A/N: As promised, I'm updating today to make up for the really short last chapter! Of all the "C" words that ever existed in the entire world, the word I was given was Canary. This one took some thinking. As usual, reviews = love!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Bleach. Tite Kubo does. I just toy with the characters a bit.

C: Canary

The little yellow bird fluttered about in its cage, emitting little chirps of song every few seconds. Byakuya Kuchiki stared at it with a slight frown, not quite knowing what to do about it.

"Abarai," he finally said, "What is the meaning of this?"

Renji looked up from his desk, a small smile forming on his lips when he realized what his captain was talking about. "It's a gift, sir."

"A gift?" the noble raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah," his volatile lieutenant explained. "It's a canary. They keep 'em as pets in the Living World."

Byakuya stared down at the offending bird creating a slight disorder in the normally impeccable office he shared with his subordinate. The frown on his face deepened as he watched it flit from perch to perch, finally settling on one and letting out a small twitter.

"Thought that maybe you could use a little life in the office," Renji shrugged, answering his captains unvoiced question.

With an inward sigh, the cold captain placed himself in his chair and got to work, trying his best to avoid the little yellow distraction moving about in the cage next to his desk. It was difficult and by the end of the day, Byakuya was on edge; his sense of tranquility broken by this tiny feathered animal.

"Kuchiki Taichou?" the captain flinched at the sound of Renji's voice. Had his edge really started showing enough for him to twitch involuntarily? He cleared his throat.

"Yes, Abarai Fukutaichou?"

"I'm off for the night, and, well . . ." the tattooed man fidgeted slightly, discomfort showing on his face. "I was wonderin' if you were going to give it a name."

His superior looked taken aback for just a moment before composing himself and glancing at the metal cage. A name? He hadn't really though about keeping this small pest in his office for much longer. A name would really do it no good. But when he glanced at his lieutenant and saw the eager look on his face, he softened.

"Yes, I suppose I will have to give it a name. I will consider it," he said, bringing his attention back to his paperwork, missing the excitement in Renji's step as he left.

Byakuya was finally able to get back to work when he felt the lazy thrum of reiatsu invade his office. Sighing, he put his brush down and lightly rubbed his temples. Looks like he wasn't going to get any work done.

"Well, well, well," Byakuya looked up in time to see Kyouraku Shunsui stride into the room with Juushirou Ukitake at his heels. "Looks like you've got yourself a little friend." It was Shunsui who spoke, poking his little finger into the canary's cage as he did.

"I didn't know you liked birds," Ukitake chuckled, placing a stack of papers on the desk and brushing a strand of white hair out of his eyes.

"I do not take the company of animals," Byakuya said coolly, glancing at the cage for a second before settling his gaze on Shunsui prodding his fingers at the yellow bird.

"He's hiding from Nanao," the sickly captain chuckled, answering the questioning look on his equals face. "Apparently he did something to make her angrier than usual."

"She just needs some time to cool down," the pink-clad man said, pulling his fingers out of the cage. "So where did you get the new companion?"

"Abarai gave it to me," Byakuya answered. "I am honestly unsure of how to take this . . . gift." He gestured icily at the chirping animal.

"How sweet," Shunsui grinned mischievously, sliding over to Ukitake and leaning heavily on his shoulders. "Abarai gave him a gift." He pressed a light kiss on his lover's lips, causing him to chuckle.

The stoic noble in front of them raised an eyebrow.

"Why don't you just take the gift as it is?" Ukitake said cheerfully, herding Shunsui towards the door.

"And how would that be?" Byakuya asked.

"As a symbol of friendship."

"Or maybe, something more," Shunsui added with a wink before being pushed out into the hall. The sixth division captain stared after them incredulously. A symbol of friendship? Or maybe . . . something more?

He moved his gaze to the metal cage and examined the small canary. It wasn't a very large space for such an energetic bird, and suddenly, he pitied the poor animal. Such a carefree creature, however annoying, did not deserve to be confined alone in this cage. It reminded him of himself in a way. Always being caged in to show the calm, collected demeanor of his noble birth. Alone in every way that mattered. Never allowing anyone to inch past the mask to discover how he truly felt . . .

Before he realized what he was doing, he had opened the little door on the cage and watched as the yellow bird flew past him and out the open window. A slight smile formed on his lips as he watched it fly away.

The smile soon turned into a frown as he remembered that the animal was a gift from his lieutenant.

The next morning, Byakuya tried to ignore the tension in the room as his subordinate discovered the empty cage. At first, it looked as if Renji wasn't going to say anything, his pained glances in the direction of his captain's desk making Byakuya feel uneasy.

Finally, Renji stood and walked over to his cold superiors desk. "What did you do with it?" he demanded, his eyes narrowing into slits.

"I let it go," Byakuya answered simply.

The younger man reached out and grabbed fistfuls of his captain's haori, hauling him to his feet in anger. "Why?" he hissed, his reiatsu building up.

The raven-haired noble could have knocked Renji away, he knew that, but the look in the larger mans eyes and the thrum of his reiatsu wasn't anger. It was pain. Sadness over the fact that he had tossed away the gift so effortlessly and so coldly.

"I felt sorry for it," Byakuya watched as the look on Renji's face softened, sadness replaced with confusion. "I did not like how it was confined only to the cage, so I let it go."

After Renji's reiatsu diminished down to a soft hum, he realized how close his face was to his captain's, their noses nearly touching and his hands still bunched up in the others haori. He quickly let go of the Kuchiki noble, murmuring an embarrassed apology.

To his surprise, Byakuya didn't back away. Instead, he moved his hands up to place them around the larger mans neck, his cold skin sending a shiver down his subordinate's spine.

"T-Taichou?" the redhead whispered, eyes wide from the feel of his captain's hands against his neck, their fingers tenderly brushing against his nape. Hesitantly, Renji bent his head and pushed a loving kiss onto his fair skinned captain's mouth, sweeping his tongue over his lips until they parted.

"I am sorry about the canary," Byakuya sighed when they pulled away. "If you would like, you could get another one."

"No way," a wide grin spread across Renji's face. "That thing was drivin' me crazy!"

A surprised laugh escaped the noble's lips as he pulled his fiery companion in for another kiss, the words of his fellow captains echoing in his head. A symbol of friendship . . . or maybe, something more.