Author's Note:
HOLY KAKA MUFFINS.

IT'S AN UPDATE.

BUT I THINK WE'VE ALREADY GONE THROUGH THE SHOCK DIALOGUE.

Again, sorry for the late update. I really just wanted to get this out to thank all of my awesome reviewers and readers, and wish you all a very merry Christmas, 'cause I really do love each and every one of you. So this one's gonna be a bit out of sequence, just to celebrate the winter holidays. ('Cause Christmas is my favorite holiday ever. Halloween is a close second.) And because I need to satisfy my need for GinRan. XD

Theme #28
Snow

Christmas. What a joke. A time to spend with friends and family, to celebrate the birth of the baby Jesus, to appreciate all that you have. Puh-lease. That was the biggest load of bull Gin had ever heard. Christmas was nothing more than an excuse to have parties, get drunk, and get presents. Presents. It was funny how most shinigami had a love for materialistic items – especially when they were dead.

Still, he wore his trademark grin, with his arms folded across his chest as he sat with the other members of the Gotei 13. They had rented out one of the most famous bars in Seireitei just to celebrate the winter holiday. It was Christmas Eve, one day before Christmas, and everyone was in a jolly mood.

Well, almost everyone.

He watched everyone with a bland interest (even if it looked like he wasn't really looking), though his icy gaze focused on one particular person. And that one rambunctious, friendly, loud, and slightly obnoxious person's admirers.

Rangiku was, without a doubt, very popular among the shinigami. Particularly the male shinigami. She was currently surrounded by the most prominent of her admirers – Hisagi Shuuhei and Iba Tetsuzaemon, though several others joined them in hopes of being noticed by the strawberry blonde beauty. All of them, clearly taken over by the numerous bottles of sake they had consumed, were giddy with giggles and laughter. Their cups met with a quiet 'clink' in celebration, and another round of laughter ensued.

"You're unusually quiet today." Gin didn't have to raise his eyes to see who it was. Aizen chuckled as he took a seat next to his longtime comrade, sake cup in hand. "I'd expect you to be talkative as you usually are; it's the holiday season, after all." Gin said nothing, and simply raised a cup to his lips. Aizen managed a small laugh. Considering how loose he was today, Gin figured he had a little too much to drink. Ah, the magic of sake.

"He he he, you'll have to excuu– WOAH! Sorry 'bout that, Shuuhei. He he he..." He turned his eyes to Rangiku, who was now using the flushed fukutaichou's shoulder as support to stand up. She wobbled to her feet, still giggling, and attempted to walk towards the hallway. She tripped a couple times, landing on a couple officers that certainly didn't mind, before she finally made it out the door.

"Excuse me for a second, Aizen-taichou." Gin stood up, and he could sworn he heard Aizen say something along the lines of, 'Have fun', but brushed it off. After weaving around the room, the silver-haired captain firmly believed that he was the only one that was fully sober at this point. He poked his head into the corridor, where he found Rangiku stumbling towards the exit, using the wall as her support. He slowly followed behind her, though considering how much she had consumed, he doubted she could hear anything outside a two foot radius. She turned a corner and disappeared from his sight completely.

He raised his brows and quickened his pace until he rounded the same corner – where he was greeted with the exit. Breathing a small sigh, he slipped his fingers in the slot and pushed open the shouji, only to be greeted by an unpleasant gust of wind and snow. He retreated, when he found Rangiku standing in the snow, looking up at the snow, until she fell backwards. Something in him caused him to jump, and he went running through the snow, falling to her side. "Rangiku, are ya..." A blissful smile was stretched across her face. His brows furrowed together. "Rangiku..."

"I like the snow, Gin." Her words were slurred, but he could understand her perfectly. "It's so pretty and white. Kinda like your hair. I like your hair, too." She reached up to entangle her fingers in his silky locks.

He sighed as he looked down at her. "You're gonna catch a cold if ya keep lyin' there." She said nothing as she continued to idly play with his hair. "Rangiku..."

"I used to hate the snow." He listened attentively now. "It was snowing that day you first left. Remember?" His smile became lax. "It made me feel so cold. I hate the cold, Gin." He frowned. "You're always cold... Your skin, I mean. It's kinda uncomfy." Her fingers moved from his hair to face, to stroke his cheek. "But I always liked it. It wasn't like the cold that made me feel lonely." The pad of her index finger pressed at the corner of his lips.

"I think you've had to much ta drink." He began to help her up, but her torso fell against him like a doll. He instantly froze, his fingers still wrapped around her wrists. Her head rested on his shoulder, nestled at the junction between his shoulder and neck. Her warm breath brushed against his neck. "Rangiku, we should get back inside before ya–"

"I love you."

He froze for what seemed like an eternity. He opened his mouth, ready to say something, only to find her fast asleep. He sighed as he let go of wrists and stood up, carrying her as he held her close to his chest. With a small smile, he trudged through towards her small home through the snow.

Word Count: 893
For some reason, I'm not very happy with it. But that's okay. XD I'll try to get another one up. I wanted to make this one fluffy and plotless... but I decided not to at the last second. In case I don't get another one up before Christmas, Happy Holidays!