This Christmas one-shot is written for Lara (kotilo) and the fic is thusly dedicated to her, as well. She's been sending me such amazing fan and gift art and I couldn't think of a better way to thank her. So, this is for you, Lara! Enjoy :D

A Season of Giving

"He sees you when you're sleeping. He knows when you're awake... he knows if you've been bad for good, so be good for goodness sake!"

"Santa Claus is Coming to Town." The perfect cheery Christmas song, sung by carolers and played on the radio throughout the entire month of December until the music was stuck in your head and you found yourself whistling it as you walked down the street or waited in an elevator, infecting others as well. A happy little tune, teasingly reminding kids to stay good because Santa Claus would know if you were naughty or nice.

Roxas hated it. He hated it because the song actually pertained to him. Whoever wrote that stupid tune had obviously seen into the future, saw his fate, found it amusing, and decided to write a song about it.

He knew that Santa saw him when he was sleeping. And he knew that Santa was absolutely aware of when he was awake. And unfortunately for Roxas, Santa was also very in-tune as to how Roxas had been behaving himself this year. Sadly, his punishment for his sins was not going to be a lump of coal. There was a reason that the song emphasized how being good was much better than being naughty.

Regular rabble-rousers earned their usual black rock from jolly old Saint Nick.

Roxas got Saint Nick's hand down his pants with the term "rock" only being used as part of an adjective.

So while kids settled around the Christmas tree to plant down their presents, then sneak up to sleep and wait for Santa, Roxas envied them. They were waiting for Santa to come down their chimney, give them even more gifts, then perhaps guzzle down their warm milk and cookies.

Meanwhile, Roxas got a nice visit from Santa without warning. Santa came through the door, instead. From there, he proceeded to grant Roxas the gift of a bare, smooth chest and nibbles on his ears. Then he continued onward to eat Roxas's warm milk and cookies, so to speak. More on the milk and less on the cookies, if we're going for accuracy.

Roxas didn't have a chance to watch out. He most definitely cried out at one point, and by the end, he was undoubtedly pouting. And Axel still came on to him. In a goddamn Santa Claus suit.

Ho ho ho, Merry-fucking-Christmas.

"Ho, ho, ho! And what do you want for Christmas, little girl?"

"A pony!"

"A pony it is! Have a candy cane, my dear child. Merry Christmas!"

Roxas rolled his eyes, pulling on a quick cheery smile as the pig-tailed little girl trotted up to him to snatch a sugary stick of swirly red and white mint tooth decay. As soon as her back was turned, the scowl came back. Oh yes. 'Tis the season to be jolly. Everyone gay and merry and hopping about with mistletoe and holly. Having a glorious time while drinking their damned eggnog and lighting Yule Logs. Fa-la-la-la-la, la-fucking-la...

"Roxas, you look like someone just died and they owed you money. Seriously, you're supposed to be an elf. Try and look a little happy?"

It was just so hard to get into the Christmas spirit when one was dressed as one of Santa's little helpers.

The blonde shot the speaker a glower, turning his head to reply, only to receive two mittened hands clapping onto his cheeks, pinching them, and proceeding to pull in opposite directions. Roxas was caught in a mildly painful forced smile, courtesy of Sora.

"Sora... you have five seconds to remove your hands before something regrettable happens."

The jovial brunette, sporting the exact same elf outfit as his cousin, smiled brightly, completely disregarding the threat. "Not until you cheer up! You're getting paid more than me to do this, you could at least pretend to be in a good mood."

Roxas managed a strained grimace. Sora finally released his cheeks and the blonde backed away a few steps to rub at the abused flesh. It was hardly the point that he was getting paid more. Unlike Sora, he was an actual employee here at the department store. He had to do this. Every year, Radiant Gardens held a Santa meet-greet-take-photos sort of thing on Christmas Eve at the front of the store. The employees had the honor of donning elf costumes with some brave volunteers who needed money. The role of Santa traditionally went to the manager, Pete.

"HO HO HO!"

With a roll of his eyes and a sigh, Roxas adjusted the green pointed hat nestled in his blonde spikes as Sora chuckled. They simultaneously turned to look at the seated Santa hidden behind the queuing children and their parents. "I just don't understand how you can stay happy while wearing bright green and red striped tights and pointy shoes."

Sora, in response, looked himself over. The elf costume consisted not only of the unmanly tights and pointed shoes, but rather small shorts on top of that, then a matching green vest over a similarly striped undershirt. The hat was thrown in just for kicks.

"It's not that bad."

Roxas snorted in disbelief. "Yeah, ok. You're just in it for the free candy canes."

"Well, yeah." Sora grinned to himself, already peeling apart another sweet. "That, and the chance to see your best friend in a Santa outfit."

Unfortunately, Pete had quit working a month ago due to an offer from a better department store, leaving Radiant Gardens Santa-less. Luckily for them, Axel, an employee of two years, had graciously stepped up to the plate, equipped with a cheeky grin and two fat pillows shoved inside his shirt. Roxas, his friend since elementary school, had spent a good minute laughing about it when Axel informed him over the phone.

"He looks surprisingly good in a big fluffy beard." noted Sora with amusement, nodding towards the dressed up man not too far from them who had just sent two more children their way.

Roxas automatically shoved out two candy canes and sent the kids on their way. Gods, it was only noon, he still had three more hours to go. "Yeah, and even better with that huge stomach. "

Sora laughed to himself and looked around idly at the decorated area, filled mostly with dressed-up employees and fake Christmas trees. His blue eyes avoided Roxas's. "So... you doing anything tonight? Hanging out with Axel or anything?"

"Dunno, he hadn't told me anything..." Roxas replied slowly, gaze shifting to watch the mentioned red-head out of the corner of his eyes.

"Santa, I want an elf for Christmas! Can I take one home with me?"

Sora and Roxas abruptly broke off their conversation to look up at the little boy seated on Santa's lap. He was pointing at them. Axel looked in their direction as well and chuckled.

"Well, I suppose you can borrow one. You see that grumpy little blonde one? You can have that one."

Roxas only managed to spot a wicked smirk growing behind Axel's beard before he was tackled to the ground by 80 pounds of child. Thanks, Santa... he thought as his feet flew out from under him. It's just what I've always wanted.

Axel was stuck with a problem. And it was troublesome, as most problems were. It was also rather unexpected, as he had never actually anticipated falling for his best friend. Their friendship had persevered since first grade and now they were entering their third year of college. Fifteen years could very well go down the drain in fifteen seconds if Axel didn't plan his confession right. After all, he could not keep it to himself. That wasn't his style.

He needed to tell him. For their sakes and for Axel's libido's sake. He couldn't even count the times now that he had nearly just grabbed Roxas and kissed him. It had been strange, at first, to be attracted not only to a guy, but to his closest friend. But now it was normal for Axel to catch himself staring at Roxas's lips as he talked to him, or walked closer to him than necessary, allowing their hands to occasionally bump against each other. It was love.

Typical? Absolutely. Cliché? Unfortunately. Bothersome? Damn right.

But Christmas Eve was the day and now was the time. Operation Confess to Roxas was commencing.

There were two possible outcomes for this. Either Roxas would accept it or he would freak out about his best friend going gay on him and cut off all ties with Axel.

No worries, right?

"Roxas, can you put the rest of these boxes into the storage room?"

"Yeah, sure..."

Axel poked his head from around the corner, watching a particularly cute, well-rounded butt disappear through a door frame. Thank heavens for Sora and his well-timed suggestion. The red-head had already pulled off the stuffy shirt, fake belly, and beard, only clad now in pants, boots, an undershirt, and those weird straps that were actually holding up the huge pants that he was wearing.

Santa was partially stripped and ready to go.

There was a vulnerable elf in the storage closet.

And Axel had mistletoe in his back pocket.

Sora walked past him, whistling softly under his breath. He dropped a key into Axel's waiting hand without stopping or making eye contact, walking away casually. The scene was set.

Taking in a deep breath, Axel straightened his shoulders and walked into the storage room, silently closing the door behind him.

"Hiya Roxas!"

"Holy sh-" Roxas hissed in shock, dropping the box of candy canes he had been setting up onto a shelf. The sugary sweets scattered across the floor, leaving Roxas in the middle of the mess, looking like he had just received an electric shock. "Axel! Can you at least knock or something next time? You scared the shit out of me!"

The red-head smiled and knelt down to help the elf clear up. "Sorry, Roxie. Couldn't help myself, I know how you hate me sneaking up on you."

Roxas calmed down as they shoved back all the partially broken candy canes into the box and he sighed. The small room carried a warmer atmosphere. Snorting, Roxas eyed the partially in-costume Axel as he set the box away.

"Why aren't you out there with the crowd?"

Because there's no other place I'd rather be than here with you.

Axel, while the other man's back was turned, tip-toed forward to loop a small amount of mistletoe around the end of the light switch that hung from the ceiling. It ended up right above their heads. Perfect.

Roxas turned around again to grab another box. Axel was leaning against the closed door now, trying to keep up the casual look. Any minute now, Roxas would be leaving and the plan would be ruined. He would have to act soon. Suddenly, the medium-sized storage room seemed way too small and cramped for his liking. "I'm on my hour break. Decided to see how you were doing..."

The blonde shrugged, moving to tidy up the rest of the packages. "Fine. I'm off in fifteen minutes anyway. I'm just about ready to take off this damn outfit."

Oh, please do. Take off that damn outfit.

Axel couldn't resist a grin. "What? I think you look cute in it."

Really cute. Adorably, please-rape-me cute. Damn you and those ass-hugging shorts.

"Oh, shut up." Roxas rolled his eyes, turning back to frown at Axel, his work done. The blonde took in the sight of Axel smirking at him and blocking his way. His lips tipped down. "What'd you close the door for?"

Axel tucked the key with which he had locked the door into his back pocket. "I thought we might need some privacy."

"Privacy?" Roxas raised an eyebrow, perplexed. He crossed his arms over his chest, making the tight test he was wearing slide up just a margin of an inch. Axel saw a glimpse of the boy's pale hips.

"Uh, yeah." The red-head tore his eyes away to meet the confused blue ones. "I need to talk to you about something."

The skeptical eyebrow just kept rising. "About... what?"

"Well, see..." Axel grinned again, unable to keep the nervous twitch from his hands. He pushed away from the door. "We've been friends from some time now and now that we're home for Christmas Break, I thought that at the end of the year and the beginning of a new one, we could start a new sort of thing between us."

"... a new sort of what?"

Good, keep going.

Axel took another step forward while Roxas stood frozen, confused but listening with a wall of boxes behind him. "Um, well, yeah. I've been watching you for a while and I know you may not exactly feel the same as I do, but I thought maybe you could at least hear me out and give it a chance. I mean, I don't want to ruin what we have already, but I don't want to stay like this, either."

"Axel, what are you talking about?"

One more step, the distance between them closing slowly. "And I've thought about this myself already and I'm absolutely sure about it. If we tried, this could definitely work out. And neither of us is taken, so that's good, and..."

Roxas's eye twitched. "Axel. I don't know what you're saying."

Axel paused. "You don't?"

"No clue." The blonde shrugged, an expression of mystification plastered across his face. Axel was losing him. Not good. Time to go for a more direct approach.

Axel took another step forward for emphasis, hoping to put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "What I'm trying to say is that I love-shit!"

A leftover candy cane had come underneath Axel's unwieldy Santa boots. With a great flail of his arms and a yelp, the red-head slipped and tumbled forward. It was bad enough that he had botched up his confession and proclaimed that he loved shit. But he also proceeded to fall right onto Roxas and they both went crashing backwards into a great pile of empty boxes.

That was definitely not how things were supposed to go.

As soon as the dust settled, Roxas spoke. Or, at least, grunted. It was hard to speak when Axel was lying directly on top of you with his hair in your face. "I don't know what the hell that was, Axel, but get off."

"No."

Roxas's patience was thinning at a dangerous rate. Six hours he had spent gallivanting around in an elf costume, surrounded by whiny little children. He had a headache, he was tired, and he just wanted to go home. In ten minutes, he could have done that. Now he was nestled in an uncomfortable nest of cardboard, packaged candy canes, and smelly wreaths with his best friend on top of him who had wasted five minutes of his time rambling and now refused to haul his lazy ass up. "Axel. Get off."

"No."

"Axel, get off!"

"I love you."

"Get off or I swear--wait, what?" Roxas's growl died in mid-yell as the blonde watched Axel raise his head. His eyes were glinting with something unidentifiable and his mouth was set in a determined slash.

"I love you." The red-head repeated. He stared at Roxas a moment longer before sighing. "That's what I had wanted to say. I love you. I've fallen for you."

Roxas blinked, brain functions down to zero level. "You love me." He said dumbly.

"I love you, Roxas."

"But, but..." C'mon, brain, work. "But... no. No way. No you don't."

Axel's gleam dimmed just slightly. There we go. He had feared this. Denial. He made sure to keep the blonde pinned beneath him. "Yes I do, Roxas. I just wasn't sure how to tell you because I didn't know how you would take this."

"I would take it badly, obviously!" cried Roxas indignantly, feeling uncomfortable with Axel's weight settled so gently against his and the whole situation in general. He tried to focus and calm down, but his heart beat was pounding in his ears and he knew there was heat spreading across his cheeks.

Axel's anxious smile was so obviously strained, Roxas winced. "Really? Is it that bad, Roxas? That I love you?"

"You're risking our friendship for this, you bastard." hissed Roxas, hands curling around Axel's shirt as he attempted to push him away, using force to try and work off his embarrassment. The red-head wouldn't budge.

"So there's no chance that you'll think about it?" He said softly.

"Think about it? Think about it? Are you out of your mind, Axel? Since when have I ever given you vibes of being gay, least of all for you? We're best friends, that's all!" Roxas could feel his chest clenching painfully and the urge to run and flee as fast as he could swelled up inside of him. He began pushing harder at his friend to escape, but Axel didn't even flinch.

"You don't mean that." Axel whispered, biting his bottom lip. Roxas ceased his thrashing. Shocked or not, he couldn't help the guilt from joining his distress. His words were hurting Axel.

"... I'm just... I don't..." Roxas visibly deflated, eyes wide. "I don't think of you like that."

The storage room filled up with stuffy discomfort. A few more candy canes filtered out of a nearby box to clatter to the floor. Axel was silent, regarding Roxas gently, searching for something in the blonde's face as Roxas stared back, panting, his heart fluttering wildly in his chest. His hands were still woven into the red-head's shirt, holding on. Finally, Axel spoke again.

"Mistletoe."

For someone who had spent a reasonable moment thinking, that was the last thing Roxas had expected the other man to say. He blinked. "What?"

"There's mistletoe above us. I had..." Axel laughed suddenly, shaking his head. "I had planned on doing something a little romantic after I told you. Looks like there's no point in it now."

Roxas shuffled his feet in discomfort, accidentally bumping them with Axel's before clearing his throat softly, avoiding the miserable jade eyes above him. "If it's a kiss you're after, I guess I can give you one... if it'll make you feel better."

"A pity kiss?" Axel laughed, then sighed. "One, then, huh? Alright, I guess I'd better take what I can get. Here, let you help you up."

Axel slowly pulled himself up to his feet, then reached out his hand. Roxas didn't hesitate to take it and the two helped each other to stand. The mistletoe was directly above them. Roxas swallowed nervously, shoving his hands into his pocket.

"I assume that's why you closed the door? So I couldn't run?"

"Yeah. Sorry about that." Axel laughed at Roxas's shrewd expression. It was almost like nothing had happened at all between them, the way Roxas's lips were starting to tilt with an oncoming grin, just like it usually did. A weight settled over the red-head's heart. He was going to miss this, because now it wasn't going to come back. Roxas had rejected him and their steady friendship was crumbling.

Roxas's face became neutral. His body tensed. "Um, I guess, then... might as well get it over with."

"Yeah." Axel moved forward, looking nervous again "Just... you can close your eyes if you want, I'll be quick."

This is it, Axel. Your last chance to convince him. Make it count

Roxas obligingly moved forward so that Axel could slip a hand around his cheek and lean down.

Axel saw the blue eyes flutter shut. He witnessed the pale pink lips he had watched for months tstiffen, then part just slightly. He could feel the soft cheek beneath his fingers twitch as Roxas clenched his teeth. There was warmth in the blonde's skin and Axel would never get any farther than this.

Hell with it. If this is my only kiss, I'll make it one he won't forget, damnit.

His free arm abruptly looped its way around Roxas's waist and, with a sharp jerk, he pressed their bodies together. Roxas gasped but didn't get a chance to open his eyes as Axel's warm lips crushed into his. At first, nothing happened. Just a simple press of lips to lips. It was still, with someone's mouth quivering gently in-between. Roxas breathed slowly through his nose, wondering what Axel was going to do. A second later, he found out.

The taller man's lips started moving against his. And that's what made something stir in Roxas. Disgust, he fervently hoped. Or revulsion. Maybe even pity. So it was definitely pity that was getting him to kiss back, hands nervously pressing against Axel's chest as more of those stirrings of revulsion and loathing made the room get hot and stifling.

"Roxas..." Axel murmured, pausing to just briefly suck at the blonde's bottom lip. This was good, he decided. Logic muffled slightly with the lust clouding his brain, Axel decided to see just how far he could get.

The elf, meanwhile, was still torn on whether or not the heat spreading along his body was just horror or maybe repugnance. He groaned, obviously frustrated with the decision and not anything else.

A sudden sweep Axel's hand across his arousal that Roxas hadn't even realized was there helped him reach a decision.

Horror. It was definitely horror.

Body regaining control, Roxas's mind came crashing back into reality with a loud thud. Spluttering, Roxas hastily pulled himself away and slapped at Axel's hands until he let go. Panting, the blonde staggered blindly around the taller man and unthinkingly grabbed the spare key jammed into the doorframe, fiddling with the lock briefly before it gave the Roxas tumbled out, hurrying into the hallway and away to the manager's office. The only goal in mind was to sign out his hours and get home.

Axel slowly walked out of the room, eyes glassy as he licked his lips, trying to savor the lingering taste of Roxas and peppermint candy.

Damn.

"So?" Sora hissed from behind a Christmas tree, eyes wide. "How'd he take it?"

Axel released a deep breath, watching the bobbing blonde spikes disappear around the corner. "Not well. But I'll be damned if I let him go like that."

Roxas was pacing. Back and forth across the living room of his home. His parents had gone to a Christmas party, so he was left in complete solitude to pace away. His mind was reeling. He was so distracted that he hadn't even taken off the elf hat, although the rest of the outfit was already safely tucked away in the deepest corner of his closet.

Axel loves me. Why? I thought we were friends, how could he do this?

It was inconceivable. On Christmas Eve, Axel had confessed to him. In a Santa outfit. In the storage room of the department store they both worked at. Under a cheap little mistletoe plant, he had kissed him. He had then proceeded to feel him up.

And Roxas, past the shuddering disbelief, had liked it. Where was their friendship and camaraderie!? How could this have happened?

Sitting down on the couch in front of the lit fireplace, Roxas grabbed his mug of cocoa and continued to ruminate. He could have very well sat through the entire evening, staring blankly into the fire and thinking, but a snowball shortly after had the gall to smash into his window and nearly break it.

Indignant at the damn neighbors whose kids constantly liked to aggravate him, Roxas bolted from the couch and stormed right to the front door, having no patience or nerves for that sort of thing after his stressing day. Before he could form the words to tell the kids off, however, he stopped. There were no children on the front lawn.

It was Axel, standing miserably in his Santa suit, smiling awkwardly from the sidewalk leading up to the front door where Roxas paused.

"Hey." The red-head said uncertainly, his breath coming out smoky from his mouth in the cold air.

Roxas gulped, suddenly wary. "Hey."

"You, uh, mind if I come in?"

The thought of leaving Axel out in the cold was unheard of. Roxas hurriedly nodded and ushered the shivering red-head inside. Axel had been at this house so many times, he knew his place around and actually helped himself in the kitchen to cocoa. It was just like old times, except there hadn't been such awkward and subtle sexual tension in the old times. As soon as Axel was settled on the couch, a mug in his hands, the peaceful silence ended.

"So why are you here?"

Axel gulped down his hot drink, staring at the floor. "Wanted to apologize. And ask you a question."

The reason for Axel apologizing was obvious. Frowning, Roxas sat down on the arm of the sofa. "Ask me what?"

Axel's eyes were bright again as he lifted his head. He leaned back against the opposite couch arm, smirking as his hair reflected the fire's light, appearing almost crimson. "Why'd you kiss me back if you don't like me that way?"

Sure, it had taken the rest of the day for Axel to figure that out, but it was better late than never!

Haha, Roxas, take that!

The blonde looked startled. He froze, then laughed nervously and looked away. He didn't know the answer. So he winged it. "Um. No reason. I, uh, just kinda did it on reaction."

Bad answer. Axel saw right through it.

His eyelids dropped to half-way and he sat up. There was potential here. Not all was lost. Even though Roxas had utterly rejected him beforehand, he could definitely still salvage what they had left. And there was no harm in starting now.

"Roxas..." He murmured in a sing-song way. The blonde immediately frowned, not approving the teasing gleam in the red-head's stare.

When Roxas didn't reply, Axel slunk forward, Santa hat slipping just slightly over his forehead. "Have you been a good boy this year, Roxas?"

This time, Roxas managed a response. "Are you seriously using the Santa thing to seduce me?"

"... naughty, then, I take it."

Roxas leaned as far back as he could, away from Axel's prowling grin. "Stop, Axel. You're acting stupid."

But Axel caught up to him, immediately catching the blonde in another kiss. It wasn't tentative; this time, Axel knew exactly what he wanted. Roxas growled under his breath, trying to get out of reach as the red-head peeled off his jacket. The movement distracted the blonde just for a second because, as it so happened, Axel wasn't wearing anything beneath the heavy Santa coat. As he stared, Axel abruptly tilted his head to nip at the other boy's ear.

Roxas squeaked, clapping a defensive hand to his abused ear as his eyes narrowed into a glare.

The two stared at each other briefly, Roxas scowling and Axel smirking, before the red-head unexpectedly snapped his teeth together in a teasing bite. With a yelp, Roxas leaned too far back and went tumbling over to the floor, his legs still ridiculously stuck straight up, feet hooked around the arm of the sofa. He blinked the flashing lights from his eyes just in time to see Axel's head poke around the top.

"Ho ho ho." The red-head smiled, "How about you come in my lap and tell me what you want for Christmas, Roxas?

Axel then proceeded to come down Roxas's chimney, eat his milk and cookies, and stuff his stocking. After that, not a creature stirred, not even a mouse.

Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night.

Dear Lera, why don't you work on SINthetic or SD instead? Because I suck.

Hope you all had a lovely holiday, guys!