Merry Christmas/Happy holidays to all :)

ROXAS POV:

I blinked my eyes slowly, attempting to get the sleep out of them. A yawn overtook me as I sat up and stretched. I threw the covers off of me and slowly walked to the kitchen. Once I got there and got my daily cup of coffee that Sora had thankfully made for me, I leisurely walked into the living room.

And I stopped in my tracks.

Sora was sitting in the middle of the floor, a Santa hat sitting crookedly atop his head, surrounded by piles and stacks of papers. I raised my eyebrows and cleared my throat. Sora looked up instantly and the look of sheer terror on his face made me laugh out loud.

"Shut up Roxas! This isn't a laughing matter! It's five days until Christmas and mom and dad said they can't afford a ticket to the cabin!"

I stopped mid-sip and looked seriously at him. "Why?"

He shrugged. "He said they had something else to do, a prior engagement."

I breathed deeply. "How typical," I spat. "They're always bailing out on us, on everyone. Fine. Fuck them, let's just invite some friends and if they have a problem with that, then that's too bad."

Sora's wide eyes stared at me unblinkingly for a few moments. "Uh. Ok? Cool, I might be able to spend Christmas with Riku!" he exclaimed and ran to his cell phone, which happened to be on the counter in the kitchen. I grabbed his collar as he ran past and pulled him back into the living room.

"Hold it pal."

"What?" he whined.

"Tell me about all of the papers."

He pulled out of my grasp, sending me a light glare. "I was seeing if we had any money to send to mom and dad, but you're right, we should spend it with Riku and Axel."

I winced. "Who said I was going to invite Axel?"

He flushed. "Well you always do, so I just assumed…"

I felt my own cheeks heating up and pushed him out of the room. "Go call Riku." He nodded happily and ran to the kitchen. I sighed and picked up the papers one by one, putting them in neat stacks before placing them in the filing cabinet near the desk in our living room. I bit my lip and pulled out my phone from my pocket. I pursed my lips as I scrolled through the contacts until I came across the one I wanted. I called the number and waited for them to pick up.

"Roxas?"

I smiled just hearing the voice. "Hey Ax, um, are you busy?"

"No not right now, why, is something wrong?"

"Oh, no, nothing's wrong, I just wanted to ask you if you were doing anything on Christmas."

It was silent for a few seconds. "Well I was just planning to come visit you and Sora. Why?"

"Oh that's great, do you want to go up to our cabin in the mountains?"

"Really? That'd be awesome."

"Great, you can carpool with us, I'll text you the details as to when, ok?"

"Yeah, sounds great."

"Cool," I said as I smiled. We said our final goodbyes and both hung up. I turned to walk down the hallway and back into our shared room, but saw a paper on the floor. I carefully picked it up and read it.

Dear Santa,

This is what I want:

Roxas to be happy.

A laptop.

A new phone!

A new set of drawing pens.

Love, Sora.

P.S I've been good all year.

I smiled at the list, and his childish writing. I pulled out my phone again and scrolled to a new contact. "Riku?" I asked when he picked up.

"Yeah?"

"What are you getting Sora for Christmas?"

"I was actually going to ask you for help with that, because I have no clue."

"Perfect. I just found his Christmas list. Shall we all go shopping together?"

"Sounds like a plan, but when?"

"How about today?"

"Sure, I'll bring Axel."

I was about to shout at him but he quickly hung up. I glared at my phone as if it was the problem. "Sora!" I called. I stuffed the list into my pocket and waited for him to stumble into the living room. He looked at me questioningly. "Get dressed, we're going Christmas shopping with Riku and Axel."

"Riku look!"

"Look Roxas, isn't that cute?"

"Axel that would be perfect for you!"

I groaned, running my fingers through my hair and looked at Axel. It definitely was not the best idea to take Sora with you while Christmas shopping. Axel chuckled and ruffled my hair, making me flush and push his hand away. I spotted an art supply shop and made an excuse to go to the restroom. I slipped into the shop and looked around for the pens that Sora wanted. I came across an acrylic set and knew it would be perfect for Axel. I grinned as I payed for both the pens and paint set, hiding them in the other bags in my arm. I picked up my ringing phone.

"Hello?"

"Where are you?"

"I'm currently looking for you guys, where'd you run off to?"

"We're in some store called Forever twenty two or something. I needed something for Kairi, and Sora suggested clothing."

I furrowed my brows and searched around for a map of the mall and nodded when I saw one. "Kay, I'll be there soon, don't leave."

"Ok, bye."

"Bye."

I hung up and walked over to the map, my eyes scanning it for the store, when I spotted it on the map, I noticed I was near it; I looked around and saw a yellow banner. I quickly walked over to it and entered the store. I was greeted by an overly cheery female employee, who promptly sprayed me with a perfume. I coughed and she started talking to me.

"Hey there! Merry Christmas, I hope you're having a pleasant shopping experience! Would you like to purchase our new perfume for your girlfriend?"

"Uh no thanks, I'm looking for my friend actually. So bye." I nearly ran over to the opposite side of the store, looking for my group. I spotted the unmistakable trio standing by a shirt display looking baffled. I slowly approached them and cleared my throat.

"Roxas," Axel whined. "My sister can not wear any of this without looking like a slut. Help me find something."

I thought for a moment before something popped into my mind. "Smell me," I told him.

Axel looked at me like I was crazy before he nervously obliged, leaning into my neck to sniff me. I fought back a blush and waited for his commentary.

"Why do you smell like a girl?"

"Never mind that, does it smell good?"

He shrugged. "Yeah, I mean, it smells pretty damn good, but I'm still curious as to why you smell so… girly."

I grinned and tugged him off to the front of the store and back to the peppy salesgirl. "My friend wants to buy your perfume for his sister," I informed her.

She grinned gleefully and squealed. "Great," she exclaimed. "Just go down a little ways until you se the huge display, you can't miss it." I nodded my thanks to her and once again dragged Axel away. We picked up a bottle and payed for it before exiting the crowded store.

"So where to next?"

"I need to go to Sears," Riku said.

"Me too, I'll go with you," I said as I nodded at him.

"I need to go to Macy's. Wanna come with Sora?" Axel asked.

Sora nodded happily and they waved before going off in the opposite direction. I gestured for Riku to go first and we walked in the direction of Sears.

After buying the perfect laptop for Sora together Riku and I called Sora and Axel to see if they were ready to go home. They agreed and we all met up in front of the mall. We headed to the car, pulling our coats and scarves closer around us to block ourselves from the snow falling from the sky. I yawned when I got in the backseat of Riku's car and Axel put his arm around me, and I lay my head against his shoulder so I could sleep the short way until we were at our house.

Axel, who was whispering at me to wake up, shook me awake. I nodded sleepily at him and he sighed before taking me into his arms and I barely acknowledged him carrying me up the stairs to our apartment in my sleepy haze. I snuggled closer to his warmth and fell back asleep.

I woke up on my bed when I heard whining in the other room. I sleepily sat up and walked down the hallway to the living room, where Axel, Riku and Sora sat on the floor and were surrounded by wrapping paper, tape, and ribbons. I raised my eyebrows and silently sat down next to Axel, who looked like he was struggling to wrap a small pink box. I sighed and held out my hands.

"Give it here, I'll wrap it for you," I said as I smiled at him. He sighed in relief and smiled back sheepishly as he handed me the box. I was surprised at the weight. "Whoa, what's in here?" I asked as I unfolded the wrapping paper around it and fit it to a fresh piece, neatly wrapping the present easily and quickly.

"None of your business, nosey."

I childishly stuck out my tongue at him and he grinned at me. "Just tell me fire crotch."

"Not gonna happen sleeping beauty."

I flushed and playfully pushed him. I cleared my throat. "Who needs help wrapping their presents?" I asked the trio.

Everyone pushed their presents forward and shouted that they needed help.

"We're here," I cried happily. "Axel shifted slightly in the passenger seat, and I smiled softly at how peaceful he looked in his slumber. I lightly shook him and he blinked slowly, waking up. "We're here," I repeated. He yawned and stretched, slowly getting out of the car. I followed suit and we went to the trunk, getting out our suitcases. We carried them to the front door and waited for Sora to open the door.

"Mom said she hired someone to decorate the place, but I told her not to let them decorate the tree, because I wanted us to do that, so yeah."

I nodded and he finally finished unlocking the door and we all pushed inside. We set all of our suitcases down in the sizeable living room and all went out to gather the presents we had wrapped earlier that day. Once we had fully unpacked the car, we went to our separate rooms to unpack our suitcases. Axel and I shared a room, and Sora and Riku (being a couple and all) were sharing one. I flopped down on one of the twin beds in the room, claiming it as mine, while Axel sat down on the other bed.

"I don't want to do anything other than sleep right now," I complained.

"Then sleep." I looked over at Axel and saw him shrug. I smiled and sat up.

"Can't," I said. "Sora would kill me if I didn't help him decorate the tree. We've been doing it together since we were like three."

"That's cute."

"Shut up," I mumbled.

He laughed. "Come on, we can unpack our suitcases later." I nodded in agreement and we walked down the stairs until we were making our way back into the living room.

"Stop!"

We both froze in the doorway and stared wide-eyed at Sora. I was about to ask why he told us to stop, but he just silently pointed to the ceiling. I looked up and saw that Axel and I were standing under the mistletoe. I felt my face heating up and tried to back out of the doorway, but Axel grabbed my wrist and pulled me flush to his chest, giving me a soft peck on the lips before he walked away, leaving me standing there wanting more. I nervously pulled at my sleeves before walking into the room. I picked up a box of ornaments and started placing them randomly along the branches of the tree.

"Roxas! It's time to bake cookies!"

I looked up from my book and sighed at the flour-covered Sora in front of me. "Do I have to?" I asked.

"Yes! We've been making cookies for Christmas together since we were five! We can't stop now!"

"Alright, fine, I'll be in in a second."

"Thanks Roxie poo!"

"Don't call me that," I barked. I put my book aside, standing up and walking into the kitchen. "Sora!" I cried when I saw what a mess my twin made.

"Oh don't be such a grumpy pants, we can clean it up later, Roxie baby!"

I glared at Axel. "Shut up."

He grinned as he slithered over to me. "Let's not fight. Let's just decorate the cookies."

"Cookies!" Sora shouted gleefully.

Riku, the textbook definition of stoic, stayed quiet throughout the argument. Sora walked over to the iPod dock sitting on the counter and plugged in his iPod, and the soft notes of jolly Christmas songs drifted into the kitchen. I couldn't help the smile that spread across my face as I took the spoon from Sora and started to stir the dough.

It fell into a rhythm: I would make the dough, Riku would cut them into shapes, and Axel and Sora would start to decorate the cookies. When we used up all of the dough, I started to clean up the kitchen and everyone else moved on to decorate. I felt someone creep up behind me as I washed the dough bowl, and quickly turned around to find Axel. He had a cookie in his mouth, and he bent down to press his lips to mine; he pushed the sugary treat into my mouth and I hesitantly let him, slowly closing my eyes and chewing. He pulled away and smirked, pecking my lips once more before stalking away to the table, leaving me dumbfounded.

I finished washing the dishes quickly, and went to sit at the table. Unfortunately, the only available seat was between Sora and Axel, which caused me to have to slap Sora's hand from the frosting constantly, and to brush my hand against Axel's every time I needed something to decorate my cookie, which left my skin tingling.

Hours later, we found ourselves sticky from dough and frosting, and we were covered in sprinkles. I laughed at Sora, and he laughed at me, both of us relishing in how ridiculous the other looked. I stopped though, when Riku smiled and wrapped his arms around his lover, radiating happiness.

"Happy Christmas Eve," Riku said.

I smiled despite the hollow, lonely feeling spreading itself through my veins as I watched the happy couple. Sora smiled and leaned his head back to kiss Riku's cheek. "Happy Christmas Eve," he whispered. I felt tears pricking my eyes and quickly turned to run up the stairs to the room I was currently staying in. Unfortunately I ran straight into Axel's chest.

"Whoa there, tiger, slow down. Where's the fire?" I glared at him, suddenly angry at him for playing with my feelings the entire trip, and pushed past him. "Roxas?" he called.

I ran into the room and headed straight for my suitcase, pulling out a pair of snow boots and heavy socks. I turned to the door and saw Axel staring at me questioningly as I pushed past him once again.

"Stop following me," I hissed at him, and he shrank back slightly.

"The fuck's the matter with you?" he asked, his voice low.

"Nothing," I spat sarcastically as I roughly pulled on my socks and boots, stomping outside moments later. I huffed, my breath swirling around my mouth as I took a look at my surroundings. The trees were blanketed in snow, and there was a thick coating of snow on the floor as well. I touched the fluffy substance, and it made my fingers numb. I shivered and stuck them back into my coat and walked down the driveway, onto the sidewalk, where all of the lampposts were covered in tinsel and wreaths. I smiled slightly, but remembered Axel and frowned again. I walked a little further, until I reached a little park at the end of the street. I walked over to the swing set, brushing off the snow and sat down, wriggling around a little because of the cold. I sighed again and began to swing, getting lost in my own thoughts.

I was broken out of my reverie when I felt my phone buzzing; I looked at the display and saw that it was Axel and pushed the phone back into my pocket, completely ignoring the call. I looked over to my right and saw a couple holding hands and laughing.

I want that so bad. I thought to myself. With… Axel. As much as I hate to admit it, I… love him. I bit my lip. But he's been toying my feelings ever since we came down here, he always does, and I'm sick of it.

I sighed and stood up, pulling my phone out of my pocket and realized I'd missed seventeen calls, seven from Sora and ten from Axel. I rolled my eyes and decided it would just be best to go back. I slowly made my way back, admiring the winter wonderland-like scenery. When I got to our cabin, I slowed my pace even further, walking like a turtle up to the front door. As I reached for the doorknob, the door suddenly flew open, revealing a furious Axel.

"Where have you fucking been?" he nearly shrieked.

I glared at him. "None of your fucking business, bitch."

"None of my fucking business? Are you kidding me? I've been worried as hell, we all have been. That tends to happen when you up and disappear for a fucking hour and a half." I felt my eyes widen. Had I really been gone that long? Shit… I rolled my eyes and pushed past Axel and sat down on the couch, pulling off my shoes and soggy socks.

"Roxas."

"What?"

"What the hell's the matter with you?"

"What the hell's the matter with me? I'm fucking tired of your shit, that's what. Stop teasing me!"

He took a step back at the shrillness of my voice. "What?"

"You know exactly what I mean!" I felt tears slip out of my eyes and onto my cheeks. "You keep doing things just to make me feel something, but I know it's just a joke to you. Something to pass the time. But it's not just that to me. I love you, and I wish you'd realize it and stop toying with me." I stomped out of the room and up the stairs, wishing the bright yellow walls would swallow me up so I wouldn't have to deal with Axel, who was running after me.

"Roxas! Roxas, wait!"

I turned around and screamed at him, and he looked taken aback at the sheer insanity of my actions. I flipped him off and started running towards the room, hoping I could get there in time to close and lock the door.

I didn't.

Axel caught up to me and grabbed my upper arms firmly, pushing me against the door and pinning my arms above my head. "Listen to me," he hissed.

And he pressed his lips to mine.

I tried to pull away from him, but my head only hit the wall. "Axel," I whimpered, and struggled against his grip. He pulled away from me and rested his forehead against mine.

"Roxas. I have loved you since the seventh grade. I want you to be mine, and I want you to know I'm not just playing with you, I mean it."

"Oh fuck y- what?"

He pulled back slightly. "I love you Roxas, you ahev no idea."

I swallowed harshly. "Really?"

He nodded and bent to whisper in my ear, "So will you be mine, and only mine?"

I nodded and grinned, pressing my lips against his in a hungry kiss. He emitted a low moan at the sudden contact, and he wrapped his arms around my neck. I circled my arms around his neck and pulled his body flush against mine. "Roxas, you're amazing," He breathed. He grinned at me once before he fisted my hair and brought me into another lip bruising kiss.

I pulled away. "I am pretty amazing. You're not so bad yourself."

He laughed, pulling away slightly and interlacing our fingers. "I love you."

I smiled and kicked off the wall, leading us down the stairs and into the living room, where Sora was situated in Riku's lap. I froze in the doorway as Sora jumped up, seeing our hands intertwined. "I told you Riku! I told you! You owe me five bucks."

Riku smiled. "Ok then, you win."

They embraced, and I felt Axel's hand on my chin, pulling my face to face his. He placed his smooth lips on mine, and I leaned into him, deepening the sudden kiss. "What was-"

He motioned upwards, and I realized we were standing under the mistletoe again. "Merry Christmas baby," he said, and motioned to the clock that said it was past midnight.

"Merry Christmas," I replied. This was shaping out to be the best Christmas ever…

"Present time!" Sora yelled.