I do not own Kingdom Hearts or Christmas.
A/N: Hey everyone, I'm sorry I haven't been updating. The holidays were really busy and we had lots of family over so I couldn't really write anything and then school started again. I did get something written yesterday and meant to put it up but halfway through a grammar and spelling check, my computer shut down and wouldn't turn back on. I got it working today, so here is the next chapter. Thanks for being so patient with me.
Chapter 16
An hour or so later, Axel had left the mall after paying for Ari's present. He had to go pick up his little sister, Namine. His mother had said that this year Axel had to take her to get a picture with Santa. There was only one problem. Namine had an extreme fear of the jolly old holiday icon. She always threw a fit whenever she had to go up there. But somehow, Axel had gotten her into the car without a shriek fest and had gotten all the way to the mall. The good news was that she had fallen asleep.
He got in line, carrying the small sleeping child in his arms. A lot of parents were staring at him, he wasn't sure if it was their first time bringing their children here so they might be confused as to why he would bring a sleeping child into the line, but the ones who had been there every year weren't. They were most likely relieved that she was not freaking out yet. The couple hours went by fast; the time seemed to move as if it were going at light speed. Soon, he was at the front of the line and that was when Namine opened her big blue eyes.
She took one look around, saw the fat man in the red suit and started bawling. Axel sighed, "Namine, it's okay. It's not like he's going to eat you or anything." She sniffled a few times and then looked up at him, "Then you sit on his lap, big bwother." Axel's eyes widened a bit at the strangeness of her request. "If I do, then will you?" She nodded, still looking scared, but a bit less.
He sighed and set her down, taking her hand and walking over. "Sir, I have to ask you something," he admitted, sounding a bit annoyed and also very embarrassed. The Mall Santa smiled, a twinkle in his eye, "Yes, young one?" Axel leaned down and whispered in his ear. The gray-haired man didn't miss a beat and nodded, Ho-Ho-Hoing all the while. Axel, after a minute of hesitation, sat down on the older man's lap.
"See, Namine, it's alright." At that time, he heard giggling from the exit. He looked over in the direction of the sound. He saw his girlfriend, with a camera, giggling at his predicament. He got up, helped Namine onto Santa's lap, and then waited for the picture to be taken. After that, he picked up the young child into a piggyback ride and walked over to Ari. "You thought that was funny?" he asked, an eyebrow raised. "No," she smiled and kissed his cheek, "I thought you made an adorable big brother and would make an amazing father to do something like that."