So there she was. Her Grand High Frostiness herself. Behind the cash register of his favorite ice cream shop. Said register laid open, her hands filled with moolah from it.
...what the hell had he just walked in on?
She stood there staring at Axel, eyes wide, frozen like a deer caught in the headlights. He just stared back at her, not saying a word for several seconds. Then his gaze shifted to the munny held tightly within her grip, before flicking back up to her face. More staring.
Finally, he broke the silence with, "...are you robbing the place?"
"Wha-?!" she began, head jerking back a bit before rapidly shaking it. "No! Of course not. Don't be absurd!"
"That's what it looks like," he nodded towards the cash.
She twitched, seemingly having forgotten what she held in her very hands. "What, this?" She shoved the munny back into the register drawer. "You misunderstand, I just-"
"Just what? Hm?" he demanded, slapping a hand against the counter and leaning down towards her, narrowing his eyes. "Why are you here and what'd you do with the duck, lady?"
She stumbled a step back, anxious eyes darting to the left. "N-nothing, I-" she cut herself off, an obstinate gleam suddenly entering her eyes. Taking a deep breath, she lifted her chin a fraction and squared her shoulders, returning his glare with one of her own. "Actually, I don't have to tell you anything. I don't answer to you, and this is none of your concern."
"Actually, it is. Especially when you come into my town and try to steal." He straightened up once more, mouth set into a grim line. "So. This is the thanks we get for trying to help you. Huh. Would have expected better from royalty. If that's even what you really are."
Her back stiffened. "How dare you. I will not be treated in such a manner." Crossing her arms, she snapped, "Please go away."
"Oh, I'm not going anywhere," he smirked as the air around him started to spark with embers. "In fact, I think we might just have to finish what we started yesterday, Snowflake."
Blue eyes flashed dangerously. "Very well," she said softly, the temperature around her dropping by several degrees. "If we must."
Grin twitching wider, he threw a hand out to one side, flames flickering to life and swirling within his palm. "Don't be thinking I'll go so easy on you this-"
"Ah, Axel!" a cheerful voice cut him off. He flinched, looking past her to see Scrooge McDuck standing in the doorway leading to the back room, smiling at him. "I thought that was you I heard, lad. I see you've had the pleasure of meeting my lovely new employee."
"...employee?" he echoed, blinking. Extinguishing the fireball in his hand with a flick of his wrist, he looked at her again, quirking an eyebrow. "You work here?"
Her posture still rigid, she eyed him with a frown, as if not fully sure it was okay to let her guard down yet. "Well… I don't officially start until tomorrow, but yes." Closing the register, she added, "At Mr. McDuck's request, I was just familiarizing myself with the local currency, as it is very different from my own."
Axel gave her a blank look. "You," he pointed at her, "...work here," he pointed down at the tiled floor.
Her brow furrowed as he repeated his words. "Uh… yes?"
He continued to stare at her, expression unreadable for a few heartbeats. Then all of a sudden, he burst out into a roar of laughter that startled her. "You… You…" he tried, but was struggling to get anything out between his snickers. Clutching at his gut and banging his fist against the countertop a couple times, he finally managed to wheeze out, "Oh, this is too much!"
"I fail to see what's so funny," Elsa huffed, exchanging a bewildered glance with her new boss.
"You would, wouldn't you?" he asked, fighting back his giggles. "She who is used to being waited upon shall now wait upon others. Boy oh boy, you? Working customer service? Menial labor?" He sobered long enough to sweep a hand out in a mock bow. "Her Grace, Her Majesty, selling ice cream to us lowly commoners. Talk about Dairy Queen." Unable to maintain the straight face, he broke down cackling again.
"I don't know what that means," she grumbled, before turning back to Mr. McDuck. "I'm sorry, but why is he even in here? I thought the store had closed for the evening."
"Not if there is munny to be made," the duck replied. "Axel here is one of our best customers."
"And the customer is always right," the redhead added smugly.
She rolled her eyes. "I highly doubt that, especially where you're concerned."
"Now that's hardly service with a smile."
Lips stretching into a cherubic grin that didn't quite reach her eyes, she leaned over the counter, pointed at the door leading back out into the street and said with a forced sugary sweetness, "Leave. Now."
"Simmer down, lass, the boy has a point," Scrooge interjected.
"Thank you," Axel sing-songed, causing Elsa to narrow her eyes at him.
"The customer is indeed always right," Scrooge intoned, emphasizing each word with a jab of his finger into the air. "If you're going to be working for me, you're going to have to be keeping that in mind. Customer satisfaction is our highest priority here, and that means doing your absolute best to keep them happy." He paused for a moment, tapping his beak thoughtfully. "And I do believe we've been presented with an opportunity here. A wee test run, if ye will. Axel can be your first customer."
Elsa grimaced and asked, "Seriously?"
"Dead serious. Now go on, lass. Consider it practice for tomorrow."
With a sigh, she stepped up to the register, meeting Axel's gaze across the counter. He smirked at her and waited.
Oh, was he going to have some fun with this.
Scrooge cleared his throat and when she looked at her boss, he crooked a finger at her. She bent down, nearly having to crouch all the way to the floor to get close enough so the duck could whisper something in her ear. Nodding, she straightened up once more, worrying her lower lip between her teeth. Scrooge gestured for her to start and, taking a deep breath, she smiled. "Welcome to Uncle Scrooge's Ice Creamery. How may I help you?"
"Yes, I'd like some ice cream."
She eyed the cash register uncertainly. "Sea salt ice cream, right?" she asked, her fingers hovering over the buttons as she looked for the label that matched that flavor.
"Um, excuse me?" Axel looked aghast, clasping a hand over his chest. "How dare you presume to know what I want!"
She blinked. "But- When you came in, you said-" she was silenced by Mr. McDuck clearing his throat again, giving her a pointed look. Her lips twisted sourly before she plastered the smile back on. "My mistake, Sir, I'm so sorry. Please, let me know what you would like."
He looked up at the menu overhead, emitting a low hum as he considered his options. "Not sure. What would you suggest?"
"...may I recommend the sea salt ice cream," she deadpanned.
One hand raised to cover his mouth, hiding his grin. She probably thought he'd made his joke and was done. "That does sound good, but I just dunno. What else you got?"
Little did she know he was just getting warmed up.
Her eyelids drooped at him before she was once again squinting down at the buttons listing the flavors. "There's chocolate, rock crunch, cookie dough, mint chocolate chip…"
"Sure, sure, keep going."
"...queen berry, rainbow sherbet, vanilla…" she trailed off, looking to him again. He twirled his finger, indicating for her to continue. She shot him a dirty look and said flatly, "You're going to make me list all seventy-two flavors, aren't you?"
Scrooge lightly jabbed her in the foot with his cane, making her wince. Axel bat his eyes at her, smiling expectantly. Inhaling and exhaling slowly, she slipped on the chipper mask once more.
And so she did it. She read out each and every single flavor.
"...spark lemon, and last, but certainly not least, banana peanut butter chunk," she finally finished, pausing a second to catch her breath after all that. "So, did any of those options interest you?"
He pursed his lips, tapping a knuckle to his chin. "Hmm. I think I'll go for… what was it again? The… sea salt ice cream?"
She gave him a dull stare. "...the one you said you wanted when you first walked in? The one I suggested? Before listing all the others? Would that be the flavor you mean?"
"Yes," he chirped.
Her hands were squeezing the edge of the countertop, hints of frost shimmering just beneath her fingertips. "Of course, Sir. Right away, Sir," she ground out through her teeth, relaxing her grip and pressing the appropriate button on the cash register. Then reaching beneath the counter to where a freezer was kept of the various frozen goods for sale, she pulled out a bar of the requested ice cream and offered it to him. He took it and as he gave it a lick, she eyed the total on the register and began, "Okay, that'll be-"
"Not so fast!" he raised a finger, cutting her words off. Holding the ice cream bar back out to her, he said, "It's cold."
She blinked once. Then twice. Her eyes darted from him to the sugary dessert and back a couple times. "...it's ice cream."
"Yeah, but it's like… too cold. Your freezer must be on too high. I want a new one." He pointed at the door Scrooge had entered through a few moments ago, "I want one from the back."
The look Elsa gave him screamed that she was one hundred and fifty percent done with him. She turned her gaze to her boss, silently asking if she really had to. Scrooge nodded and gestured to the same door. Axel muffled a snigger behind his hand as he watched her release a sigh through her nose before disappearing into the back.
"So, Mr. McD," he beamed while waiting for her to come back, giving the supposedly too cold bar of ice cream a second lick. "Sweet new digs you got here for your little business. You liking it? Gotta beat that hole in the wall you used to have. I hear you just got a new little bistro up and running back at Twilight Town too. How's tha-"
"Wipe that moronic smile off your face, ye dunderhead," the duck snapped.
Axel's head rocked back at that, said moronic smile swiftly vanishing. "What? I'm just doing what you asked me to."
He shook his head, "Aye, but ye dinnae have to look so pleased with yourself about it."
She returned, stretching an arm out to Axel, second ice cream in hand. "Here you go, Sir. I hope this one is more to your liking."
He accepted it with his free hand, pressing his tongue to it before quickly pulling back, expression scrunching up in distaste. "Nope, nope, nope," he said lightly, thrusting it back towards her face, "This won't do. Won't do at all."
Taking it back, she frowned. "Now what's wrong with it?"
He shrugged. "Too warm."
A faint crackling and popping sound abruptly began and if one were to glance towards her hand, one would see ice beginning to crystalize on the stick held between her fingers. It crept upward and encased the ice cream in a jagged, chilly shell. Oh, but her eyes. Her eyes in that exact second gave whole new meaning to the phrase if looks could kill.
Snowflake was not amused.
Snowflake was approximately three-point-two seconds away from turning him into a giant, frozen mansicle.
A tiny wicked grin tugged at her lips as she once more offered him the ice cream, emphasis now on the ice. "Are you sure about that?" she asked, a deadly calm to her voice, an unspoken challenge heavy in the air, daring him to complain one more time. "Maybe you should give it another try."
A smart man would have stopped there. A smart man would have decided now would be a swell time to cease with the proverbial button pushing. A smart man would have taken the jumbo ice cube on a stick, paid for it with a hefty tip on top, feigned delight at just how delicious it was, and then made a hasty exit.
Eh… being smart was overrated.
Axel opened his mouth.
But apparently the universe wanted him to live.
The front door suddenly banged open, its bell chiming loudly, and in stumbled a very familiar, self-proclaimed great ninja. "Elsa!"
The blonde's eyes widened. "Yuffie?"
"I thought that was you I saw on the other side of the window," she panted. It seemed she had been in a rush. "So, um… did ya maybe lose something?"
Her head tipped to one side, brow furrowing. "Did I…? What are you-"
"Like, I dunno, say… a whopping king-sized snowman rampaging throughout the city?"
...king-sized snowman?
She gasped. "Marshmallow!"
...oh.
Oh crud.
He had forgotten all about Frosty.
Oops.
Without another word, Elsa was running out from behind the counter. Axel let out a surprised choking noise as she shoved the hypothermic dessert into his mouth while dashing past him, not slowing down for a second before charging out the door.
Yuffie began to follow, but stopped halfway through the door, cocking an eyebrow back at Axel. "You wouldn't happen to know anything about this, would you, Red?"
He cleared his throat and gave a weak chuckle as he pulled the ice cream out of his mouth. Or tried to anyway. However, it turned out his tongue was stuck to its icy shell like super glue. "Ah… a few tiny details may have slipped my mind…" was the reply he attempted to make. It however came out all jumbled and unintelligible as he tried to talk around his tongue while the ice cream was still cemented to it.
Whether she understood him or not, she just shook her head and darted out of the shop. Axel made to move as well, but was stopped short by a loud, "Ahem." He looked to the source, finding Mr. McDuck smirking up at him, making no attempts to hide his amusement at his little predicament. He held out one hand. "That'll be twenty munny, lad. Each," he tacked on the last word, using his other hand to point at both bars of ice cream now in Axel's possession.
Using his innate powers to course some heat through his veins and into his tongue, he managed to free it from the infernal dessert. Then smacking his lips and eyes crinkling, he said, "Put it on my tab." With that, he took off sprinting after the other two.
Okay. Maybe he had been a total pain with a capital P back there and taken his lil game too far. But you had to admit it was pretty funny. Someone like her? Working at an ice cream parlor? Her, who was probably used to having everything handed to her on a silver platter and never having to lift a finger to do a damn thing? Having to deal with screaming kids and grumpy parents making demands on her all day? Wow, was she about to get a rude awakening to how the other half lived. He made a mental note to drop by Radiant Garden more often now. He wanted a front row seat to this spectacle and didn't want to miss one moment of it, not even one second!
The ladies were long gone, but it wasn't hard to figure out where they had ran off to. Not when he heard a booming roar reverberating off the buildings from what sounded to be only a few blocks over. Turning his head in the direction it had come from, he spotted chunks of snow flying just beyond the rooftops. It was all he needed before his feet were pounding against the cobblestones as he raced off towards it.
It was only a few turns down some alleys before he was skidding to a stop once again, wide eyes taking in the scene before him. The open plaza was blanketed in cool white powder. Leon, gunblade in hand, was rushing forward to meet a very familiar abominable snowman head on. Frosty was ready for the fight, glacial spikes and claws out as it released another ground shaking bellow. Brandishing her lethal metal stars, Yuffie was running in a few steps behind her fellow committee member. And just a few more paces in front of Axel, watching from the outskirts of the fight with jaw slack and eyes unblinking was Snowflake.
As Axel moved to stand beside her, he watched his breath slightly fog the air. It was cold, but not as cold as when Snowflake herself had been running amok. In particular, that meant that Radiant Garden's defense systems weren't frozen completely solid like they had been the day before. Claymores were randomly popping up and zapping at Frosty's feet, but they may as well have been just a cute little kiddy light show for all the good they were doing. The things were designed for taking out Heartless, not giant, angry constructs of snow brought to life by magic.
He watched Leon close the distance between himself and the monster. As soon as he was within arm's length, Frosty took a swipe at him, which the swordsman avoided by dropping into a roll. He was not as quick on his feet when he came back up, however - not quick enough anyway to dodge the same hand swooping back in from the other direction and grabbing him, engulfing his body from torso to knees. Leon struggled and kicked his feet as he was lifted up and brought face to face with the snarling snow beast.
"Stop," a soft whisper could be heard off to Axel's right. It had come from Elsa, who seemed to have uttered the word without even realizing it as she still just stood there stricken, watching the scene unfold.
Thud. Thud.
Frosty flinched as a couple of shurikens sunk into the side of its head, which was enough to distract it from Leon. It twisted around to narrow its hollow gaze at Yuffie as she leapt at it, one arm crossed over her chest, preparing to fling several more stars she had nestled between her knuckles. The big fellah lashed its free hand out to catch her, but she vanished in a puff of smoke before its chilly fingers could make contact. Its face contorted in confusion as it looked around trying to see where she'd gone.
"Over here, you overgrown snowcone!"
It twitched at her yell before whirling its head around to discover her perched on its shoulder. With a few flicks of her wrists, more shurikens flew, embedding themselves into the side of its head opposite of the first volley. Then she delivered a roundhouse kick to the back of its head, forcing a deep, rumbling "Ow!" from the big brute.
Elsa was slowly shaking her head and, more loudly this time but only just, she repeated, "...stop…"
Frosty swung a hand towards Yuffie, who backflipped out of the way just in time and it only managed to smack its own shoulder. It began to turn to look for her once more. What it failed to notice was that a large red spot had begun to glow on its hand that still held Leon and was growing brighter by the second.
Abruptly, a fireball exploded forth from that spot, causing Frosty to lose a couple fingers and cry out as it released its prisoner. As Leon began to fall, he flourished his gunblade, causing it to flare up with a prismatic light, before growing several feet longer. He swung the weapon low and arced it back around in an upper slash that cut Frosty's hand clean off. His feet hitting the ground, Leon hopped back a couple times before halting in a defensive stance, pointing the gunblade at his foe.
The snowman staggered backwards a few steps itself, raising the stump of an arm that remained to inspect it. A gentle shimmer danced on the empty wrist before a new hand erupted from it identical to the one that had been lost. Flexing its frozen fingers, it glared at Leon off to the left, whose face hardened as their gazes met. Then Frosty swiveled its head to the right where Yuffie now stood, crouched low to the ground, a giant chromatic shuriken held within her grasp and poised to strike.
The wintry colossus released an irritated huff before inhaling deeply and unleashing another earsplitting roar. As if it were the bang of a starting pistol, both Leon and Yuffie charged at the beast from opposite directions.
They weren't the only ones. Elsa bolted off into the middle of the fray as well and by the time Axel realized it, she was already too far ahead of him to stop her. She ran directly towards Frosty, pulling up short in front of him.
"I said STOP!" she yelled, throwing out her hands to either side of her, misty blue beams flying from her fingertips in both directions. They both struck the ground, one in Leon's path, the other inches from Yuffie's toes. Humongous, craggy ice walls shot up high, blocking their ways and forcing them to slide to a halt.
Frosty went very still as well, eye sockets growing round as they finally landed on her. It squatted down on its haunches to look at her more closely, its mouth relaxing into an uncertain line as its spikes gradually began to retract back into its body. Elsa stretched a tentative hand up, reaching for its face. A quiet fell over the square.
So quiet, it was impossible to miss the click of Leon cocking his gunblade.
The abrupt noise shattered the spell, sending Frosty back into a rage. It leapt back up to its full, towering height, putting itself between Snowflake and Leon, spikes popping out once more as it released another thunderous bellow.
"Wait! No, stop! Please!" Elsa cried, scrambling to get in front of it again, holding her hands up to Leon. "I swear, he won't cause any more trouble!"
He kept his weapon pointed at the creature, not taking his eyes off it as he scowled. "What is it doing here?" he demanded.
"I conjured him during my fight with Axel. When I came to after being knocked out, I didn't realize he was still here." At her hasty explanation, Leon's eyes shifted to narrow at Axel. The redhead chuckled nervously and shrugged. Yuffie facepalmed.
So what if he forgot to mention the big ol' yeti he'd left behind after yesterday's showdown? No big deal, right? Scarface needed to take a chill pill.
Elsa went on, "But now that I know, I can take care of it. Right here, right now. Just… give me a minute… please..."
Bringing his gaze back to her, Leon frowned and said nothing. A few tense seconds passed before he gave a curt nod, lowering his weapon, though not all the way.
"Thank you," she sighed in relief, turning back to the big fellah. Its attention was drawn elsewhere however. Apparently, it had only just now become aware of Axel's presence. And if the way its eye sockets had shrunk down to slits or the low growl rumbling from within its chest were any indicators, it remembered him. And it wasn't a fond memory.
"Marshmallow," she called up to it. The growling immediately subsided, the features of its face softening as it looked back down at her. She again extended a hand up towards it. It hesitated for a mere heartbeat before once again crouching down and pushing its cheek into her palm. Then it leaned into it even further, nuzzling against her skin.
Like some puppy that was too big for its own good.
She smiled up at it, lifting her other hand to place on its opposite cheek so that she held its face. "Now… you're going to take a nap," she murmured gently. "Only for a little bit though. I'll wake you back up soon, I promise. Okay?"
It nodded its massive head, before it responded in a deep, resounding voice, "Good night."
"Good night," she answered before closing her eyes, seemingly to concentrate. The snowman's form began to sparkle as hazy blue wisps of magic swirled around it. One minute Frosty was there. The next, he was gone, leaving only the shurikens behind as they clattered to the ground.
She had dispelled the big guy.
But that little disappearing act wasn't where Axel's focus had been pulled to. No, he had been distracted by Snowflake. More specifically, the smile she had been giving the leviathan. He had seen her smile before, but not like this. This one was… different. There was a light to it, a purity, a… warmth. And something else that he couldn't quite pin down.
His heart gave a tiny lurch, causing his spine to go rigid in surprise. He lifted a hand, tracing a finger over where he had felt the odd sensation.
Huh. What had that been about?
Probably just another sign that his heart didn't come back entirely right. That it didn't quite fit.
Though his face was acting kind of weird at the moment too. It felt sort of warm with a slight tingle, though he couldn't for the life of him figure out why.
Maybe he was just coming down with a cold.
Yeah. That must be it.
A/N: Oof, our couple is off to a bit of a rocky start, aren't they? And they still have quite a bumpy road ahead of them yet before things start smoothing out between them! Don't worry, they'll start getting along... eventually... after I have a lil more fun with them xD And oops, looks like someone forgot to bring up the fact that there was still a giant abominable snowman lurking about. How did it go unnoticed until now? Don't forget, it's hardly been over 24 hours since Elsa showed up in Radiant Garden (and we're already on chapter 8, yeesh, I need to start picking up the pace here!) and Elsa's blizzard from the day before didn't just vanish, but has been receding slowly. The committee didn't decide to delve too deeply into the winter wonderland until just now, and if you'll recall from the movie, Marshmallow is pretty good as hiding in plain sight if he has a snowy tundra to work with, cuz he can just curl up and look like a giant pile of snow. I'd hate to be whoever the poor sod was that poked the wrong snow mound and discovered that terrifying surprise xD
Once again, MUCH praise and MUCH worship to the stupendous and extraordinary Daughter of Kyne and ScarletEmperor for being fantastic betas for this chapter! Also, special thanks to Spiderfan626, Daughter of Kyne, SoraKairiRikuNamine, and ScarletEmperor for being so generous as to take some time to leave their reviews! Your support really means the world to me! You're all such beautiful souls, I'm not worthy!
Unfortunately no real fun factoids to share about this chapter. Out of all the chapters I had pre-written, I think this one required the least revisions. Possibly just adding that one sentence about Twilight Town may have been it xD Sorry guys, not all chapters can have fun behind the scene things to talk about, but I do so love talking about them, given half the chance!
Anyhoozle, thanks again for reading, I super duper appreciate it! See you at the next update, lovelies, which will be coming at you real soon! Much love and peace out!