Hybrid Rainbow

“Nie Huaisang, what in the hell is that?”

Nie Huaisang blinks innocently at him. “This is called a bird cage, Captain. It’s for birds.”

“I can see that.” Jiang Cheng narrows his eyes at the ornate cage that his lieutenant has carefully set up by the window, close to his desk. “Why is it in my office?”

Nie Huaisang doesn’t answer him and instead leans outside the window and lets out a melodic whistle. Jiang Cheng watches as he extends his hand out and a little yellow bird perches on it, chirping happily when Nie Huaisang praises it.

“Her name is Xiaoyu.” Nie Huaisang says, presenting the bird to Jiang Cheng. “Isn’t she pretty?”

Jiang Cheng just stares. Xiaoyu is a pretty bird. Xiaoyu shouldn’t be in his office.

“I trained her myself.” Nie Huaisang continues, then guides the bird to the cage, where she obediently sits on what appears to be a little nest where she fit perfectly. Nie Huaisang closes the cage door and tugs the latch closed. “She’ll tell you when it’s lunchtime.”

“What?”

“Well, she won’t talk, but she’ll start demanding to be let out, around that time. She likes to spread her wings then. Then, she’ll ask to be let back in the cage by late afternoon. For nappy time!”

Jiang Cheng feels a headache incoming. And it’s only 7 in the morning. “That’s very nice for her. Why is she in my office?”

“Because, Captain, I’ll be busy today. You know, on more errands. Xiaoyu here gets so lonely without me! So I figured she could stay here, and you could keep each other company. Isn’t that nice?”

“No. It’s not nice. I am busy too, and I don’t need… a bird in my office.” Jiang Cheng says with a frown. “Just stuff another bird in that cage with her if she’s so lonely.”

Nie Huaisang clicks his tongue. “Oh, no, that won’t do. This is a one-bird cage. Made especially for her. Besides, she has bird friends. Outside. She just knows to come back home.”

“Then she’s not lonely!”

“Don’t be a killjoy, Captain, just let her stay~” Nie Huaisang pleads, blinking big eyes and all. “Besides, she adds a nice splash of color to your office, don’t you think? It’s been so drab. Just because it’s gonna be the last to be repaired, doesn’t mean it has to be ugly.”

“My office is not ugly.” Jiang Cheng grumbles.

“Yet! It’ll be ugly compared to the rest of the division pretty soon.” Nie Huaisang insists. “Anyways, just keep Xiaoyu with you, even just for today! Please?”

Jiang Cheng can do nothing but watch as Nie Huaisang gradually sneaks around him towards the door. “Wait-… Huaisang-”

“She has already eaten, and I’ll be back for her by dinner. She’s very well-behaved, I promise.” the Lieutenant beams, then waves his fan at him. “Thank you, Captain! Goodbye!”

Jiang Cheng groans as the door slides closed.

He approaches the cage and glares at the pretty bird. “I don’t care how expensive and precious you are. If you’re noisy, or if you poop anywhere in my office, I am throwing you out.”

Xiaoyu just cocks her little bird head at him, lets out a cheerful chirp, and minds her own business.

Jiang Cheng huffs, and goes to his desk.

.

As if on cue, Xiaoyu starts singing by noon.

Jiang Cheng frowns – it’s noise he’s not used to, but it’s pleasant to hear, so he is able to ignore it in favor of his work.

Then the pleasant birdsong turns to loud chirping, and that is a bit distracting.

Still, Jiang Cheng ignores it and focuses on the reports about the incidents in Soul City. Nothing major, thankfully there has been little Hollow activity in the residential districts and everything has been manageable despite the fewer officers on patrol-

Xiaoyu chirps louder – closer to a squawk than a song now.

She stops as soon as Jiang Cheng looks at her. “What?” he asks, annoyed, standing up and approaching the cage. “What do you want?”

Xiaoyu is all too happy to flap her wings by the latch of the cage door.

“Fine. Demanding little-” Jiang Cheng sighs, unlatching the door and opening it for the bird. Xiaoyu jumps happily to the door, blinks up at Jiang Cheng and then flies out the window.

Jiang Cheng watches her fly for a moment, until he sees her land on a nearby building’s roof with some other birds. As he moves to go back to his desk, he stops when he sees the packed lunchbox on the side table. It is, incidentally, positioned perfectly just right within his reach.

He hesitates. He has more work to do. He can eat later.

But also, he had stood up already, and the box is right there.

Sighing, he takes the lunchbox and brings it with him to his desk.

.

After taking his meal, Jiang Cheng is able to return to doing his work in peace for a few hours.

That’s when Xiaoyu comes flying in again. First she lands on the desk, perching on a paperweight, out of Jiang Cheng’s way but just close enough to be noticed.

“What? You done hanging out with your friends?” Jiang Cheng asks. “Go back to your cage.”

Xiaoyu folds her wings and sits down on the paperweight.

Jiang Cheng works.

After a few minutes, Xiaoyu hops off the paperweight and on to the scroll that Jiang Cheng is going through.

Jiang Cheng clicks his tongue, tries to shake off the bird- “You little- What do you want now? You have food in your cage. Go back in there.”

Xiaoyu hops off the scroll and into Jiang Cheng’s arm, then settles there.

“No! I said cage. You-” Jiang Cheng groans again, and is forced to put down his scroll. Tentative, he holds a hand out for the bird, and Xiaoyu transfers obediently to his palm. She stays there as he stands up, and when he takes her back to her open cage, she hops inside happily and settles back into her nest. “What the hell, you need to given a ride back, is that it?”

Xiaoyu chirps happily, preening on her nest.

Jiang Cheng turns to go back to his desk, when his eye catches the items on the side table beside his now-empty lunchbox, once again within reach. A tea set. Fancier than the one he used to have – Nie Huaisang brought it from home because he claims good tea should be served from a good tea set.

He’s already standing. Might as well make some tea. From the window, he can see construction ongoing. Maybe he can drop by and visit the officers to check on them, while the tea steeps.

.

When Jiang Cheng goes back to sit on his desk after a quick check-in with the rest of the squad, cup of freshly-brewed tea in his hand, he comes to a stop.

He turns his head to look at Xiaoyu, napping on her nest. Then he looks down at his tea, served in a beautiful tea cup, deep green with gold embellishments.

He clicks his tongue, annoyed. “You could’ve just told me to take more breaks.”

.

.

Nie Huaisang is back by dinner, as promised. He isn’t in the standard black officer’s uniform, though. He is dressed up, proper and formal, in green and gray robes with gold lining and accessories, wearing jade droplet earrings and a golden hairpin, the whole look. The purple sash and Lieutenant’s badge hung nicely by this waist. He is out of place in Jiang Cheng’s messy office.

“I’m back, Captain! How was Xiaoyu, I bet she’s been- Oh…” Nie Huaisang stops, taking in the sight of his Captain sitting on the desk, holding a pen, busy writing, with a little yellow canary perched peacefully on his shoulder. He giggles. “I see you two have become quite close.”

“She started making noise a while ago. Then she just sat on me.” Jiang Cheng says, narrowing his eyes at Nie Huaisang. “This bird is a piece of work.”

“Aw, but she’s been a good bird though, hasn’t she?”

Jiang Cheng shrugs – one shoulder, the one without Xiaoyu.

Nie Huaisang doesn’t point out that his Captain hasn’t told him to take the bird back home with him.

Instead, Jiang Cheng asks, “How was your errand?”

“It went well.” Nie Huaisang reports, grabbing a chair and sitting across him. He lifts a hand and Xiaoyu flies across the table and perches on his palm. With his other hand, Nie Huaisang strokes the bird’s little head, and Xiaoyu nuzzles against his fingers. “They’ve agreed to send us equipment as soon as we’re done with the kitchens. It didn’t take much, they do business with the Nie clan quite often, and I told them rebuilding the Sixth Division has Nie Mingjue’s full backing.”

Jiang Cheng puts his pen down and leans back on his chair, watching Nie Huaisang pet the canary in his hand. “You really make the most out of that noble house name, huh.”

“Says the head of his own noble house.” Nie Huaisang looks at Jiang Cheng with a rueful smile. “You know you can just as easily pull off these deals if you just wore Jiang purple when talking to them, don’t you?”

Nie Huaisang in Nie robes is a different person than Nie Huaisang in an officer’s uniform, Jiang Cheng decides. Right now, he is sitting in front of the heir of a noble house – one of the oldest and most powerful in Soul Society, second only to the Wen and Jin. Well, just the Jin now. And despite how Nie Huaisang usually presents himself as, Jiang Cheng still knows how he must have been raised. They’re not so different in that aspect.

“I’ve never been good with the politics and business shit. Mother had tried to teach me, but I took to the Soul Reaper side more. Besides,” Jiang Cheng chuckles bitterly. “What will these lesser families think, if the new, young, inexperienced head of a great noble house go to them, groveling? I don’t want to owe them.” He looks and meets Nie Huaisang’s eyes. “I don’t want to owe anyone.”

Nie Huaisang looks back, and nods. “Hey, don’t look at me.” he says with a light smile. “I’m your lieutenant. I know I’m not… the one you expected to be here, when you got your job. But I’ll try to do mine, in my way.”

“You’re not as bad as I thought you’d be.” Jiang Cheng shakes his head, huffing in amusement. “Yeah, I thought it was someone’s idea of a bad joke, sending you here. Then I realized why they put you here, and I thought, well, shit. Fuck them.”

Nie Huaisang lets Xiaoyu fly from his palm and back into her open cage. “I can get with that.” he agrees absently. “Fuck them. Yeah, that’s a good approach.”

“Why not?” Jiang Cheng continues, eyes trained on the ceiling, thoughtful. “They sent you here expecting you to fail. To make things more difficult for me, didn’t they? They know I’m fucking angry, and that I’d track down fucking Wei Wuxian if I could- So they gave me a job where I had to be responsible for everyone else, and then instead of giving me someone I can delegate real shit to so I can go do what I want, they send me you. No offense.”

“Mm.” Nie Huaisang smiles, sheepish. “They did send you their most useless soldier.”

‘And the safest one.’ Jiang Cheng doesn’t say. ‘I can’t even put you in any risk, because then we’d all have to deal with the Thirteen Divisions’ strongest, deadliest fighter.’

“I hope you know,” Nie Huaisang continues. “That I won’t stop you from looking for Wei-xiong. He was my friend too. I want to know what happened, too.”

”I know.” Jiang Cheng closes his eyes, and Nie Huaisang watches him steel himself. “But I won’t do that. Not right now.”

“What do you want to do now?”

“Rebuild the Sixth Division. Make it stronger. Better.” Jiang Cheng answers. “Shove it in the face of those other old captains and clan heads who didn’t show up for my father or believe my mother, who didn’t listen to your brother, when we all tried to warn them about Wen Ruohan.”

Nie Huaisang grins at him, propping his elbows on the table and resting his chin on his hand. “Success is the best revenge, is that what you’re trying to say?”

“Sure, I guess.” Jiang Cheng shrugs again. “So keep going on those errands of yours. And if you need more fancy jewelry to show off, I also got some you can borrow.”

Nie Huaisang laughs and nods obligingly, “Of course, Captain.”