Minamino Miyuki and her sister Sango were only in second grade the first time they got sent home from school for getting into a scrap with a group of boys. Miyuki had gotten into it with them because they would not stop bothering her much more feminine sister, the red-haired beauty Sango. Of course Sango could have handled it just fine herself, but it was nice to have a sister who was always a little bit extra taller and stronger than other girls her age, with an ax to grind for all the boys that wouldn't leave her or other girls alone. But when those boys had insulted her sister's stature and less than feminine features, she decided to join the fight after all, rubbing some dirt in that boy's hair while Miyuki held him down, all his friends laying around him on the ground, groaning.

The shame was bad enough, but the aggressive moss that he would find growing in his hair later would be much harder to bear. It would probably take at least a year to wash out all the slimy moss completely, and until then he would be known throughout school as the mossy-haired Sloth-boy.

Their Papa Shuuichi had been stern when he went to pick up the two girls. And indeed he wasn't exactly happy this mark now besmirched their record... But there were worse things in the world than your daughters learning how to stick up for themselves, so he didn't ban them from the TV or anything when they got home, either.

And in fact, when their other Papa Kuwabara got home and heard the story from them, he was so proud of them that he in fact decided to make the girls a special treat to celebrate. Disappearing for twenty minutes to go to to the store down the street, he soon came back again with the special treat he had selected.

It was an old favorite from his childhood, one he hadn't indulged in for quite some time. Classic kid food wasn't something a grown man should be seen buying that often, after all. But today was special occasion. His babies had kicked butt and now they were gonna get, drum-rooooooll... Blue Ice Berry Flavored JELLO! Complete with a picture of the white-haired ice princess on the box!

Yes, the Minamino's were one of those families where the parents were forced to listen to 'Let it go' a hundred-million times, but they never complained. The girls loved that movie and whatever made them happy, made everyone happy. So the treat that Papa Kuwa had brought home was met with much excitement.

Kazuma explained to them while making it, "Okay, so you mix the powder with the hot water first... Then you add the cold water... And then after you mix it all together, you gotta put it in the fridge for at least four hours to let it set, and then we enjoy it~!"

The girls suddenly weren't as enthusiastic, "Wha-? Four hours? Why so long!" Miyuki complained with a pout.

But Kazuma merely chided her patiently, "You have to wait for the JELLO to set, until it's cold! Now don't complain, it will be done in time for after dinner!"

Sango pointed out, fairly but also with a bit of a sassy tone, "If we have to wait until after dinner it's not as much of a treat..."

Kurama flicked his daughter's ear. "Enough sass from you, little lady. Now off with you. Preoccupy yourself elsewhere while we prepare supper."

Very reluctantly, the girls shuffled off into the living room to watch TV, while the adults busied themselves in the kitchen for about an hour, preparing some egg drop soup on the stove top, and then putting some fish in the oven to bake.

After that the two men retired to the garage, to talk about manly things for a while, and Yukina hid away in the laundry room. To work on laundry, yes, but also to work on the romance novel that Shuuichi's mother had lent her...

So none of them were really paying much attention to the two girls, who were assumed to be quietly watching their movie. Another hour went by and dinner was served, and to their surprise, both girls ate all of their suppers without once mentioning the jello that they had been so impatient for earlier.

Kuwabara was proud of them for that, so as soon as dinner was done, he went straight for the fridge. "Alright, now you're in for a treat~!"

But to his surprise, the girls suddenly both took on a very guilty expression. Sango spoke up, "Oh, Kuwa-Papa, you know, I think I'm too full for that jello, after all!"

Miyuki agreed right away, but didn't say any more. The guilt on her face was deep and clear, unmistakable.

Raising a brow, Kuwabara began opening the refrigerator door...

"Wait!"

Kuwabara stilled his hand on the fridge handle, but he stared deeply at the girl who made the request of him. "...What. What happened." He finally deadpanned. "Did you guys already eat the jello?"

Miyuki immediately shook her head at that. "No! I promise I didn't eat a single bite! But..."

Not waiting for an explanation any longer, Kuwabara turned back to the fridge and opened the door. There, almost exactly where he left it, was the glass pan of jello he had made earlier. And indeed, not a single bite had been taken from it...

It was more about what had been added to it...

It was Miyuki's doing, there was no doubt about that. Sango inherited her father's plant-based abilities, but Miyuki was all about ice, and this pan of jello had a thin sheet of ice covering it...

Upon seeing it, the usually tough and gruff girl began to sniffle and cry. "I'm sorry, Kuwabara-Papa... I thought if I used my powers to make it cold, it would be ready sooner. I didn't mean to accidentally freeze it..."

Kuwabara sighed, and shrugged. He couldn't stay mad at his girls. "Oh well. Not much we can do about it now. I'll just throw it away and go get a package of cookies or something instead..."

Taking the dish over to the garbage, he was about to dump the contents inside, but then suddenly Yukina walked in, and inquired at the sight of it, "Hmm? Kazuma, what's that you've got there?"

He shrugged again. "It was a treat I made for the girls, but it didn't turn out right." He replied, not even mentioning it was the girl's folly.

But Yukina got the gist of it by the guilty looks on her daughter's faces, so she quickly reached over and took the pan from her husband. "I don't know about that~ Come, we should at least try it before we throw it away. It would be a shame to waste food, after all~"

She knew she had the frugal Kazuma there, so he let the treat be taken, and Yukina proceeded to use a sharp knife to cut the icy treat into bite-sized chunks, which she then served into bowls. Kurama was then called to join them, and together they sat around the table to try the new dessert.

Kazuma couldn't help but make a bit of a face at first. The taste was similar enough, but the texture was completely different. Instead of just the smooth jelly-like substance he expected, what had been created instead was a sort of Frankenstein popsicle-jello, with icy sheets and shards covering and sticking into the jello. It was nothing at all like the treat of his childhood memories and, quite frankly, he hated it...

But everyone else in the family was having the complete opposite reaction. Yukina exclaimed right away, "Hey, this is good!"

Miyuki nodded along enthusiastically, the shame finally draining from her face. "Hey, yeah! This is actually super yummy!"

Kurama hummed in thought, "It does have an interesting texture, but it's not bad! In fact I wouldn't mind having some of this on a hot summer day!"

Sango sucked on a spoonful, letting it melt in her mouth, before she added her own two cents, "It's crunchy because of the ice, but it's still jiggly underneath! I like it a lot this way! What do you think, Kuwa-Papa?"

"..." Quickly forcing himself to choke down a few more bites of the awful stuff, Kuwabara grinned at the group. "Hehehe! Yeah, it's good! Quite the happy accident, I guess! Since you all like it so much, we can go ahead and make it that way in the future! Alright, well - I'm just gonna go do the dishes now. Bring me your bowls when you're done, okay?"

Heading over to the sink, Kazuma proceeded to wash the bowl and the other dinner dishes, letting his family enjoy the rest of their treat. His daughters brought him their empty bowls just a few minutes later, and then the two of them went to their rooms to play.

Well, oh well... So he'd never taste regular old delicious jello again, big deal. So he was doomed to eat jello that was full of sharp ice shards that could cut his tongue if he wasn't careful, so what. His family was happy and healthy and well-fed, and that was all that mattered. He'd sacrifice all the jello in the world for their happiness. It really wasn't an issue for him.

But it -was- an issue for his lovers, seeing him be deprived of a well-deserved treat. So when they brought their also-empty bowls over to him, the fox demon planted a kiss on Kuwabara's cheek, and the ice maiden squeezed his bicep appreciatively, telling him, "Thank you for the delicious treat, Kazuma dear~"

Kurama smirked as he pulled back from the kiss. "We'll be sure to think of something sweet to gift you later, too~"

Kazuma burned bright red, and scrubbed the dishes a little more vigorously, smiling to himself. Yeah, a lifetime of ruined jello was hardly any sort of price to pay at all, when the reward was so much sweeter...

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