So I'm sorta still reeling from a hardcore dose of imported French Absinthe I had about two hours ago, so I figured, why not upload a chapter? It isn't like I got anything better to do! I may or may not upload my normal Friday chapter tomorrow. I guess it depends on how long I sleep before I have to go to work.

BWA HA HA! Oh man, Larxene is so screwed. Like, seriously, her life can't get much more awkward at this point. Oh wait… IT CAN. And it will.

And be prepared for the introduction of two more characters. I'm pretty sure their roles will be minor, like Roxas and Axel's roles. But I need them regardless.

So anyhow, ENJOY! HUZZAH! I can't remember if there's any French in this chapter. I don't think there is but I'm too lazy to look right now and probably too drunk to effectively translate anyhow (French is not my forte) so if there is, I'll translate next chapter and that'll just have to be ok.

Now ENJOY!

Larxene awoke to find Luxord staring at her. She grumbled and pushed off of him, letting herself roll out of the bed and onto the floor. This was certainly not the way she wanted to wake up after the day she'd had previously. She groaned and rolled onto her back, staring at the ceiling in irritation before Luxord's face came into view once again. "Uhg… I can't believe you had the audacity to crawl into bed with me."

Luxord stood above Larxene with hands planted firmly on his hips. "Well pardon me, miss perfect. It was the only place available that didn't look as though sleeping there would break my back, and besides, you're far from innocent in this as well."

Larxene growled and crossed her arms. "You could have told me you were poor before we got married! You said yourself, you know I didn't marry you for love."

"Yes, well it isn't as though I thought it was for money either. I thought you were doing your father's bidding. I didn't dream that we'd be in the same exact situation. The irony is so bitter I can taste it." Luxord sighed and stared down at Larxene. "Besides, it wasn't as though money was the only reason I married you. You're still cunning and ruthless and I like that in a woman. I plan to tame you, you know." He grinned widely down at his wife's less than pleased face and held a hand out to her. "Not to mention your beauty, which is something I've adored for so many years."

Larxene rolled her eyes and accepted Luxord's hand. "You're just lucky that all of that no longer matters. If it did, you'd be on thinner ice with me than you are now. But like it or not, I need you." She pulled a sheet from the bed to cover her nearly nude body from Luxord's eyes and scowled. "Now, would you mind looking away while I get dressed?"

Luxord stared at Larxene quietly for a moment before it dawned upon him that she was being serious. He couldn't fight the chuckle that rose in his throat. "Why so shy all the sudden, dear?" He reached out with a smirk and pulled her against him, caressing the bare skin of her arms with his hands. "It isn't as though I haven't seen more of you than this. Why, just the other night…"

"Put a lid on it." Larxene narrowed her eyes on Luxord and tore away from him. "I have no interest in a man that deceived me the way you did."

Luxord scoffed and followed Larxene across the room with a smile. "Can't we let that go? You said yourself, none of that matters any longer. Besides, you did the same thing. Should I shun and mistreat you?"

"Well, my dear, we've already established that I'm a cunning and ruthless bitch." Larxene knelt down and began digging through one of her bags, finding a long black dress that she favored. She slipped it on over her head and turned her gaze to her husband before walking over to the vanity where a brush sat waiting. She picked it up and began brushing through her short locks. "You on the other hand are supposed to be a charming British gentleman. Charming British gentlemen don't lie to their wives!"

Luxord shrugged. "True, more or less. However, you weren't my wife at the time. And also, I never lied. I never said I was wealthy. And maybe if you'd spent more time getting to know me instead of playing bed games with your little friend Demyx, I would have been more inclined to tell you the truth."

Larxene gasped and whirled around to face Luxord. She slammed the brush down on the vanity and glared at him. "I already told you, nothing happened between us!"

"So you both insisted." Luxord shrugged again and watched Larxene's face calmly. She seemed incredibly agitated and he couldn't place if he'd struck a nerve with his comment or if it was merely everything weighing down upon her finally causing her to crack. He had his suspicions about her relationship with Demyx but he quickly decided now was not the moment to try and delve deeper into the situation. At that moment there came a knock at the door but before he could respond to it, Roxas poked his head in the room. "Can we help you?"

Roxas glanced to Larxene to see if she was decent. At seeing that she was, he opened the door completely and stepped into the room. "The boss wants to see the two of you downstairs. It isn't optional."

"Alright." Larxene crossed her arms and slipped her feet into a pair of house slippers that sat at the foot of the bed. She waited for Luxord to dress in pants and a shirt before she started out of the room. She let Roxas lead them down the stairs and into a dining room where the men she'd met the night before sat at a table along with others she hadn't yet met.

Marluxia smiled as Larxene entered the room and motioned to the chair nearest to him. "Good morning. You slept well, I hope."

Larxene grumbled as she took a seat near the head of the table and glared at Luxord. "The room was nice, but the company could have been more preferable. If it wouldn't be too much trouble, I'd like separate rooms from now on."

Marluxia cocked a curious eyebrow and looked Larxene over calmly. "Mmm, well, in a few short days this entire place will be yours. You and your…" He turned his gaze to Luxord with a smirk. "man friend can sleep in whatever room you like. Of course, when it comes down to your public face you'll have to pretend to be a loving married couple."

Luxord scowled and crossed his arms as he took a seat beside Larxene. "We are a married couple."

"Oh?" Marluxia blinked between the two. "Forgive me, I didn't get that from your demeanor."

Larxene scoffed and waved Luxord's comment away. "Ignore him. He's ridiculous. We're actually going to be getting an annulment. We married under false pretences."

"Oh, you can't do that." Marluxia leaned forward on the table and smiled at Larxene. "Didn't Axel tell you? You have new identities now. Getting an annulment won't be possible, as that would alert authorities to your whereabouts. And while you aren't exactly fugitives of the law, the authorities are going to want to question you about your father's recent activities. Besides, it doesn't do me any good to lose my new assets because of something so trivial as a marriage annulment." He smiled and grabbed Larxene's chin between his finger and his thumb. "Anyhow, Mrs. Gabbiani, shall we get down to business?"

"What business?" Larxene pulled her face from the handsome man's grasp and furrowed her brow. "And why Gabbiani? Neither one of us look Italian."

"An old business associate of mine was named Gabbiani, however he met with an unfortunate end." Marluxia mimicked the shape of a gun with his hand and aimed at Larxene's head with a wink. "He graciously left the deed to this estate in my care. Shame he never got to see it after he and his lovely wife purchased it."

Luxord nodded to himself and pulled his arms tighter across his chest. "So you murdered him and stole this place."

"Murder? No." Marluxia smiled sweetly at the blond British man. "He had a terribly unfortunate accident." He waved away Luxord's comments much like Larxene had and turned his eyes back to the woman, cupping her hand in his own. "Anyhow, sweet, it doesn't matter that you or your husband don't look Italian. Gabbiani himself was so far bread from his Italian heritage that he couldn't even speak a lick of the language. He was a second generation American, and his family was from England so there's really no telling where he got the name. It isn't important anyhow, because it is that exact mystery lineage that will keep your cover. Now, on to other matters." Marluxia snapped his fingers and watched as two of his men stood. "Boys, come over and introduce yourself to our lovely Mrs. Gabbiani."

Larxene watched nervously as a massive man made his way over to her slowly with a much shorter man trailing closely behind. She stared up at them from her seat and swallowed hard as the larger of the two took up her hand.

Lexaeus brought Larxene's hand to his lips and looked down at the young woman kindly. "My name is Lexaeus. I'll be the bouncer for the speakeasy. I'm sure you can guess that's due to my size."

Larxene forced a smile and nodded stiffly. "A pleasure to meet you."

Zexion scoffed and placed his hands on his hips as he turned to look at Marluxia. "What's the deal? Are we treating her like royalty now? She's still collateral."

Marluxia flashed a dangerous glare at Zexion. "Congenial is always the goal. Just because we run a criminal business, that doesn't mean we have to act like a bunch of brainless thugs. We're better than that. We're gentlemen, all of us! And gentlemen are always congenial. Now, introduce yourself like a gentleman."

Zexion rolled his eyes and took Larxene's hand in his, pressing it to his lips. "My name is Zexion. I'm going to be the bartender for the speakeasy but I'm really only going to be there to keep an eye on things. If you slip up even once I won't hesitate to shoot you. Just because the boss is sweet on you doesn't mean…"

"That's quite enough Zexion. Thank you." Marluxia kicked Zexion's shin and scowled as the short man started back toward his original seat. He then turned his eyes back to Larxene and recaptured her hand in his own. "Anyhow, sweet…"

Larxene looked to Lexaeus and Zexion in confusion before turning her gaze back to Marluxia. "But… I thought Axel said we'd be running the speakeasy ourselves. That way if we got caught, we were the only ones that went to jail."

"Well, yes. That was the original plan. However, your husband's distaste for blacks has forced my hand. The music situation can not be helped but as for the other help around the speakeasy, it will be my own men. The unfortunate thing about whites is that we have our wits about us. Blacks don't care what they're doing as long as they're getting paid. But whites are whiney and constantly scared of getting caught so there's hush money and all kinds of security pay needed. Just costly, really. So I just hired my own men instead." Marluxia smiled and toyed with the ring on Larxene's finger delicately. "They'll be there to protect you and keep an eye on things."

"I see." Larxene nodded slowly. "That's a comfort, I think."

"Oh, speaking of comfort." Marluxia grinned widely. "I think this next bit will please you." He snapped his fingers and turned his eyes to Roxas. "It is time."

Larxene watched curiously as Roxas disappeared through a door. She was still unsure of what to think of these gangsters. And then the door burst back open and she let out a loud shriek of fear.

Naminé followed Roxas into the room calmly and stopped in front of Larxene. "Larxene, are you screaming? Since when were you so weak hearted?"

"Naminé!?" Larxene stood quickly and wrapped her arms around the little blonde young woman with a bright smile. "Oh, are you a sight for sore eyes or what! But what are you doing here? Aren't you scared? I mean, these guys are serious gangsters!" She paused to look at Marluxia with a half smile. "No offense of course."

Marluxia chuckled. "None taken."

Naminé laughed softly and shook her head. "They didn't tell you yet?"

Larxene's face fell, unsure if she could handle any more sudden news. "Tell me what?"

Naminé pulled a gun from a holster on her thigh and smiled. "I was a plant. When your father decided he wanted to join up with the big boys and become a part of the rum running business, they needed someone to keep an eye on him. Someone that could be his connection to the organization without putting him in direct contact with the boss. I also served as a constant reminder that he was in pretty deep with us and if he squealed, well…" She shrugged and tucked the gun away again. "I couldn't tell you for obvious reasons. I hope that doesn't change your opinion of me."

Larxene stumbled backward into her chair and stared down at the ground. She felt so helpless. So incredibly helpless. Nothing had ever made her feel this way before and she hated it. Her hands were trembling. So this was what it felt like. Deceived and lied to by everyone she knew. Her mother, her father and Luxord. Now Naminé, the one person she trusted most of everyone. "I need a drink…" She raised her gaze to Marluxia and opened her mouth to speak but found that she couldn't form the words. She'd been utterly hijacked. Completely held captive by these people. She didn't have a single person in the room she could trust, and then the door behind her opened and she heard footsteps entering the room but she was too scared to turn and look. She couldn't stand the thought of another gangster entering the room.

"Sorry it took so long. I had a late train last night so I wanted to catch up on my sleep. I'm glad to finally be here though. Did you… wait, L-Larxene?" Demyx froze in his place as his gaze fell on the blonde woman sitting near Marluxia. "What are you doing here?"

Larxene stood as she heard Demyx speak her name. She whirled around to face him and stared at him in awe. She didn't know why he was there or even if he really was, but at the moment, she didn't care. She bolted into his arms and buried her face in his chest letting everything that was weighing down on her just fall. She let herself cry, let herself scream, let herself fall into blackness as he wrapped her in his embrace.