Snow was something that just begged to be melted into large, crystalline puddles of reflective water, Axel decided. However, he refrained from using his power to create the largest flood and warmest weather Christmas Town had ever seen and merely stood, leaning against a lone candy cane in what seemed to be a colorless field of nothing but ice. The meager strips of red had seemed to call out to him as he appeared there, the deep purple and black vacuum leaving quickly as it could, feeling out of place.
It seemed fitting, he decided, shifting his position slightly. He could've been cold, frozen even with the wind chill, clad only in the loose pants, leather coat, and not water resistant boots that were trademark of the Organization, but he let his power take care of that much, leaving him only with rosy cheeks and stinging eyes from the wind.
Of course, the wind was also causing the tears that dripped from his face to freeze during their freefall into the snow.
He wasn't about to play stupid and pretend he wasn't upset, to pretend that he couldn't be upset, but the lack of festivities at the castle had hurt. When Roxas had found out about Christmas during a mission, he had seemed so childishly excited at what it could offer. Axel had promised him that they would celebrate that year, in a suiting environment like the harsh arctic fields that surrounded the quaint valley that Santa lived in.
'Well, Roxas,' he mused, his voice mocking even as it reverberated throughout the part of his mind that had been ripped away when the same darkness that had deposited him here had swallowed cornflower wisps for the final time, 'it's Christmas Eve.'
The part of what Roxas had heard that had made his face light up the most was the legend of Santa Claus. When Axel confirmed the man's existence, having known this from missions in Halloween Town, he had seemed to be so joyous that Axel wasn't sure his heartless chest could stand much more. He promised him that they would go see him, and Roxas could have his first real Christmas that he could remember.
The joke was on him this time. Normally it was his fault if his promises were broken.
"You hear that, you fat bastard?" he mumbled. "He wanted to see you." Nobodies were probably not on Santa's list, nor was their world, he'd bet. He knew though, that if permitted, he was sure to have been on the "naughty" list.
His foot dented crude, nonsensical patterns into the white fluff beneath his feet. Without realizing it, he was speaking, his words going from an indistinguishable murmur to a clear, but trembling, tone. "He's all I want, no, need… it's my only wish, ever."
Wistfully, he looked in the direction of the hills, shaded just barely and just noticeable among the rest of the blizzard. "Santa, can you hear me?"
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Submission for DeviantArt's AkuRoku community's Christmas contest.