigo had become a substitute shinigami.

Speaking of Ichigo… the dork was in the Seireitei and in Renji's and Byakuya's office watching Renji sign papers and compile duty rosters. "Dude, how do you put up with all the paperwork bull crap?" Ichigo asked after about twenty minutes of being ignored.

"It's my job," Renji snapped as he moved a paper from the "working on it" pile to the "get it the fuck out of my office" pile.

"But, Man, this can't be everything you do," Ichigo said, sounding horrified. Renji looked at him and ground his teeth in irritation.

"Of course it isn't!" he gritted out. "I train my troops, organize duties and responsibilities, solve disputes, and administer discipline. I'm keeping everything going, and paperwork is part of that." It was part of it for two and a half torturous days a week, and he slacked off on it whenever he thought he could get away with it.

"It sucks," Ichigo said simply.

Renji barked out a laugh. "Yeah, it sucks major ass."

Both young men laughed for a moment before they settled back into camaraderie. Byakuya, who was quietly working behind his desk, hadn't batted an eyelash, so Renji figured he wasn't irritated with Ichigo's presence yet. However, Renji was feeling the need to move, so he offered his captain and his guest some tea before going to make it.

Once Ichigo had his tea, though, he started the subject Renji had figured was the real reason he'd come to visit him in the Seireitei. "Umm… I know you guys have relationships and everything – you are people and all – but Renji, do you have someone you like?" Ichigo asked.

Renji sprayed out his mouthful of tea all over his desk in surprise. "What the Hell?!" he demanded as he strode over to Byakuya's desk and grabbed the box of tissues taking up residence on the corner. He started blotting his papers as she shot a glare at Ichigo. "Why are you asking me that?"

"Well, I got the feeling that you and Rukia used to have a thing with each other, and with how you tried to protect her when she was sentenced to death and how nice you are to her and everything, I was wondering if you had a thing for her?" Ichigo was watching Renji with a serious expression, so Renji sat at his desk and responded in the same vein.

"Rukia and I were orphans in the poor part of Soul Society. We depended on each other and we have a close friendship. I used to see her in a sort of romantic way, I guess, but now she's more like a sister to me. If you want to make a move on her, you better not fuck it up."

Ichigo seemed to think about Renji's words for a minute before he said, "I wasn't actually asking for your permission to date her, you know."

Renji rolled his eyes. "You were asking if I'd be butt hurt if you did," he said before chugging his tea. He set the cup on his desk with a bang and glared at his friend. "I'll be pissed if you hurt her, but you aren't taking her away from me or anything. I don't own her. Even if I did, she wouldn't listen to me anyway."

Ichigo seemed to laugh reluctantly and ruffled his hair with one hand. "That was part of it," he admitted. "The other thing was that Rukia and I were talking with Kon, and the little bastard wondered if you had anyone. Then Rukia started to seriously worry about it, so I got sent over here to ask you."

Rukia was worried about Renji's love life? Seriously? She was usually pretty oblivious to that kind of thing. And what was that dumb-ass mod-soul doing asking about him? That little toy always brought up shit that just made life more uncomfortable. More importantly, though… "What did you get sent over here to ask, exactly?" he demanded.

"Is there anybody you're interested in?" Ichigo asked, looking Renji in the eyes.

Renji sighed and sat back in his chair, seriously considering Ichigo's question. If Rukia was worried about it… he couldn't half-ass it. But, the Captain was right there pretending he wasn't listening in. He couldn't be completely honest because of it. "I have an interest," he finally said. "It probably won't work out, so I'm not putting any effort into it."

That seemed to surprise Ichigo. "Really? No effort?"

"No," Renji snapped and pulled another sheet of paper off the "Do it, Dammit" pile and started pretending to look it over.

"Dude, if you don't put any effort into it, then you're just going to fail!"

Renji snorted. "No kidding."

"But…"

"Tell Rukia that if she's going to worry about my love life then she'd better get hers sorted out first," Renji snapped.

Ichigo seemed to freeze. "She isn't really worried…"

"Either way," Renji said, cutting Ichigo off, "she can come over here and ask me herself when I'm at home. I'm at work right now and my boss is going to kill me if I don't get something done."

"But…"

"I've got work to do!" Renji snapped. He glanced at Byakuya, whose dark eyes were watching him intently, mild irritation showing along with interest and mild puzzlement. "My captain is right there, so now is not the time to discuss this."

Ichigo seemed to weigh his options before he stood up. "Okay, then. I'll see you later, I guess."

"Yeah," Renji said, feeling a little embarrassed for snapping at his friend like he had. "Later."

Ichigo got up and left. As his massive spiritual pressure receded down the hall, the Captain turned to Renji and just stared at him quietly. Reading the look in Kuchiki's eyes he said, "Sorry, Captain, it won't happen again."

Byakuya regarded Renji thoughtfully before he said, "As of late you have been working harder than usual. A little time spent with friends may be good for you."

Renji glanced at his captain with his mouth agape. "Seriously, Captain? You aren't telling me I need to work harder?"

Byakuya's eyes traveled to Renji's "Get This Shit Out Of Here" pile. "You seem to have been very productive today. If you would like, you may go home for the day."

"Thanks Captain!" Renji shouted as he jumped out of his chair and headed for the door. "See you tomorrow!"

Then he was gone.

xxxXxxXXXxxXxxx

Renji's apartment was a dump. It was a simple apartment near the Gotei 13, but he rarely bothered to clean it. Dirty clothes were piled in one corner of his one room studio apartment while clean clothes were piled in another. His futon was laid out between the piles and dirty dishes had piled up in the sink and overflowed onto the counter on the other side of the room. It was not a fit place for visitors, which was fine since he never had visitors. If he hung out with his friends they usually met at a bar or something.

Which is why he was surprised when there was a knock on his door.

Which is why he was even more surprised to see Rukia standing on his doorstep.

"Think of me like a sister, eh?" she asked as she pushed her way into his apartment.

"Well, I don't feel like banging you right now," he grumbled as she plopped down on his futon – the only furniture in the small space to sit on that wasn't the floor.

"But it makes me wonder who you do feel like 'banging,'" she grumbled back. "I can hardly seeing you having this long of a dry spell."

"Oh, please," Renji said with a roll of his eyes as he took a seat facing Rukia on the floor. It hadn't been swept in a long time, but a little dust on the butt didn't hurt anyone. "I can live without sex."

"Renji, do you even like girls?" Rukia asked, genuine concern showing in her eyes.

Renji shrugged. "I like girls just fine," he replied.

"Then who is it you are in love with?" Rukia asked. She paused for a moment before she got a disgusted look on her face. "You don't have a thing for Matsumoto, do you?"

Renji let a dreamy look morph his face. "Matsumoto's boobs are beautiful, aren't they?" he asked, expecting the sharp punch to arm. He started laughing as Rukia started winding up for a second punch and he raised his arms in surrender. "Kidding! Just kidding!"

Rukia backed off after a moment and simply stared at her friend. Renji couldn't help but notice how many of Byakuya's small, quiet mannerisms she'd managed to pick up during her time living with the Kuchikis. The question she asked wasn't unexpected, but it wasn't welcome, either. "So, who is it that you like, but can't have?"

Time for an honest answer. He loved her too much to hide this from her. "I like Kuchiki Byakuya," he admitted.

She didn't react right away, almost like the information had to sink in. Then she nodded. "You would be very good for him," she said with acceptance. "I didn't honestly think you were gay, though."

He snorted and poked her in the knee. "I'm not gay. I just… really like Byakuya. And I know that he's not really looking for someone right now, so I'm not going to pursue it. Maybe someday when he's finally over your sister's death I'll give it a try, but not now."

Rukia thought about that before nodding in agreement. "When did you become so wise?" she asked.

Renji shrugged. "I didn't know I was wise."

xxxXxxXXXxxXxxx

In the middle of the night there was a hard knock on Renji's door, rousing him from sleep. Outside the door was a messenger from the Fourth Division. "Vice-Captain Abarai Renji?" the little man asked.

"Yeah?" Renji asked in a sleep-thickened voice. The Fourth Division didn't send out personal messengers in the dead of night unless something important had happened and a Hell Butterfly wasn't enough incentive to drag a person out of bed (or loud enough to wake someone who slept as heavily as Renji tended to).

"There was a hollow attack in the Human world," the messenger explained meekly. "Your Captain along with a small team responded, and they were all injured. They are back at the hospital now, and your presence is required."

"Did anyone die?" Renji asked as he stepped out into the hall and closed the door behind him. He locked the door with the keys he'd thrown on the floor near the door and pocketed them as he followed the messenger.

"No one died," the messenger replied as they quickly traveled to the Fourth Division medical facility. "Captain Kuchiki is the worst injured with a broken arm, three broken ribs and a few cracked, and a concussion. He was seriously injured protecting the others and fighting the two Adjuchas off. As the second in command of his division you have some paperwork to fill out, so Captain Unohana requested your presence."

Once they got to the hospital wing of Fourth Division the messenger took Renji directly to Byakuya's room, where Unohana was writing something on a clipboard as she stood over the Captain's bed. Byakuya himself was awake and glaring angrily up at the female captain, but he sat there quietly with his hands folded in his lap, waiting patiently for Unohana to finish what she was doing.

"What the Hell? Captain, I thought you'd be knocked out or something," Renji said as he walked fully into the room. "Where are your broken ribs? Where's you concussion?"

"I have healed most of his injuries, Abarai-san," Captain Unohana said as she hung the clipboard on the end of Byakuya's bed. "I repaired most of the damage to his head and fixed his broken bones, but they are fragile right now. The cracked ribs will mend fully by themselves so he will have to be careful, but with a few days of rest he should be fine." The way she was glaring at Byakuya didn't bode well, considering how cool and unflappable Captain Unohana usually was.

"Uh-oh. Captain, what did you do to piss Captain Unohana off?" Renji asked his captain. As he figured, Byakuya didn't respond (although, he did look a little guilty).

Unohana answered for him. "He was very brave in battle. He'd returned to your office for some papers and found a few unseated officers drinking in a hallway. While he was scolding them, news of a Menos Grande came, so he and the unseated officers traveled to the real world to fight it."

"That's pretty brave," Renji agreed as he took a seat in the chair by his captain's bed.

"As it turns out," Unohana snapped, shooting a glare down at Byakuya, "the news he received was wrong. It wasn't a Menos Grande, but two Adjuchas that had been surrounded by about ten Gillians. And your Captain had four drunken boys with him. He's lucky he was there to save them, because without him they would have been dead. As it was, Ichigo Kurosaki and the drunks were able to bring him and two of the boys back." She shot Byakuya another angry look before turning back to Renji. "He'll be discharged once you fill out his medical paperwork. I've removed him from active duty for two days, so if he comes into the office you are to escort him home. Is that understood, Vice-Captain?"

"Yes, ma'am!" Renji said as he jumped to his feet and gave her a salute. An unseated officer came in and handed him some forms, so he set to work on them while Captain Unohana did some last minute lecturing. When Byakuya was finally released, it was up to Renji to take him home.

"Captain, are you up to walking?" he asked as they stepped out into the warm night air.

"I am perfectly fine, Abarai. You are not needed beyond this point."

His words were curtly said, but the look in Byakuya's eyes spoke of exhaustion. Instead of stepping back and letting his Captain have his way, Renji said, "Sorry, Captain, but when the Captain of the Fourth Division gives me orders, I follow them. She said to take you home, so I'm taking you home."

Byakuya looked irritated, but he silently turned and started heading toward the Kuchiki Manor. Renji followed a polite step behind him, but kept his eye on the other man. Byakuya made it past the gate to his front door just fine, but the look in his eyes as he turned back toward Renji for a moment was full of anxiety. It was almost as if he didn't really want to go inside.

"Hey, Captain, are you sure you're okay?" Renji asked.

"I am fine," Byakuya repeated as he stepped inside the door, but Renji stopped the it before it could close.

"Either way, Captain, I'm a little worried. I heard you were concussed. Would it be okay if I stayed over tonight, just to make sure Captain Unohana didn't miss anything?"

"You doubt the abilities of the Captain of the Fourth Division?" Byakuya demanded.

"Of course not, Captain. I'm just…" he took a deep breath, ready to do battle with words. "I don't know any healing, so a lot of that stuff I take with a grain of salt. I'd worry less if I was nearby."

Surprisingly, there was no battle. Byakuya gave a resigned sigh, but his eyes looked relieved. "Fine. You may stay in the servant quarters attached to my room – for tonight only. Tomorrow you need to be in the office on time, because I am not to be there."

Renji felt his face break out into a huge grin. "No problem, Captain!" he said as he pushed his way into the Kuchiki manor and closed the door behind him.