Tke: I own crap, got it? I wish I owned stuff, but I don't own shit. Merry-fucking-Christmas.
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Title: Christmas Chocolate
Authoress: Tysonkaiexperiment
Co-Authoress: Kiraracutie
Couplings: AkuRoku, Soiku, Zemyx
Dedication: To those random people, like Tke, who just love a good holiday fic even if we're not near the holiday. And to KC, since she has no Internet, it's against her.
Summary: Sora convinces Roxas to do up his Christmas lights for him, his payment? Chocolate. But poor Roxas begins to wonder if chocolate is worth the Ladder of Death, nearly falling off the roof, and his stalker—Axel. [One-Shot[AkuRoku[Soiku[Zemyx
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Roxas stared at Sora with half interest; the young brunet was smiling so innocently at his brother.
"You want me to what?"
"To help decorate my house with Christmas lights." Sora's innocent smile was blinding, god, Roxas needed sunglasses.
"Can't you just ask your boyfriend to do it?" The blond suggested.
"He's working." Sora sighed, then directed a pout towards Roxas, "Pwease?"
Roxas sighed, looking down at his assorted cookies on the plate that he'd ordered. The café had sprinkled red and green sugar on the sugar cookies, making Santa, gingerbread men and women, a few bells, mistletoe, and a few other holiday icons. His hot chocolate was still steaming in its white mug with Santa's happy face on the side. He'd ordered it ten minutes ago, and for it to be steaming was shocking, but maybe it was because the café was warm to cover up the coldness outside.
Sora had watched the falling snow from outside, then turned back and attempted to steal one Santa cookie from his brother's plate. Roxas smacked his hand, causing the brunet to pull back, cradle his hand, and pout.
"Isn't there anyone else?" Roxas asked, sipping his hot chocolate. However, he had a small obsession with chocolate, so when someone sipped it, he gulped it and he called it a 'sip'. It was natural for the blond, even though it was the only drink he'd done it with; everyone figured he'd had an obsession with chocolate.
"Nope, you're the only one who I can trust with doing it, Roxy." Came Sora's answer before the boy rolled his eyes, "Can you see Demyx putting up lights?" He took a sip of his hot chocolate, watching Roxas start to finish his. Sora hated coffee, he really didn't know why; his body just rejected the stuff. Yet he knew he was going to regret buying hot chocolate when Roxas finished his and started to eye the brunet's.
Sora's raised mug paused near his mouth as he came up with an idea; he moved the mug to the left, then right, then up, then down.
Roxas's face hadn't flinched, but his eyes moved with every small motion.
Bingo.
"You do my Christmas lights and I'll make you all the hot chocolate you want."
Roxas's eyes lit up, watching Sora hand him the rest of the brunet's hot chocolate. He wiped his mouth with his sleeve, Sora smirked, to finish the remaining chocolate, "What time do you want me at your house tomorrow?"
"About 11ish will do." Sora responded, standing and pulling some money out of his pocket, it was a ten, pretty big for a six-dollar hot chocolate. "And as thanks, buy yourself another hot chocolate Roxy."
No sooner had Sora finished the sentence then Roxas was at the cash register where the blond's female friend, Olette, was placing in his order of hot chocolate and giving him a discount enough for him to order two cups rather than one. The brunet chuckled, stealing a bell and mistletoe from the plate of cookies and munching them as he left.
X.X.X.X.X.X
Roxas grumbled, sniffing a bit to make sure his nose didn't become an icicle. He looked up at Sora's house through his checkered beanie, why the hell did he agree to come so fucking early? He had never been awake earlier than 1, so why? Roxas wiped the snow off his shoulders and hat, wrapping his black leather coat tighter around himself as his checkered scarf covered his mouth to protect his mouth from being numb. He hoped it wasn't numb so it couldn't taste the hot chocolate, which would suck and make one Kaze Roxas very unhappy.
He opened and slipped through the glass door that opened to the living room, which connected to the kitchen.
"Roxas?" And standing in the kitchen with a mug of what the blond assumed was coffee, was Riku. He was loosely in dressy black pants and a forest green sweater, however Roxas could see the hint of his red tie and white shirt under it, which meant Riku had to go to work.
"Hey." Came the blond's answer as removed his hat and jacket and set the ice-cold things on their coffee table. His scarf was removed next, as was his gloves, and he looked up at Riku, "Your boyfriend still asleep?"
Riku rolled his eyes, finishing his coffee before dropping the mug into the sink and rinsing it out, "You know Sora." He answered, washing his hands and turning the water off before grabbing a towel and drying his hands, "So why are you here?"
Roxas rolled his eyes, "Christmas lights."
Riku chuckled, "So you're the poor sap who Sora's making do our Christmas lights."
Roxas nodded, "Yup, so why aren't you doing 'em?"
Riku winced, "Ended up breaking Kairi's Christmas gift to her boyfriend so I have to work extra to pay her back."
Roxas smirked, "Have fun with that."
Riku nodded, stepping through the hallway that was connected to the kitchen/living room to head to his and his boyfriend's room. He was probably going to do that fairy tale thing that all the girls sighed about when they saw Riku near a sleeping Sora, reach down and kiss Sora's cheek good morning. And Sora would blink sleepily, rub his eyes slightly, and then give Riku a proper kiss good morning. Roxas had seen it so much he'd memorized it.
Riku had a left a while later, when Sora came out in a light blue turtleneck and slim black pants, and Roxas finally decided to demand his first cup of hot chocolate since he 'woke his ass up early to even get here since he didn't usually get up until 1 PM.
Sora agreed and complied, also making Roxas a breakfast meal of French toast, eggs, bacon, sausage, a bowl of fresh fruit, and a tall, cold glass of milk.
Now Roxas felt it was worth doing Sora's Christmas lights.
After the breakfast, Sora allowed Roxas to rest a bit before getting to work. Roxas knew Sora would make the ideal husband, and Riku, Sora's boyfriend, would probably do everything to make everyone fall under Sora's power. The blond chuckled, brushed off Sora's questioning face, and stood up, ready for work.
Sora pulled him outside where there were several boxes of regular lights, a few of the lights in the shape of a random Christmas icon, a few fake candy canes, and one set of a blow-up Santa and two or three reindeer with a tank of gas next to the boxes. The brunet had apologized that there was so much; he'd also offered to help Roxas when he could. The blond simply waved him off, sending Sora to do what the brunet originally planned—make Christmas goodies for kids in an orphanage—and began to pull on his coat, hat, and scarf. He couldn't ask for too much from Sora, since the brunet was already doing so much to begin with.
Every year around this time Sora would do one major thing to help the community, and he became quite popular for it. This year he had invited an orphanage of fifteen kids with a few of the town's famous people—for instance Kairi and her dad, the mayor—in hopes they could help find the kids good homes.
So really, Roxas liked helping his older brother, it gave him a sense of doing something in complete Christmas spirit. And it was a warm feeling, a good feeling, and Roxas had to admit, he always liked this feeling. So if he had to help his brother to get this whole feeling, then he was willing to do it.
Pulling out all the lights, Roxas took a few minutes to sketch the whole house in his mind. The Santa would look better on the roof, he decided, and chose to make that one of the last things he'd do. He figured he could start with the candy canes and the Christmas icons, so he brought those to the front lawn first. After pulling the lights apart he realized Sora had given him four reindeer—two laying down and two standing with their heads leaning down—about five trees, and a laughing Santa. But first things first, he began to use a shovel and made the snow evenly lay on the ground. Then he used the tools Sora had laid out for him—a Philips Head screwdriver and a pair of pliers—and began to construct the creatures.
Three hours into working, Sora appeared on the porch with a mug of hot coca, packed in marshmallows, and a dollop of whipped cream so huge that it could cover one's palm.
Roxas's heaven.
He dropped the pliers and ran towards Sora, grasping the mug and sipping the drink so that he ended up with whipped cream on his nose, "Thanks Sora."
Sora smiled warmly, "No problem." He dusted some of the snow off his brother's hat before winking, "Give me about two more hours and I'll cook something up for lunch."
Roxas just 'mm-hmm'd and continued to sip his drink as Sora went back inside. He reluctantly tore himself from his heavenly drink and continued to place the last tree in his ideal spot before placing the Santa next to the tree at the top of the lawn so he could grab it easily when heading up to ladder.
So now the lawn was done, time to do the roof.
Roxas grabbed his drink, finishing it as he searched through boxes to see what he had to work with. After pulling apart the strands he realized he had a few different choices in lights. A bundle of white strand with regular lights, a few green ones with regular lights, some green ones with colored lights, and some blue ones with colored lights.
This would take more planning than he thought.
So he stepped inside, grabbed some paper and a pen from the den, then sat down at the den's desk and began to draw out the house. God, he really was putting a lot of thought into this house, wasn't he? Well, the better it looked, the better a mood Sora would be to present, and most likely the better gift he would give Roxas.
Grinning, Roxas set to work.
Two and a half hours later, Sora came in with lunch. A bowl of warm, fresh tomato soup and two grilled cheese sandwiches and a soda, what could Sora not cook?
Doing the lights of Sora's house was so becoming worth it.
When Roxas finished eating he was treated to another cup of hot chocolate and it just seemed like the good life.
Until he told Sora he was going to do the roof lights next.
Oh god.
Sora brought out The Ladder of Doom.
God, it had such an appropriate name.
The ladder had ended up sporting a giant crack in one leg, and it wobbled wherever it was placed, even if a regular ladder was perfectly still. Riku would not even go near it, Roxas never tried to, and Sora seemed to be the only one comfortable enough to get up on it. Once, their older brother Cloud had gotten on it and had ended up falling off it when a string of lights swung at him, then the ladder had 'attacked him' by falling onto him. Ever since then the older blond had sworn vengeance on it.
"Sorry, I usually do it so I don't buy a new ladder." Sora blushed, looking down at the ground.
"It's fine." Roxas grunted, grasping the ladder and sending his brother back in as he pulled the thing up to a standing position.
Since he was right outside the kitchen window, he could hear the small clangs Sora was making and he smiled.
After getting one set of lights up, he smiled again. This ladder wasn't so bad, he seemed to have no problem with it, Riku and Cloud were just goofing off.
So he started again, putting up a third string of lights, then a fourth, before he pulled out a cord to connect the string of lights.
"Sora!" He called through the window, "Can you come grasp the ladder so I can get onto the top of it?"
And the brunet did, a little reluctant of letting his brother go to the very top of it.
They'd been, then the mailman had come and Sora went to grab the mail, as Roxas was finishing connecting the lights.
As soon as Sora was in-reach of the ladder again, it wobbled and Roxas grabbed onto it for dear life. He looked down, where Sora was grasping it to try and steady it.
"You okay?" Sora asked softly, looking like he was to blame.
Roxas waved him off, hand pressed to his chest as he tried to steady his furiously beating heart, "I just saw my life flash before my eyes." (1)
"I'm sorry." Sora's guilty face was fully on now, and Roxas had to look away to avoid the power of that look.
"It wasn't your fault, how'd this ladder get a giant crack anyways?"
"Demyx." Sora sighed, admitting it.
"Demyx?" Roxas screeched, turning. Since when had his brother allowed that blond to touch dangerous things??
Sora nodded, "He was apparently making out with Zexion, stumbled backwards, hit a few cans of paint, which had a domino effect and at the end of said effect, left a ladder with a large crack in it."
God, Demyx was a hazard anywhere, wasn't he?
"Should I go get you a new one?" Sora asked, looking up innocently.
Roxas shook his head, "It's fine, I was just startled."
Sora nodded, but after some shooing was back inside, finishing cooking.
Again, Roxas attempted his fate, and got to the very top of the ladder without anyone holding it. For ten minutes, he'd been fine, nothing happened. 'It IS safer than Riku claims it is!' He thought for a second, humming as he twisted a rope of lights around the end of a different rope of lights before connecting them.
The ladder creaked under his weight, he shifted slightly, and the silver deathtrap began to tumble to the floor, leaving Roxas in the air for a second before falling from the roof-story towards the drive way.
He could vaguely hear Sora's cry of "Roxas!" from inside the house and squeezed his eyes shut, oh god, he was going to die!
After a few seconds, his eyes snapped open, and Roxas looked up to lock eyes with everyone's favorite redhead.
"Axel!" Sora had scream from the door, he raced over and said a welcome to the tall man before looking down at Roxas in worry, "You okay Roxy?"
But Roxas's eyes were glued to Axel's, and it was all silent.
The neighbors were probably watching from their windows, snickering.
"YOU FUCKING PERVERT!!" Roxas screeched, palming Axel in his chin and sending the redhead to fall on his ass as the blond fell to the floor.
They both groaned, Axel looked over at Roxas sheepishly. "Nice welcome Roxy."
"Shut up!" Roxas growled, being helped up by Sora. "What the hell are you doing here?"
"I was going to help Sora pick out gifts for the children." Axel answered, smirking at him as he stood, accepting a mug of hot chocolate from Sora.
Roxas's eyes were wide.
Axel was stealing his hot chocolate!
Before Roxas could grab the mug from his hands, Sora pulled him back and handed him a bigger, deeper mug with more marshmallows and whipped cream then one could ever see.
And Roxas ran to a corner of the lawn, cradling his precious chocolate and whispering 'my precious' as he drank.
Sora invited them all inside, where Roxas got to relax and Axel and Sora were sitting side by side at the table a few feet away from the couch Roxas sat on. "Yeah, but isn't that… like for a younger kid?" Axel asked, warm and cozy as he began looking over one of the toys in the catalog with Sora.
"No, look at the age, she's still in that age range." Sora pointed to a spot on the toy showing where it said the age limit.
"Oh, I guess she is." He chuckled, setting his hot chocolate down, but hidden enough so Roxas wouldn't spy on it.
Roxas grumbled, looking away as he flipped on the TV.
"Oh, have you eaten yet?" Sora asked, looking up at Axel.
"No, I had a test in Chemistry, I didn't get a chance to." Axel answered as Roxas's nose scrunched up at the word 'chemistry'.
Sora rushed to the kitchen, like the man he was, and warmed up some grill cheese sandwiches and a healthy portion of tomato soup.
Axel chuckled, "You looked like you were having fun on the ladder, Roxy."
"Hn." Roxas sipped his hot chocolate, "I told you not to call me that."
"But it's so cute!" The redhead protested, "Besides, you're cute, so it just seems to work."
Roxas's cheeks turned red, but he raised his mug to hide it, "I'm not 'cute', and besides, only someone who is in love with me can call me that."
"Oh, but you deny me every time I tell you my love for you?"
"Because you're just a pervert."
"Food's done!" Sora came back, putting the bowl of soup in front of Axel, it sat on a large plate, the sandwich cut in half as it rested around the bowl. A soda was placed next to it, Root Beer since Axel liked the old drinks, and the brunet plopped back down into his seat.
"Yay, soup!" Axel cheered, "Just what I was in the mood for!" He hugged Sora and gave him a lingering kiss on the cheek, Roxas's teeth grittened and his hands clenched, before he dug into his food.
Sora sweatdropped, watching the way Roxas was now death glaring Axel, he stood and slipped back into the kitchen to ignore the feeling that shot down his spine.
X.X.X.X
It was now party time, Kairi, her boyfriend, and the mayor were one of the first to arrive, Riku coming in ten minutes after them.
The mayor thanked Sora, insisting that the couple stand underneath the mistletoe of the doorway and share the first Christmas kiss.
Chuckling, Riku wrapped his arms around Sora's waist and gave his boyfriend a sweet kiss. The silveret laughed, Sora's cheeks red, as Axel began to hoot and holler things that no kids should hear. So when the kids had gotten to the door, Kairi promptly kicked Axel in the shin and told him to get some drinks ready for the kids.
The children had come in, awing at the house and commenting on everything. They asked Axel what kind of hair gel he used, one girl asked Roxas how the bleach worked to turn his hair that blond color, which caused the blond to glare at the frozen redheaded man. They asked Kairi when Santa would come, and looking up at Riku, she replied 'later that night'. A few kids asked Riku how old he was, considering he had grey hair, and Sora had to kiss his boyfriend to quiet him. That's when the kids stood, gaping, and asked how two males made babies together.
Everyone sweatdropped and that's when Axel decided to come in with the drinks for the adults and the kids.
Families showed up, some adopting kids that night, and some deciding that they would need a few days to clean up a room, but that a kid would be theirs.
All in all, it went fairly well, and Roxas noticed that Sora had become attached to a little boy and little girl, they weren't related, they didn't look it, but they had insisted that they be adopted together or no deal.
Aeris, the gentle lady who owned the orphanage, had said that they appeared on her doorstep, hand in hand, and had never been separated since then.
The brunet boy, Denzel, reminded Roxas of a young Sora, the way he would claim to be able to do anything, and protect his damsel in distress. (Though Riku was hardly a damsel in distress, Roxas couldn't help but find it funny, so he always called him that.) The brunet girl, Marlene, was a lot like their cousin Naminé, she was quiet, but kind and gentle, and she could make you feel an emotion with just one word.
Roxas looked up at Riku, who was watching his boyfriend teach Denzel and Marlene how to play battleship, before smiling at the warm look on the silveret's face. As a Christmas gift to Sora, he was going to let the brunet adopt one of the children he liked. Which, Roxas knew, was hard, because Sora liked everyone, it was the way he was. But, by the looks of it, Roxas knew Riku would be filling out two stacks of adoption papers rather than just one.
The blond smiled before stepping out the back glass door and making his way to the snow-caked patio outside.
"Not enjoying it inside?"
He looked over to where the door was and saw Axel leaning against the wall, next to the door, smoking a cigarette. Right. He'd forgotten Axel had come out here a few minutes earlier.
"I am." Roxas responded, "I just came out to get some fresh air."
"Ugh, fresh air." Axel rolled his eyes and took another drag of his cigarette, Roxas's lips twitched slightly. "So, what's a certain man getting for your brother for Christmas?"
Roxas rolled his eyes, Axel liked to give Riku a bunch of different nicknames just so he could pick on the man, "He's letting Sora adopt two kids."
Axel's eyebrows shot up, "Really? So Sora's wish of a family is coming true."
"Yup." Roxas sighed, sitting on the snow-covered wood table and watching as Axel joined him, "I think he's going to ask Sora to marry him." Although the patio was covered in snow, the cover over the patio had been put up last minute, and Sora hadn't had a chance to move the snow off the patio.
"It's about time." Axel answered; finishing his cigarette and putting it out in the snow before putting it in a jar Sora had put off to the side for Axel's cigarette butts. "I was pretty sure if he didn't soon then someone was going to kidnap Sora and run away with him, leave freaky by himself."
"Mmhmm." Roxas muttered, snuggling into his coat, his lips twitching at Axel's name of 'freaky' for Riku.
"Hey, Roxas!"
The two looked over to the door to see Sora standing there, "Yeah?"
Sora gave a soft smile, walking over with two large mugs of hot chocolate and handing one to each of them, "Come inside soon, the mayor hasn't gotten a chance to properly meet you."
The blond nodded as he slipped back inside, sipping his hot chocolate quietly.
Axel's gaze was on him, "Aren't you happy? That Sora's going to get asked the big question? Shouldn't you be happy for your brother?"
"Yeah." Roxas gave a smile. "I am, I know they belong together."
"Then why is there that lingering sadness in your eyes?"
Roxas froze, looking down into his hot chocolate, "I was just thinking…"
"Of what?"
"Sora's going to have two kids now, going to be engaged, and go on with life… I barely have a job… what if I don't end up as happy as he is and start bumming off him?"
The redhead was quiet for a second before he grasped Roxas's shoulder and twisted the blond to meet him in an all-out-tongue-war.
The blond whimpered, feeling the hot chocolate be removed from his grasp as Axel pushed him down into the snow and allowed him no time to breathe.
Two minutes later, Axel pulled away, licking the spit from his bruised lips, "I'm not going to let that happen Roxy." He gave the blushing blond another kiss, this time sweeter and meaningful, that even a true romantic had to realize how loving of a kiss it was. "You know I love you."
Roxas's eyes flashed for a minute before he pulled Axel down and gave a small reply of, "I know."
"Axel!"
Kairi was above them, tapping her foot into the snow impatiently with a 'crunch, crunch' of the white powder.
"Hehe, hey Kai!" Axel gave a weak laugh as Denzel and Marlene giggled behind the girl, Roxas's cheeks were bright red but the female looked annoyed. "What's up?"
"Demyx and Zexion just arrived, and they're going to open your gift."
With that the redheaded female pulled the man off of Roxas and dragged him inside with the giggling children behind them.
The blond sat up and gave a lopsided smile, looking at the mistletoe twinkling merrily above with the help of one of the patio cover's bars. He grasped his mug of hot chocolate, began to finish it and smiled, bringing the mugs with him when Sora came out and said the mayor wanted to talk with him.
They talked, ate dinner (the kids loved it so much they even at their 'nasty' vegetables and told Sora he was a great mom, to which he blushed), opened gifts from the kids at the orphanage, and made sure kids were adopted. Hell, the kids were screaming when Santa, Riku, came through the door. Each began laughing as Riku called their names out from a list made by Aeris, and each child received a special gift they'd been telling Aeris they wanted.
Then it was time for the gifts from the others.
Everyone began laughing as the kneeling Riku suddenly grasped Sora, who had been handing out presents, and the silveret popped out the all-important question. Cheers had rung out, Demyx cuddling up to his smiling fiancée, as Zexion watched Axel make crazy suggestions, and Sora nearly fainted when Riku handed him two adoption packets with Denzel and Marlene's names written across them.
Roxas was in his own world, sipping a new mug of hot chocolate next to his pile of gifts. He was more intent on watching his new promise ring on his right ring finger as the silver gleamed in the lights of the living room. 'I promise to love my Foxy Roxy forever and ever' glittered back at Roxas, and the blond smiled as the redheaded man sat next to him, the blond grasping Axel's hand and reached up to give the grinning man a proper first kiss.
X.X.X.X
1- Last year I was helping KC do her Christmas lights, because my grandparents (who I live with) don't believe in decorating their house. At all. Asses. Anyways, I figured I'd help KC with whatever she needs, so she brings out a ladder and calls it the Death Ladder. So she tells me all the stories about how her whole family, except her, has pretty much shunned the poor thing. So, because I'm a dumbass, I get on it instead of her. (She has no problem getting on it because she owns it and she's used to it.) So, I end up making through it, no problems. Until nightfall. KC's little sister finally gets permission to come outside and help us, since we've been working non-stop and could be finished soon. Things went on like normal, until KC's sister asked where a piece should be put on the lawn. She turns, and lets go of the ladder. I was stuck in between the front wall of the house and the rocky area of her grandmother's garden, so I figured I'd be fine. Wrong. Two seconds after KC lets go, the ladder (in which I hadn't moved because KC hadn't handed me another string of lights) decides to try and tumble. KC does one of those anime twirls and latches on while I Death Grip the Death Ladder. And, truly, my eyes did flash before my eyes, I saw a lot of white. Which sucks, because I'm a punk Goth, so I hoped my life would be black.
So basically that event gave me the idea for the fic. Hope you liked.
Reviewers get replicas of the promise ring Axel got Roxas, comes in all sizes!