Title: Ice Cream
Date: 1 February, 2010
Words: 535
Characters: Rangiku, Toshiro, Gin; mentioned Aizen, Haineko, Hyourinmaru
Pairings: Rangiku & Toshiro, Gin & Aizen
Summary: When Toshiro's bad day finally drives him over the edge, what are they going to do with all the snow?
Inspiration: All the snow we've had. And yes, that 3-4 inches is a freaking lot for where I live.
Rating: PG

A/N: Not as funny as my usual stuff, but it should make up for it in cuteness. 8-)

Enjoy! Please review if you find it worthwhile!
-Rachel Noelle

oOoOo—RN—oOoOo

Gin was walking toward the Tenth to visit with Rangiku, and hopefully get some advice for his latest argument with Aizen. As he walked he noticed the temperature dropping, and dropping, and dropping a little more. He could tell very little from outside the gates, and when he knocked on the office door he still did not understand the sudden change of temperature.

Sure, the Tenth was always a few degrees cooler, but such a sever drop from the warm summer day they had been having seemed more dramatic (and weird) than usual.

Gin knocked several times, getting no answer, and decided to let himself in. noticing no one around, he made his way toward the back of the office and onto the division grounds. As he stepped into the training arena, he discovered why it was so blasted cold.

"Erm, 'Gaya? Ran-chan?" Gin ventured.

Toshiro and Rangiku were looking from one another to the ground, staring at the mess. After a tense silence both faced one another and spoke at the same time.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…"

Toshiro sighed and Rangiku carried on. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize things had been so bad today. What happened?"

"No, it's my fault. I shouldn't have let Hyourinmaru get out of control like this. And to think Haineko is fond of him…" Toshiro sighed bemusedly. Rangiku chuckled softly.

"Erm," Gin tried again. "Wha' happened here?"

Toshiro, only just noticing Gin's presence, turned to him. "What do you mean?"

Gin pointed to the ground covered in several inches of snow. Toshiro and Rangiku blushed. "Hehe, sorry, Gin. We sort of let things get out of hand…"

"Ah, I see. S'no problem ta meh. But whatcha gonna do with all this snow?" Gin asked. Toshiro momentarily thought he might be able to like Gin after all. His rehabilitation was coming along so well. Though he did wish dearly that he and Rangiku would not have been in charge of Gin's therapy sessions.

The three shinigami stood together with identical looks of concentration on their faces. After a few moments no one had anything good.

"Guess we'll just wait til it melts," Rangiku offered. Toshiro nor Gin had a better idea.

The trio headed for the exit. Just as they approached the large arena doors Rangiku stopped with a squeal.

"I know! Let's make ice cream!" Both men turned to her with affronted looks. Rangiku rolled her eyes. "It's better than it sounds. I remember it from once when we were kids, Gin. Don't you remember the old lady showing us how to turn snow into something fun besides snowballs and snowmen?"

"Maybe?" Gin responded.

"Oh, come on. I'll show you. But we need to get to a market first."

oOoOo

"Get yer homemade ice cream fer just twenty-five cents!" Gin shouted along the streets of Seireitei. "Homemade ice cream right here!"

"You know, Rangiku, this is pretty decent. Not too sweet, and enough flavor that it doesn't just taste like ice," Toshiro gave Rangiku a quick peck on the cheek.

"Ah, taicho, you're too adorable!" Rangiku squealed. "At least we'll make some decent money. Think of all the clothes I can buy with what we've made already…"

oOoOo—RN—oOoOo

A/N: Yes, there is such a thing as snow ice cream. Maybe my family is just weird, but it's super good. 8-)

You need:
about 10 to 12 cups of fresh, clean snow (make sure it's clean)
one 16 oz can of sweetened condensed (or evaporated) milk and
a few (about 3) tablespoons vanilla. (More or less of all these to taste, and serving size).

You just mix it all together in a large bowl, and viola, you've just made ice cream!! If you live somewhere that it doesn't snow, shaved ice works as well. Please don't feed this to very young children, or anyone with a weak immune system. You are still getting your main ingredient from the outdoors, and there's no way to sterilize it.

Enjoy!