I wrote this one-shot a long time ago, but I just recently finished it.

I came up with it when my grandfather passed away. One thing that helped me when I was sad was to hug my teddy bear that I bought right after the funeral.

I thought about certain characters having a teddy to help them feel better in certain situations, and Xion was the one who came to mind.

Kingdom Hearts © to Disney and Square Enix!

Teddy

"What should I do…? I have so much time left…" Xion sighed. She'd finished her mission in Twilight Town very early. Roxas and Axel wouldn't be arriving at the clock tower for about half-an-hour. Even though she'd spent so much time in Twilight Town, she'd never spent much time actually looking around town.

She smiled. "Guess I can look around for a while."

As she walked, she looked at all the stores and the objects in the windows. A radio sat in a toy store, blaring loudly. "Need a friend? Mr. Snuggle Bear is the perfect friend for your child!"

Xion stopped. She knew what a bear was, and she'd read how they're wild animals who can hurt people. What was so snuggly about them? She walked into the store and saw a long shelf with stuffed bears.

"Need help with anything?" A girl came around the counter.

"Just curious. Why would a kid want a toy bear? Aren't bears big animals who can hurt people if provoked?"

The girl giggled. "Yes, they are. But, lots of kids have a teddy bear. They sleep with it at night and it's kind of like a friend for them when they're alone. There's actually studies that says that they're good for adults too, and doctors keep them in their offices, so people can hold them if they cry in order to make them feel better."

"Why would adults want one?"

"Well, if they are ever feeling sad or dealing with something hurtful, it give them something to hug and bring them comfort.(1)"

"Um, could I have one?"

The girl cocked her head. "Well, they're 1500 munny. But, well, someone left a lot of extra munny here. They wanted to pay for someone else to have a bear. So, we can use that munny for you." She smiled. "Pick whatever bear you want."

Xion walked over and picked up a brown bear with a purple bow around its neck. "I'll take this one. Thank you…"

"Have fun."

Axel stretched as he came up to the tower. "That stupid Heartless…" he looked over and saw Xion already sitting on the edge. "Hey, Xion!"

"Hey Axel."

The pyro walked to his normal spot and sat down, before noticing something between him and Xion. "It that a teddy bear?"

"Yeah! The lady at the store let me have it."

"That's cool." He looked at the bear. "But what are you going to do when Roxas gets here?" Xion just picked up the toy and sat it on the other side of her. "That works."

Just then, Roxas came around and sat between his two friends. "Hey guys..." He saw Xion grab her teddy bear and cuddle it. "What is that?"

"My teddy bear."

Roxas looked to Axel for some sort of explanation. "It's a toy." Both boys looked at her in confusion as she snuggled the bear close.

"Here you go!" The raven-haired girl sat the teddy bear on her bed. She removed her coat and changed into her pajamas. As she climbed into bed, she turned and looked at the bear. "I can't just keep calling you my teddy bear. So, I guess I'll just call you Teddy."

She pulled the toy close. "Goodnight, Teddy." She closed her eyes and fell asleep.

"Where is Xion?" Sïax grumbled.

Axel stood up. "I'll go get her." The pyro had a feeling she was asleep still. And, if that was the case, Sïax would be furious at her; even more furious than usual.

He opened the door and saw the girl snuggled up with her teddy bear. He went over and shook her until the girl woke up. "Axel? What are you doing here?"

"You overslept, Sïax is looking for you."

The girl leapt out of bed. "Oh! Tell him I'll be right there!"

When Xion ran into the gray room, the scar-faced man stood, glaring her down. "What took you so long!?"

"I was asleep…"

"You've never slept that long before."

"I just slept well, last night, that's all."

The man glared at her but looked away quickly. "Hurry up and get to your mission." The girl dashed through a corridor and Sïax turned his eyes on Axel. "Any particular reason she slept so late?" The pyro shrugged and left through a dark corridor.

"Where is it!? Where's Teddy!?"

Roxas ran to Xion's room. "What is it Xion?"

"Teddy's gone!" The girl seemed genuinely worried. "I left her on the bed before I went on my mission."

"You mean the teddy bear?"

Xion nodded. "I left her right here on my bed before I left. And now she's gone. She's just a toy, and I know she couldn't have gone on her own. So, either, one of the Dusks or someone else in the Organization took her."

"I could see the Dusks doing it, as a joke, but they'd bring it back or set it somewhere else in the castle…"

"It wasn't them…" Axel came into the room, holding a piece of paper, and a purple bow; the same bow that had been around the bear's neck.

"Where is my bear?" Axel handed her the paper.

Roxas and Xion stared at the paper. It was an order, written by Sïax. "All objects purchased or obtained outside of the castle, save food and other essentials, are banned. This includes balloons, books, and toys. If such objects are found, they will be confiscated and destroyed."

"So, Sïax took it…" Roxas looked over at Xion. "I'm sorry."

Xion sat down, sighing. "He's horrible!"

Axel sat beside her. "I got back early and saw him writing it. And, the bow was all I could find of the bear. I'm sorry…"

Xion shuddered, storming off to her room. She curled up on her bed, holding her pillow as if it was the bear. Why did Sïax have to take her bear away? Why was he so cruel?

These thoughts filled her mind and she didn't notice the tears that had begun to form in her eyes and drip onto the pillow. The beginnings of a new heart…(2)

Xion sat up in bed, gasping for breath as tears sparkled in her eyes. She looked around her, at the bedroom with gray walls and large purple polka dots on the walls.

Her time in the organization had been over for over two years, over a month ago she helped Sora defeat Xehanort, and tomorrow would mark one month since the Zuxim family adopted her.(3)

Still, nightmares of her past haunted her. She constantly dreamed of waking up in that pod that Vexen created her in, and Xemnas conditioned her in(4). In these dreams, he would mock her, saying that she would never escape, that she was an empty puppet and that her new family had given her back because they hated her.

Xion sobbed, curling into a little ball on her bed. The nightlight across the room switched on, startling her. Her father stood beside it. "Hey, baby girl." Brian came over, sitting at the edge of Xion's bed as his wife, Margaret came to the door. "I heard you crying; bad dream?"

"Yeah…"

"About Xemnas?"

The girl nodded. Brian wrapped his arms around her, humming softly to calm her down. Xion felt grateful for her new parents; they treated her kindly and really cared about her. She'd heard them talking about her a few times. They realized that because of how long she'd had a heart and how long she'd been alive made her heart and mind more like that of a small child, rather than a teenage girl.(5)

So, they treated her as such in some ways. They treated her like a teen normally, but they would give her toys, sing her lullabies, and teach her some things like they would teach a kid. Xion didn't care. When they did this, it made her feel loved to know that they would go out of their way to help her as best they could.

"Brian," her mom came over. "Why don't you get her that certain present for her?"

"Present?"

Her dad left the room as Margaret explained. "Tomorrow is the one-month anniversary of your adoption. We got you a few presents to celebrate, and one might help you with your nightmares, so we'll give it to you early."

"Huh?"

As Brian came into the room, his daughter could see a small pink box in his hands. He set it in front of her. "Happy early adoption anniversary."

"Thank you." Xion lifted the lid off the box and gasped. Reaching inside, she pulled out a small brown teddy bear. Instantly, she pulled the stuffed animal to her chest, allowing soft tears to flow from her eyes. "Thank you so much!"

Brian kissed his daughter's forehead before heading back to bed. Margaret petted Xion's hair as the girl laid down, cuddling her new stuffed animal. The mother hummed and began to sing a lullaby to lull her daughter to sleep.

"Lavender's blue, dilly dilly,

Lavender's green

When you are King, dilly dilly,

I shall be Queen

Lavender's green dilly, dilly

Lavender's blue

You must love me, dilly, dilly

For I love you…"

By the end of the next verse, Margaret could see her dear daughter sleeping soundly, teddy bear in hand. "I love you darling." A new smile crossed her lips as Xion smiled, snuggling her new toy, allowing the comfort of the bear to overwhelm her.

Just a sweet little one-shot.

Please review!

Footnotes:

1. I did some research, and this is true.

2. You have to have a heart to cry.

3. This part is post KH3.

4. This was something shown in the manga.

5. She has only been alive for a few years, and her heart is new. Inside, she is a child.

Proverbs 14:7

"Stay away from fools, for you won't find knowledge on their lips."