One Wish

Chapter 5 – Payment

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Roxas couldn't sleep. Every sound in the small apartment kept him on edge. The couch was comfortable, but his mind wouldn't stop working and he had developed a chill while he was outside on the step. The hot chocolate had eased it a little but now he was rocked by the odd shiver.

He couldn't get Hayner's words out of his head, the thoughts of the Anti-Clause. He didn't believe it, not really. There was no such thing as Santa, his dad had told him that so long ago. But what if his dad had been lying? The rule was that parents didn't lie, but parents also didn't throw beer bottles at their kids, so who was to say that his dad had been telling the truth?

The teen tossed and turned all night, unable to talk himself into falling asleep. The sun was peeking through the window, caressing his cheek as his eyes burned. He heard Axel stirring and so he pulled his covers up to his chin, feigning sleep as his heart hammered in his chest.

"Good morning, Roxas." The voice made his breath catch in his throat and his muscles tightened, preparing to run. It was a quiet hush from the kitchen, just loud enough for him to hear, not meant to wake him if the redhead had been wrong.

"M-Morning, Axel." It's not like he was actually going to get any sleep.

"You sound happy. Bad night?"

"No sleep."

"Stay there, I'll get you breakfast. What do you want?"

"Why are you being so nice to me?" Roxas whined, easily cranky after such a long night. "Why me? I don't get it."

He heard Axel chuckle, moving into the living room to lean over the back of the couch. "You're a good kid, I can feel it. So I want good things to happen to you."

"But why?"

"Do you want to go sleep in my bed so you're not so whiny? You're hurting my ears." Axel beamed at the blonde, causing Roxas to glare up at him but he could hardly keep his eyes open.

"I'm sorry ... I'm just ... A lot's on my mind."

"It's okay. Come on, you survived your first night here. You should be able to sleep now."

Roxas felt a blush run up his cheeks, not meeting that amused smile as he sat up, the blankets staying clutched to his chest. "That's not why I didn't sleep!"

"Oh really? Okay, well, I'm not going to argue. I'll wake you up in a few hours for pancakes, how's that?"

Roxas shook his head but couldn't help the grin that lit up his face. "Thanks, Axel. But I can't let you do all this for nothing! I've got to repay you somehow."

"We'll worry about that later, okay?"

Slowly, Roxas nodded, finally feeling well enough to slip into sleep, which he did before he could even stand. Axel chuckled at him before lifting him with ease, setting him down softly in his still-warm bed.

"I think you'll pay me back easily. As soon as I can get you to trust me."

xXx

Axel looked down at the long list in his right hand, then to the much shorter one in his left. "Okay, so, he should like ... I don't even know ... What would a kid like to eat? But ... I guess he's not really a kid anymore ... Ugh, and now I'm even farther behind ... Three people last night. I was supposed to get three people. God damn ..."

Long fingers drummed against the table as the longer, worn list was pushed to the side. Long, strong nails clicked against the surface in further frustration. "Too hard. Too hard to do all of this. I can't ... No. I've got to. If I don't ... Can't work a century for Marluxia." The name was spit with so much contempt that Axel nearly surprised himself. No wonder why people considered him a demon. If anyone saw him now ...

But that was impossible. Roxas was gone, slipping away after the pancakes hours ago. Axel hadn't had the patience to ask him to stay longer, so that was one more thing to add to the ever-growing list of personal things that needed doing.

Axel groaned in the quiet apartment. Maybe being Marluxia's slave would be easier ...

"No. Don't even think like that. You're winning that bet. You've got to. Because if you don't, you'll be a hundred and thirty years behind ... You wouldn't even have a job anymore."

With that mindset as his determination, Axel pushed himself up from the table, sending his chair toppling back from the force exerted on it. Picking the shorter grocery list up from the table, Axel moved like a man possessed to the door, grabbing his coat, if only for show as a foot of snow had fallen the night before.

Only three weeks left until Christmas and Axel could almost taste the excitement as he slipped easily into the crowds that laughed and explored the Village. His eyes were searching restlessly for the blonde that he knew to be hidden away somewhere, dressed in his wanna-be elf get-up.

He was close, Axel knew. Searching, searching, there! With another teen handing out candy-canes to anyone who passed by, Roxas looked up at the redhead when Axel finally made it over to him.

"A-Axel? What're you doing here?" Roxas hissed, eyeing him up and down. The other blonde boy beside him followed suit, suspicion lining his features. "Do I have to escort you out again?"

"Whoa, this is that Anti-Clause kook?"

Axel gave the younger blonde a sideways glance but returned his attention to Roxas, a small smirk on his lips. "Telling your friends about me, hunh? I'm honoured. Anyways, are you coming back tonight? I'm going out to get some food for you, so I would hope that you are." He didn't know if it was the right way to ask the teen to stay with him or not, but it was better than nothing. Judging by the shock on Roxas' features, he felt like he had presented the offer wrong, but he didn't care.

Bright blue eyes shifted to the other teen before taking in the man in front of him. "Axel ... I ... thanks for the offer, it means a lot ... But I can't pay you back, I told you that. So I can't –"

"And I told you that we would work something out. I'm not just going to let you sleep out on some stranger's porch."

"You what? Roxas! You slept out on a porch last night?"

"Oh my god, Hayner, shut up for a minute. It's none of your business. And it's none of yours, either, Axel." Roxas shook his head, shaking slightly. "I'm not going to burden anyone, so, I can't take your offer."

"You're frustrating me again, Roxas. Just accept my help already. Unless you want to freeze to death, I guess. My door will be open. I hope that you'll get over it and keep yourself alive." Axel turned on his heel, too upset with his inability to force the teen into helping himself to argue any longer. All he could do now was wait.

Really, could he blame Roxas for being a bit apprehensive? He was a monster after all. Speaking of which, he still had a long list of people to get rid of.

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To be Continued

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OH MY GOODNESS! PROGRESS! I'm STOKED! Progress never happens anymore. This is awesome! This is the fastest that I've worked on a fic in a long time. Also, sorry about any/all goofups spelling-wise. I miss my Dre horribly, but she is incredibly busy with College stuff, so I have no beta. :/ And I'm too picky to get another one. :P

~xbuttonsx~