December 3rd

Old man,

I wouldn't be writing this at all except Rukia kept hitting me until I agreed to, so here's the deal. I dunno what this whole Christmas thing is all about except that things are getting pretty mental around here. First there was that whole thing with Matsumoto and the wrapping paper (Iba is gutted he missed that one), now Yumi's decorated the Eleventh Division and Rukia's hanging weird plants everywhere and keeps trying to make me and Captain Kuchiki walk under them, but we're too smart for her. She's obviously planning something.

Apparently I'm meant to ask you for something. Well, I don't want shit, anything I need I can get for myself, thanks.

Renji Abarai

Renji looked at his work, and with a grunt of irritation screwed it up into a ball. Looking surreptitiously around him just in case Rukia happened to be hiding behind a pot plant ready to jump out and read his inner most thoughts (hey, it wouldn't have been the first time), Renji picked up his pen again, catching sight, as he did so, of the open door to his Captain's office.

And catching, entirely without meaning to, the eyes of his Captain, who was staring at him with a small, stern frown.

Oh, shit.

Renji swung his head down to look at his desk so fast he almost hit his head on it.

God, was the man psychic or something? Could he sense when Renji wasn't doing the work that he was meant to be doing? And did he have to stare at him in that ridiculously beautiful way, that made him look like a piece of freaking art work? No man should be that beautiful. In fact, nothing should be that beautiful. It really wasn't fair for everyone else, who had to try and not be distracted by it.

Trying very, very hard not to look too obviously flustered, Renji slowly sat up again, pulled a new scrap of paper towards him, and quickly wrote.

Old man,

I ain't a queer, or anything, no matter what Iba says (that guy knows shit all anyway), but if you could make Captain Kuchiki like me back it would be pretty awesome.

Thanks.

R. A.

He shoved the paper into his pocket, and went back to the requisition forms he was supposed to be going through, making sure not to look at his Captain for the rest of the morning.