Fire & Moonlight Chapter 37: Button (theme 37), a kingdom hearts fanfic

Fire & Moonlight, a Kingdom Hearts fanwork: Drabble challenge by Wishing-Fire, written by Raberba girl

37. Button (ROUGH DRAFT)

Summary: Roxas is not the only one to make a new friend at school.

A/N: Modern AU; Roxas & Xion are five years old - which of course means they steal the spotlight again. Guess who their daddies are.

This is the second week of school, so Rox & Xi have known each other for that long.

o.o.o

When Axel went to the Open House at Roxas's new school, he did not expect that he'd have to squeeze himself into a chair designed for kindergarteners and put together a craft.

"Dad, can I trade?"

Roxas was holding a fistful of uncooked spaghetti, staring longingly at Axel's twisted gemelli pasta.

As if Axel cared in the slightest. "Sure. Here."

"All right, now!" the teacher called brightly as she walked amongst the tables. "Your job is to make a self-portrait out of the materials you have been given. Boys and girls, help your mommies and daddies do their best!"

There was a scattered surge of "Okay"s and questions and complaining from the children. Axel shook his head and glanced over at the miserable dad on the other side of Roxas. "Not sure I'm a fan of the let's-be-our-kids-for-a-day method, how about you?"

"This is ridiculous," the man grumbled, staring down at the paper in front of him depicting a blank face.

The little girl who must be his daughter leaned around him, reaching out. "Roxas, can you give me that yellow button over there?"

"Yeah." Roxas picked it up and tossed it. Of course it skittered off the table.

"Roxas," Axel scolded, reaching down to pick up the button before the little girl had to get on the floor to retrieve it, "you're not supposed to throw things at girls."

"Why not?"

"Because they can't catch them."

"Girls can so catch things!" the little girl cried indignantly. "Look." She grabbed a green button and threw it at Roxas, who yelped as it pinged off his cheek.

Axel burst into laughter. "I dunno, Roxas. Does that mean I'm right because she called you a girl and you didn't catch it, or is she right because you're a boy and didn't catch it?"

Roxas's response was to pick up another button, but the girl's dad caught his hand before he could throw it at her. "Enough. Let's just get this over with so we can go home."

"Amen to that," Axel sighed. He drizzled glue on the edges of the face and gave Roxas a hunk of red yarn to stick on for hair.

"Daddy," the little girl was whining, "why can't I use glitter?"

"If this is supposed to be a self-portrait, then glitter will not be involved in any way, shape, or form."

"Why not?" Axel asked mischievously. "I think it'll look cute."

"Do what you like with your own," the guy said shortly, shoving the glitter canister in Axel's direction.

Roxas reached for it.

"Whoa, buddy!" Axel hurriedly snatched up his son's hand before it could make contact with the stuff. "Let's...leave that alone, Rox, it's toxic."

"But you said it was cute," Roxas pointed out.

"It is cute!" the girl exclaimed in dismay. "Daddy, don't be a party pooper!"

"Let's SHARE the glitter," her father said, passing off the canister to a little girl at the next table.

"But they already have glitter!"

"Now they have more."

"By the way," Axel said, reaching his arm over Roxas's head, "I'm Axel Hayes."

"Saïx Tsukino," the girl's dad said brusquely, shaking his hand.

Wait. "Tsukino?" The corners of Axel's lips started to turn up in a grin. "Isn't that like-?"

*DEATH GLARE*

"Whoa!"

Roxas hid under the table.

"Daddy, don't do that to people, it's not nice," the girl scolded, picking up the self-portrait and planting it right over her father's death glare. She studied the result for a moment, then picked up a butterfly stamp and imprinted the shape between the portrait's eyes.

"Xion, get that off my face."

"But I have to see what it looks like on you for real!"

Axel, meanwhile, was trying to dig Roxas out from under the table. "Hey, Rox, c'mon, you're gonna get yelled at."

"Xion's dad is scary," Roxas pouted, crossing his arms stubbornly.

Axel chuckled a little. "Not with a butterfly on his face..."

"...There's a butterfly on his face?" Roxas crawled out to see, and by that time, Axel had noticed something interesting.

"There really is," he murmured, reaching without thinking to touch the crossed scars like butterfly wings, as if he was an impulsive little kid himself.

"Don't do that," Saïx snapped, batting his hand away.

"Sorry! Just curious. What'd you do, go running around with scissors or something?"

"No, Mommy had the scissors," Xion explained as she drew blue eyebrows over the yellow button eyes.

"Xion," her father said sharply.

Axel stared.

"There isn't a butterfly on his face, liar," Roxas declared.

"Y...You...what...?"

"My wife is currently in a psychiatric hospital," Saïx mumbled, face now hidden by his long hair as he leaned to switch out the crimson crayon Xion had been applying to the portrait's mouth with a much paler tone. "If you feel uncomfortable letting your son continue to associate with my daughter, please clarify this now. The longer they're friends, the longer she'll sulk when I have to tell her she can't play with him anymore."

The practiced tone of his voice, as if he had gone through all this before and was tired of it, made Axel flaming angry. He clapped his fist down on the table and said loudly, "Hey, Xion! You wanna bring your dad over this weekend to play?"

Xion's mouth dropped open. "Really?!"

"Let's go to Pizza Planet," Roxas said decisively.

"Pizza Planet it is, then," Axel declared.

"I've ALWAYS wanted to go to Pizza Planet!" Xion shrieked in delight, then climbed almost straight over both Saïx and Roxas so she could glomp Axel. Axel laughed and hugged her back.

"You kicked me," Roxas complained, throwing yarn at Xion's back in retaliation.

"Sorry, Roxas! I love you, Roxas's dad!"

"Xion," Saïx said pointedly, "you didn't get permission."

Xion scrambled back over Roxas ("If you do that again I'll bite you"), flung her arms around her father's neck, and burst into tears.

"I...I didn't say you couldn't go, you just need to ask," he mumbled, awkwardly patting her back.

"Yay! I love you, too, Daddy!"

"This love of yours is conditional, I see..."

Xion looked over her shoulder, beaming through the remnants of her tears. "Is Pizza Planet fun?"

"You get to bash aliens on the head," Roxas said with relish.

"You'll love it," Axel promised. "So will you, Xion's dad."

"What in the world gave you the impression that I would be participating in this outing?"

"Heh, just wait, you won't be able to resist."

"We shall see."

o.o.o

Author's Notes: When looking up pasta types, I came across gemelli, the name of which is derived from the Italian word for "twins." COULD NOT RESIST. Even if Rox & Xi aren't twins in this universe, or even in the Stepsiblings universe, they've sure started acting like it. X3 That's not even counting their canon backstory.

I'm sure that "Tsukino" is a perfectly normal Japanese name, but it also happens to be Sailor Moon's surname, which is where all the connotations for me come in. XD

I love five-year-old Roxas lots more than canon!Roxas. He is so fun to write. And I love AkuSaiRokuShi so freaking much. X3

*sigh* I keep posting things out of order... Axel taking five-or-six-year-old Roxas to Pizza Planet was from the Stepsiblings series, but I haven't published that story yet. Speaking of unpublished Stepsiblings stuff, I honestly did not intend for "Kingdom Hearts" to be Sai's wife here, but now I can't get that idea out of my head... Man, I think the plot bunnies from these two series are having babies together. o.O

Once again, Axel & Saïx (also Roxas & Xion in this case) would not shut up. This was another case of watching the back-and-forth dialogue like a hawk until I could finally burst in and yell "There! I can put 'The end' after that and it won't sound weird!" as they gave me angry D: faces. No wonder I can't make the word count limit half the time...

For the record, I loathe glitter. A lot. I can't stand to touch it or get too close to it. ...Heh, I do like sparkly things in general, though.

Complete: 37/101. Next: "Laugh"

Fire & Moonlight, a Kingdom Hearts fanwork: Drabble challenge by Wishing-Fire, written by Raberba girl

37. Button [challenge version] (ROUGH DRAFT)

Summary: Roxas is not the only one to make a new friend at school.

A/N: Full version above, because there's just no way to censor this without completely ruining it. And besides, the AkuSaiRokuShi is too adorable, I couldn't bear cutting out a single word.

Modern AU; Roxas & Xion are five years old - which of course means they steal the spotlight again. Guess who their daddies are.

This is the second week of school, so Rox & Xi have known each other for that long.

o.o.o

When Axel went to the Open House, he didn't expect to have to squeeze into a kindergartener-sized chair and make a craft.

"All right!" the teacher called brightly, "Your job is to make a self-portrait out of the materials you've been given. Boys and girls, help your mommies and daddies do their best!"

Axel shook his head and glanced over at the miserable dad beside him. "Not sure I'm a fan of the let's-be-our-kids-for-a-day method, how about you?"

"This is ridiculous," the man grumbled, staring down at the paper in front of him depicting a blank face.

The little girl who must be his daughter leaned around him, reaching out. "Roxas, can you give me that yellow button over there?"

"Yeah." Roxas picked it up and tossed it. It skittered off the table.

"Roxas," Axel scolded, reaching down to pick up the button, "you're not supposed to throw things at girls."

The other dad rolled his eyes. "Let's just get this over with so we can go home."

"Amen to that," Axel sighed. "By the way, I'm Axel Hayes."

"Saïx Tsukino," the girl's dad said brusquely, shaking his hand.

"Tsukino? Isn't that like-?"

*DEATH GLARE*

"Whoa!"

Roxas hid under the table.

Axel was trying to dig Roxas out from under the table. "Hey, Rox, c'mon, you're gonna get yelled at."

"Xion's dad is scary," Roxas pouted, crossing his arms stubbornly.

Axel chuckled a little. "Not with a butterfly on his face..."

"...There's a butterfly on his face?" Roxas crawled out to see, and by that time, Axel had noticed something interesting.

"There really is," he murmured, looking at the crossed scars like butterfly wings. "What'd you do, go running around with scissors or something?"

"No, Mommy had the scissors," Xion explained.

"Xion," her father said sharply.

Axel stared.

"My wife is currently in a psychiatric hospital," Saïx mumbled, face now hidden by his long hair. "If you feel uncomfortable letting your son continue to associate with my daughter, please clarify this now. The longer they're friends, the longer she'll sulk when I have to tell her she can't play with him anymore."

The practiced tone of his voice, as if he had gone through all this before and was tired of it, made Axel angry. "Hey, Xion! You wanna bring your dad over this weekend to play?"

Xion's eyes widened. "Really?!"

"Let's go to Pizza Planet," Roxas said decisively.

"Pizza Planet it is, then," Axel declared.

"I've ALWAYS wanted to go to Pizza Planet!" Xion shrieked in delight, glomping Axel.

"Xion," Saïx said pointedly, "you didn't get permission."

Xion scrambled back, flung her arms around her father's neck, and burst into tears.

"I...I didn't say you couldn't go, you just need to ask," he mumbled, awkwardly patting her back.

"Yay!" Xion looked over her shoulder, beaming now. "Is Pizza Planet fun?"

"You'll love it," Axel promised. "So will you, Xion's dad."

"What in the world gave you the impression that I would be participating in this outing?"

"Heh, just wait, you won't be able to resist."

"We shall see."

o.o.o

Author's Notes: I'm sure that "Tsukino" is a perfectly normal Japanese name, but it also happens to be Sailor Moon's surname, which is where all the connotations for me come in. XD

I love five-year-old Roxas lots more than canon!Roxas. He is so fun to write. And I love AkuSaiRokuShi so freaking much. X3

Complete: 37/101. Next: "Laugh"