Akuroku goodness... this is a fluff-puff chapter designed to introduce a new 'character' and provide some comedy.

-6 Years Later-:-The Eighth Year-

"Alright, Roxas… Open your eyes."

Roxas beamed at the beautiful lights, his face sparkling with joy. "Christmas!"

Axel chuckled, hugging Roxas from behind. "That's right!"

Roxas was nearly bouncing with excitement. He wanted to make Axel a really good present. Determination took over his ADD and he kissed Axel once. "Thank you!"

"We'll celebrate in three weeks, okay? That way we have time to get ready."

"Okay!" he cheered. 'Three weeks to make Axel the best present ever? I gotta think of something good… something that will show him just how much I love him.'

'I need to think of something Roxas would like for Christmas… I want to prove to him that I care… And prove that I don't see him as a sex object…' Axel smiled at his young lover. "Well, we aren't going to get anything done standing around doing nothing! Let's get to work! Do you want the study or the office to work in?"

"The study!"

After one more kiss, Axel and Roxas set to work, each determined to show the other just how much they cared.

-Three Weeks Later-:-Christmas-

"Good morning, sleepyhead!" Roxas cheerfully said.

"I had a long night… Let me sleep…" Axel grumbled into the pillow.

Roxas huffed. "But you said today would be Christmas!"

That woke Axel up. "Meet me in the living room. I still need to shower and change… Why don't you get some pudding or ice cream out? I got it! Let's have ice cream sundaes for breakfast. You like that idea?"

"Yes!"

"I'll be there in twenty minutes, tops."

A brief kiss. "Love you."

"Love you too."

They ate their ice cream, occasionally feeding each other, and making a mess when Axel touched the tip of his spoon to the boy's nose, leaving a spot of goop on his face. Roxas immediately flicked a small glob of hot fudge onto Axel's face, and the battle ensued. Their laughter was like music that rang throughout the spirits' home. They eventually ended their sundae fighting, Axel seductively taking a cherry into his mouth and knotting the stem with his tongue. Roxas, amused at the action, got Axel to knot enough stems to make a cherry-stem heart on the table.

Axel smiled, groaning a bit.

"What's wrong?"

"That was a lot of cherries."

"I told you to knot the stems, not eat the cherries! You're the one who didn't do the logical thing and just pluck off the stems."

"You could've said something sooner…"

"Idiot…"

Axel lifted him bridal-style and carried him to the bathroom to wash up, then they cleaned up the rest of the sundae mess before Roxas ran into the study and Axel to the office, each coming out with a package and walking into the living room. Blushing, Axel nervously ruffled his red mane of spikes. "Here. Merry Christmas, Rox…" he handed him the shoebox-sized present.

"This one's for you," Roxas passed him a little cube-shaped box.

"At the same time?"

"Yeah."

"One…"

"Two…"

"Three."

Axel and Roxas opened their gifts, and Roxas' face lit up at the sight of the miniature metal Kingdom Key, and a plushie Heartless—one that Roxas knew as a Scarlet Tango. He hugged the Tango, and it suddenly lit up. Roxas dropped it in surprise and saw that there was a heart-shaped light in the middle.

Axel saw the origami-chakram wind chimes and smiled warmly. The small metal pieces were red hearts, and they gave off a beautiful melody as he knocked them together. "Roxas…"

"Axel, it's so cute! And the keyblade is so well-made…" Roxas was hugging and squeezing the plushie again, using his free hand to examine the key.

"I like working with fire, and metals is one of my strong points. The Heartless… I will admit to you that I like sewing, too. You said yourself that you can't fight Heartless without a keyblade… and Heartless. So now you have both."

"Thank you…"

"These wind chimes… they're really nice, Roxas. I love them. Did you make the paper chakrams yourself?"

"It took me a long time to figure out how to make them, but I did it eventually. Do you… do you think I did alright on them?"

"You did great! I was surprised that you knew how to do origami."

"I didn't. I… had to figure it out. It was frustrating, but worth it."

"Well, I love them."

"Well, I love you."

"Love you more."

"Merry Christmas."

Nomura chuckled at the small toy he had found in storage. "A plush Heartless. That was a cute gift, Axel. I remember when you gave me this."

Ollette hugged it. "Oh, look, Sora! It has a light-up heart! Isn't it so cute?"

"No, Malificent! No more Heartless!" he mocked his own lines from the second game. "Aw, no Mali? No Saïx?"

"Axel made that, you know."

Sora and Ollette turned to Nomura instantly. "What?"

"Axel made me that toy."

Sora laughed. "That's funny! No way."

"Look under the Emblem. He sewed his name on it."

Ollette looked. "L-E-A? That's not Axel, that's Lea!"

"That's Axel's original name. When he was a kid, when I first met him, his name was Lea. He became Axel when he turned ten. He was very talented with sewing and metal working."

"I can't imagine Axel sewing."

"He had nothing else to do when he was by himself. He found a sewing kit and started to learn how to sew. He continued to, even after he became Axel, simply marking his work with the name 'Lea'."

Ollette hugged the Heartless again. "Well, I think it's super-cute! And Axel had a sensitive side, which is sweet…"

"You mean a gay side. OUCH!" Sora rubbed his head where he had been hit. "I was kidding! …sorta."

"Well, Axel and Lea were both good kids."

"They were the same kid!"

"Quite contrary. Lea was the sweet, obedient type who liked to play and pretend fight. Axel was just a rebel. Sexually, he'd been everywhere. Sex was his outlet for frustration and sorrow, and he went against authority just for the sake of getting in trouble and reinforcing the fact that he was a bad kid."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Sora was really confused.

Nomura shook his head. "Roxas changed Axel. When Axel was with him, I could see that warm look in his eyes… Roxas made Axel remember what it was like being Lea, being loved and happy. You two didn't know Axel when he was a child, but couldn't you tell how much kinder and happier he was around Roxas? It wasn't just because he was in love, it was because Roxas showed him that he could still be happy and that people really did care about him."

"He made me feel… like I had a heart…" Sora quoted one of Axel's last words in the game.

"That was more truthful than he cared to admit at the time. Being told that you're a bad kid, a rotten egg, it can cause you to feel like… a Nobody."

Ollette looked up to reveal that she was crying. "D-do you think… A-ax-el and Ro-Roxas… are toge-ther now?"

"Ollette, dear…" Nomura walked over and wiped her tears. "I know they are. They wouldn't be able to stand without each other… Don't worry, Ollette. They're together now, and they're very happy."

Ollette calmed mostly down, nodding, and Sora sat with her, letting her head rest upon his shoulder. "Hey, 'Lette… Do you think they had a nice Christmas?" he muttered.

I want a Scarlet Tango plushie, too...

Ah, I like this one. I think I like the next one more, though. I like the parts with the plushie. IT'S SO CUTE!

Still waiting on reviews as to whether you want a fluffy or lemony ending! And reviews in general...