Enjoy~ Cause there will be fluff.

"..." - talking

italic - Xion's thinking

Here's Part 2 out of 2. The final.


Winter Companion

Part II: Winter Bond

"What's holding him up?" A teenage ravenette pouted in anger as she sat on one of the swings that were installed in the playground. Glancing up to the tall clock, she let out a small huff. "Who shop for Christmas presents this late afternoon anyway?"

Yup. Christmas was just around the corner. The streets were decorated with brightly colored banners, flags in the color of Christmas, and coils of Christmas lights twinkled like bright star on trees and lampposts. The whole small town was radiating with Christmas spirits. The playground she was in also decorated with such decorations; the white snow around had helped to make the whole place even livelier by reflecting the lights; sparkling like tiny diamonds.

The teenager sighed; her breath clouded before her. She glanced around the decorated playground as she kicked herself into the air and swung. The cold winter wind buzzed passed her earmuffs covered ears, messing up her usually tidy short black hair. The playground was currently empty. Some children that was playing snowball fights earlier had went home with their mothers before the incoming night grew colder.

"Where is he?"

As if on cue, a familiar tune entered her ears. The whistle… That tune…

The teenager skidded the swing into a stop and looked out to the playground entrance. The sound of snow crunching under walking feet got louder and nearer before a blonde teenage boy appeared from around the wall and walked into the playground. The tune stopped as he got closer to her.

The teenage girl felt a mini-shock of familiarity by the sight. Just like 10 years ago…

The teenage boy wore some similar clothing to all the years back, but this time, his winter outfit brought out his –dare she says- hotness. Earmuffs replaced by a checkered beanie that covered half of his ears, same old checkered scarf, beige-colored and checkered decorated turtleneck and dark beige-colored jeans. His old cotton winter coat was replaced by a long black leather coat that he left unzipped. His hands were tucked into the coat's pocket, but she believed he must be wearing the black leather gloves she gave him last Christmas; he loved that hand wear a lot. Finally, his sneaker was substituted by black boots.

"Hey, Xion! Sorry for the wait." The teenage boy apologized after he stopped in front of her.

Xion puffed her cheek up in anger playfully. "What's taking you so long? You're the one that call me to accompany you go shopping."

Roxas gave her an apologetic smile. "Sorry. Mom wanted me to help her carry something."

Xion stood up and playfully punched him on the chest. "Ya ya, Mommy's nice little Roxas. Come on. Let's go shop before the good things are taken." Xion walked passed him. "Wanna go to the nearest store from here? I remember Kairi like something from there that you can get for her…"

"You also felt it right?"

Xion stopped in her track and looked back to the blonde. "Huh?"

Roxas turned away from the swing and made eye contact with the girl. "Déjà vu." A warm smile spread across his face. "You felt it too, right? When I arrived."

Xion slowly nodded.

The blonde chuckled softly. "Time passed so fast, huh? 10 years..." Roxas walked towards Xion and gently grabbed her wrist. "The shopping can wait. Why don't we play on the swing for a while for old time's sake? It's our 10 years anniversary after all."

The feel of Roxas's hand around her wrist and the words he said had somehow made Xion's face flushed a shade of pink.

"Well, you are the one who want to shop. If you say later, then later it is." Xion smiled then followed Roxas over to the swings. She sat back down onto the swing she sat earlier while Roxas sat on the one by her side; just like a decade ago.

The two of them decided to see who can 'fly' the highest and thus, started the small competition. Their laughter filled the empty playground, muffled the squeaking noise of the swinging metals as the two teenagers tried to overpass each other in the air. Eventually, they got tired from the swinging and called it a tie. Their swings slowly swung to a stop; bringing their passenger back to the ground.

Xion giggled from the rush of adrenaline as she looked over to Roxas, who was chuckling softly himself. "Actually, I think I'm the winner. Your heavy leather coat can't beat my light duffle coat."

"Oh~ no. You should know that the heavier an item is, the higher they swing. I have the advantage here." Roxas countered, smiling.

Xion pouted. "W-Well. It's a tie. Tie."

Roxas only laughed as a reply.

10 years had passed, and oh how much have changed and happened over the years. Her father, Vexen Glacio, had gotten a promotion and was now the head scientist in the department he worked in. With the promotion and best job position he can get so far, the munny income had increased steadily, and so Xion and her father had been living a much easier life than before. Thus, with her own salary, Xion was able to afford warmer outfits. Now, she wore a dark blue duffle coat, white legging, dark purple flannel scarf, comfortable winter shoes, black turtleneck and cotton gloves.

Xion was glad her life was getting better.

"Thank you…"

"Huh?" Roxas said and looked at his friend.

Xion smiled before making eye contact with the blonde. "Thank you, Roxas. For being my friend. If you didn't approach me so many years ago, I have no idea what I would have become… You helped me to open up, try to make new friends and also encourage me to try new stuff, gaining new experience." Xion nervously pushed a strand of hair from her face before continued, "The reason I was able to meet Axel, Sora, Kairi, Riku, Namine, and so many more friends, and also go camping and having beach parties, was all because of you, Roxas. You were the reason I am who I am, and what I have right now. If you had just continued your way last time, I could still be that quiet little girl you saw on the swing… I just wanted to let you know how much your friendship had meant for me all these years… You are… An Angel in disguise."

Xion wasn't quite sure where the last sentence came from, but, she was glad she had said it. Roxas was truly, an Angel. He always will be in her eyes.

The swing let out a soft squeak as Roxas stood up and walked over to stand in front of his friend. After he kneeled down to match her level, the blonde wrapped his arms around her and embraced Xion. The ravenette returned it without a second to waste.

"Then thank you, Xion. For being my best friend." Roxas whispered; his hot breath tickled her neck.

Xion smiled and nuzzled closer to the blonde, so close, she could smell his scent; faint smell of citrus and sea salt. Tropical.

The embrace lasted for a few minutes before Xion pulled away slightly so she could see Roxas's face. She smiled then said, "Who knew a song can actually help to start a friendship."

"Friendship can be formed by anything, Xion. But I believed ours are fate." The blonde said, grinning.

Xion blushed, but secretly agreed to his statement.

The hug was broken as Roxas stood up to stretch his legs. "Oh. Remember when I said you would sing well last time?" He leaned onto the one of the metal poles that supported the swing and continued, "I was totally right. You totally nailed that Alyson Stoner's song last time at the karaoke of our End of Year celebration. Well, pretty much every song whenever we go karaoke. It was awesome."

The blush on Xion's face gotten darker. "W-Well. You nailed Jesse McCartney's songs too."

"Well~ I didn't get the 'young singing star' title in school for no reason after all~" Roxas sent her a playful smirk. It was true. This blonde teenage standing in front of her was their school's own 'Jesse McCartney', or Roxy McCartney as Xion and their gang of friends like to call him. Apparently, his angelic singing voice had caused him to gain almost the whole female population in school as his fan, and some even tried to kidnap him just for some alone time. One of them succeeds, but that was another story in their crazy high school life.

"Yes yes, Mr. Rich and Popular. Oh! Speaking of rich, I did returned those munny coins to you right? Don't wanna have a debt to our own Roxy McCartney, you know. He might have a high yearly interest rate." The ravenette joked.

Roxas chuckled. "You did. And don't forget that I also borrowed you my gloves last time too."

Xion smiled at the reminder. "Oh, ya. It had kept my hands warmed that night." She lifted up her protected hands and imagined her gloves were the one that she wore a decade ago. She could faintly felt that strange tingling on her skin when her hands had slid into them…

Unexpectedly, a gentle hand cupped her left hand from under before the glove she wore easily being pulled off, exposing the bare skin it covered. The ravenette was stunned with shock, only able to continue watching what Roxas was doing kneeling in front of her once more.

The blonde drew a warm, gentle smile as he softly caressed her now bare left hand with his right hand, which also was free from his glove. "Since you had shared your feeling about our friendship earlier, I wanted to share something too." He gently pulled her hand towards his face and let her fingers brushed his surprisingly warm cheek before her hand was finally cupping the right side of his face. His eyes fluttered close as he snuggled his cheek into her palm, a content smile on his face.

Xion felt her cheek heated up by such an intimate action.

"R-Roxas?" She stuttered.

The two orbs of blue opened and locked with hers, stunned the teenage girl once more; trapping her in their beauty.

"You're so warm, Xion." Roxas caressed the back of her hand lovingly. "In fact… You're making me feel warmer and warmer throughout the years."

The girl was puzzled. "H-How?"

The blonde let out a small chuckle. "I'm not sure. Maybe it's just from you by being near to me. By knowing me, understanding me, accepting me, and be my best friend… Whenever you're close, I just felt so warm. Almost everywhere in my body. Especially here…" He placed his left hand on his chest, above where his heart was. "It was so hot here, and it beats so fast that I feel it could just burst out anytime."

He smiled once more, sending excited shivers down the girl's spine.

"After 10 years… I finally, truly know why…" Roxas's eyes glistered as they locked onto hers. "I like you, Xion. No… Love you… Ever since we met, the feeling keeps growing stronger. Perhaps I have already fallen for you way back and only my heart know, but my conscious just didn't notice it. Not until, it was so hard to brush it away and it had punched me in the face."

The ravenette was shocked by his confession. Emotions running through her body and mind like wild animals. She swore her face was burning up. In the end, she was able to croak out a question. "Y-You… Do? B-But… Really?"

"Remember that goodnight kiss I gave you 10 years ago? The peck on the forehead?"

Xion nodded slightly, face still tomato red.

"I guess that's when I started to get so attracted to you. So shy and cute back then, you were. Now, you're a fun and beautiful young woman. I… Just wanted to tell you those, Xion." A small smile was on his face, but Xion found hints of fear and sadness in it. Did he thought…?

Roxas was about to fully let go of Xion's hand, only to feel her smooth hand back on his face, on Xion's own will. His right hand hovered a few centimeters from hers, dazed by the contact.

The ravenette smiled then bit on the fingertip of her right hand glove before pulling it away with her teeth. Dropped the glove without a care, Xion placed her now also bare right hand onto his cheek, cupping it, feeling the warmth of his skin as well as how smooth his skin was. How can someone be so prefect…?

"You know, Roxas…" The teenage girl caressed his cheeks with her thumbs gently. "When my dad came to pick me up the next day, he teased me; asking would you be my first boyfriend like how you became my first male friend." She giggled when she noticed his cheeks started to appear red under her touch and words.

This time, it was Roxas's turn to stutter. "W-What… do you answer… y-your dad?"

"I didn't reply him." She moved her left hand and slowly intertwined her fingers with Roxas's hovering one. "But I did think it is possible inside. After all, I felt attracted to you too. So sweet, kind and gentlemanlike… From back then till now, you're just like the Angel I said you are. And who wouldn't love an Angel?" The blushing ravenette broke the eye contact and tried to hide her face in her scarf in embarrassment.

She heard Roxas let out a hearty laugh and felt him laced his fingers with hers tighter.

"I know what I can give you for Christmas now." The smiling blonde said to her.

Xion looked back to him and spoke, "I know mine for you too. I want to get mine earlier, can I? I wanted to give you yours soon too."

"Oh. Impatient huh? It's just a few more days till Christmas, can't wait?" Roxas teased.

Xion smirked, absentmindedly in a bit seductive way. "I bet you can't wait as well~"

The blonde went deep crimson.

Xion giggled at the sight. "Give mine on Christmas then, I want to give you yours now."

Unlaced her fingers from Roxas's, Xion cupped his face with both of her hands, leaned forwards and kissed him full on the lips. The soft contact sent sparks in her mind and bliss enveloped her like a warm blanket in a freezing night. So warm, so soft, so perfect…

The kiss she gave him only lasted less than quarter of a minute, but she swore she felt Roxas kissed back at the last second she pulled away. Xion smiled at the still blushing blonde and asked, "Like your gift?"

The blonde grinned. "So short? And I was about to give you yours when you pulled away."

"Didn't you say wait until Christmas?" The teenage girl teased.

"Nah." Roxas wrapped his arms loosely around the girl's waist. "That's too long."

In the next second, Roxas landed his own lips onto Xion's own. The ravenette kissed back almost immediately, circled her arms around his neck, bring him closer, craving for more of the kiss and the blissfulness it brought. Her emotions ran wild once more, and she didn't plan to control them; she was too busy returning the kiss to do anything else anyway.

After more than half a minute of kissing, the two of them pulled away, gasping for the chilly winter air to calm the fire in their lungs. Roxas laughed softly then teased, "You love it, am I right?"

Xion nodded, enjoying the bliss that lingered in the afterglow of the kiss. "I hope you would still give me more of that in the future."

The teenage boy grinned. "I will. No worries about that." He leaned in and pecked her lovingly on the pink cheek as if to prove his point.

"Good then." Xion panted, leaning forwards until their forehead touched each other. "Cause if you don't, I'll make you."

Roxas grinned wider and laced his fingers with hers once more, didn't intend of letting her go.

Xion can only smile as she leaned her forehead against her boyfriend's, staring into his eyes of beautiful blue abyss. With their fingers intertwined, and didn't speak any words, they simply enjoyed the time being together, and the atmosphere that the glistering Christmas lights and snow around them had provided; so pure, beautiful and romantic.

Needless to say, this year's winter would forever be one of the best in her life.

We're soul mates.


Hope you all would have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

I actually kinda have some extra idea for continuing this story for 1 or 2 more chap. But i won't add them unless you readers would like me too.

Anyway, fav it, alert it, review it if you want to~