Merry Christmas! I had actually meant to write this last year, but I never got around to it. Anyway...it's an AU...of my AU...AUCEPTION. Well, I made sure to get this done by today, so enjoy and review please! c:

The company's annual Christmas party was never something Axel looked forward to. They were always so...awkward. No women to hit on. Except Larxene, and Axel had been down that road before and never wanted to go back. Unfortunately for him, attendance was mandatory. Not really, but everyone was too afraid of their boss to find out if it wasn't, and Axel really couldn't afford to lose his job, as much as he hated it.

However, Roxas had promised him this year would be different. He would never say why whenever Axel asked him, just that he needed to look nice.

"What for?" Roxas crossed his arms in impatience.

"Just do it, okay?" This would be the first year that Roxas would be there, despite Axel's constant griping about how terrible it was. He and Axel had become fast friends whenever Axel was assigned to mentor him in his first few weeks. So, maybe the party would be bearable, but he still had no idea what the kid was going on about.

However, Axel did as he was told and showed up to the party in a suit. Fortunately, the party was a black tie affair anyway, so he didn't look out of place. Roxas hadn't arrived yet and Axel awkwardly stood in the corner. He'd never really been all that great at making friends. He glanced at the people standing around him; Larxene glared daggers at him, Demyx wandered aimlessly with a stupid grin on his face and Xemnas just seemed to be brooding as he watched over it all. Siax, of course, was right at his side. Others were chattering amongst themselves and Axel felt odd and out of place, staring out the window at the heavy snowfall.

"Hey!" Roxas suddenly said, appearing seemingly out of nowhere. He smiled up at him, and it took Axel a moment to realize his friend had just greeted him. Slowly, he smiled back as Roxas grinned.

"Took you long enough," he teased. "There's someone I want you to meet." He pulled on Axel's wrist and he followed him, relieved to escape the stuffy atmosphere. Roxas came to an abrupt halt and Axel scanned the room, wondering where on earth this person was. It seemed as though Roxas had only brought him into another room full of awkward, but his eyes landed on a woman he'd never seen before talking to Demyx. It seemed odd that Demyx would have a girlfriend. He really hoped he didn't, simply because that would mean he was doing better than Axel in that category. Besides, she looked way out of his league. She was very attractive, he noticed as he studied her, his gaze traveling from her curled brown hair to her white dress that hugged her curves nicely.

"Uh, earth to Axel," Roxas laughed, waving his hand in front of his face.

"Who is that?" he asked, his eyes never leaving her figure.

"That's my cousin!" Roxas explained cheerfully. Axel was suddenly grateful that Roxas was unable to read thoughts. He cleared his throat.

"I uh...I thought we weren't allowed to bring guests."

"Oh, I know that. She's not a guest. She's going to be working here, after Christmas." That certainly peaked his interest. "So, I thought you might want to meet her." Axel didn't even have time to respond as his cousin suddenly noticed Roxas's presence and waved to him with a smile as he nodded for her to come over. She said something to Demyx, who turned around to glance over at the two of them and then whispered something to her.

"Axel, this is Sarah," he said when she'd approached them. "Sarah, this is Axel." She smiled as she offered her hand to him and he shook it.

"Nice to meet you," she said politely and he noticed she was even better looking up close.

"Pleasure's all mine," he responded, his green eyes maintaining contact with her blue. She blushed and he smirked, confident he'd be able to win her over by the end of the evening.

"Well, I'll leave you two alone now," Roxas said with a sly grin, and at that moment, Axel knew exactly what Roxas's intentions were from the beginning. As he disappeared, there was a brief awkward silence between the two.

"Some party, huh?" Axel offered. She giggled a bit. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad.

"Well, it's not exactly what I expected," she admitted.

"This is what you have to look forward to every year," he grinned. When she looked slightly puzzled he added, "Roxas told me you'd be working here."

"What else did he tell you?" She asked, her eyes fixed on the floor.

"Nothing," he said. "Should he have?" He raised an eyebrow and leaned forward, her face nearly turning the shade of Axel's hair.

"No..." she murmured. Axel shrugged. An awkward silence hung in the air once again until he spoke up.

"I guess that's okay, as long as you aren't hiding something like being a serial killer." His joke seemed to lighten the mood a little bit and she laughed. "Can I get you a drink?"

"I wasn't planning on staying very long, and it's pretty bad out there," she explained, gesturing to the window. Well, that just wouldn't do. "And I don't really know anyone here except for Roxas so it might be kind of weird if I stayed too long."

"Aw, come on, you'll miss the festivities. And, now you know me, so that's no excuse," he grinned. There weren't exactly any festivities, but he had to get her to stick around somehow, right?

"Well...okay, you win. But I really can't stay very long." He was sure he could stretch that out, but he agreed anyway and after a moment, returned with a glass of champagne for her.

"What is this?" she asked, tentatively taking the glass from his hand.

"I didn't slip anything in it, if that's what you think," Axel said, rolling his eyes. Her eyes widened at his accusation.

"Oh no, I didn't—" He laughed out loud and she crossed her arms.

"I'm sure you didn't," he teased. "I'm not a rapist you know." she opened her mouth to say something but he stopped her.

"You should really work on making your thoughts less obvious. I know that I make you nervous." To prove it, he stepped closer to her, and she stiffened. "Now, why is that?"

"Well, you're very forward, and..."

"And...?" he inquired, leaning toward her.

"And...um..." he smirked as she became more and more flustered. Suddenly, someone cleared their throat loudly, and they both turned to find the source. Of course, it was none other than Xemnas, his boss.

"I don't mean to interrupt," Xemnas said pointedly. "However, I'd like to inform you that the gift exchange will be starting in a few moments." And with that, he left the room, leaving Sarah thoroughly embarrassed, and Axel thoroughly annoyed.

By "gift exchange", Xemnas had meant Dirty Santa, but everyone knew that combination of words would never come out of his mouth. However, the fact that he completely avoided the phrase was pretty comical. Axel sat next to Sarah of course, and would always steal the gift she picked just to annoy her. Demyx eyed the situation from across the room suspiciously, his eyes narrow. Sarah hadn't noticed, but Axel did, and made it a point to openly flirt with her, to which she would blush and Demyx would knit his brow. After the game, the two of them meandered around the building as they talked, though Axel had a specific destination in mind.

"I stayed a lot longer than I meant to," she said after a comfortable silence had fallen between them. "I really should go."

"I don't know," he leaned against the door frame of a nearby office. "It looks pretty bad out there." He was telling the truth of course. At this point, it looked more like a blizzard than regular snowfall. She ignored him and continued.

"I've...had a really nice evening." Axel grinned.

"Of course you have." At this, she punched him in the arm, laughing.

"You are really full of yourself, you know that?"

"And you," he pointed at her,"are really good at stating the obvious." she rolled her eyes.

"Seriously though, it's getting late." she bit her lip, drawing Axel's gaze to her mouth. He wondered what it'd feel like to kiss her pale pink lips and found that he had been subconsciously biting his lower lip as well at the thought.

"You aren't really planning on driving in that are you?" he finally said.

"I guess I'm going to have to," she sighed.

"Well, if you insist on leaving," he began. "How about a kiss before you go?" Her eyes widened and her mouth fell open at his suggestion.

"A...kiss?" she repeated incredulously. "I hardly know you, I'm not going to..." she trailed off as Axel pointed triumphantly above them with a smirk. Slowly, her eyes traveled upward to find the mistletoe hanging in the door frame.

"...You sneaky bastard..." he chuckled.

"So, how about it?"

"I don't really have a choice, do I?"

"Nope." And with that, he leaned in, capturing her lips with his own. She froze for a moment in surprise but then rested her hands on his chest as he wrapped an arm around her waist. He had meant to be gentle, but she didn't seem to mind and kissed him back with the same intensity. He'd kissed plenty of women before, but it'd never felt quite like this. Each time she touched him, it sent sparks of electricity flying through his body and he couldn't help but to respond, pulling her closer, pressing his mouth hard against hers as her fingers gripped his suit coat. His fingertips trailed across whatever bare skin he could find; her shoulders, her upper back. It wasn't until he realized he was running out of breath that he broke away, allowing her to gasp for air.

"Maybe," she paused, still trying to catch her breath. "I don't have to leave just yet."

"That's what I thought," he grinned, leaning in for another kiss.