A/N: The first of three parts. Very few spoilers, but I play with canon a little here, as the scene where Larxene decides Axel's in on the plan would likely go a bit...differently. But it's a very mild AU. :D REALLY.

Manipulative manipulation is go, yes? Yes? I think yes.

Game, Set
I. Gifts

Larxene had unconventional taste. She had never really pretended otherwise, and Marluxia was very -- accepting of this. He didn't stare, didn't ask stupid questions, and every now and then he would bring her little presents. A circle of brie cheese; a rug woven in the shape of a frog; a pretty bird she could hold in the palm of her hand and squeeze until her clenched fist was wet and sticky. And if he happened to share her taste, he would stay, and watch, and enjoy the beauty of it with her.

It was one of the things she liked best about him.

So when they lay curled together in his bed, naked skin touching everywhere but not the least bit vulnerable, and she mentioned so casually that Axel interested her, well, Larxene knew exactly what to expect. Of course there would be no reply; Marluxia only stroked her hair with those long tapered fingers of his, a little slower to show that he was thinking, but the notion that he might not accommodate her whim never even crossed Larxene's mind. He was considering, yes, but not whether, only how.

She knew it might take some doing. She had never asked for a person before, or even a reasonable facsimile thereof. But as she watched that gorgeous smile split his face in two, she knew Marluxia would manage it, one way or another. It was only a matter of time.

*

"He's here?" she found herself asking later, mildly disappointed. In Castle Oblivion, yes, one of only six in the entire sprawling white maze that was the castle's interior, and that much closer to her, but where were the chains? A real gift would have been delivered in chains.

Marluxia smiled for her, and she knew instantly that everything was going according to plan. "He volunteered to join us in our nigh exile, so perhaps we were not the only ones... dissatisfied with current management. He could be quite... useful."

That Larxene liked a little less. One thing to play with a toy, another to trust it with substantial things, like it could think for itself. She pressed the line of her body into his, making sure to emphasize the swell of her breasts and the curve of her hip. "Do we really need any additional assistance?"

When he raised his eyebrows, cool and incredulous, she knew his mind was set, and briefly wondered when that had happened, what Axel had done to merit such insistence. She was still fairly new, fairly young, and Marluxia hadn't -- would likely never -- tell her everything he knew of the other numbers. He was patient with her, and fond of her, but rarely helpful in these matters. Some things, he just wanted her to learn on her own.

And the expression on his face now told her that this question would be one of the ones he refused to answer. Axel, and why he might be useful to them, was something he'd expect her to figure out.

"Funny," she said, standing back, careful to be extra flippant in case it was true. "I didn't think we'd have this one in common."

That smile again, wider, sleek and catlike. He offered her a rose, thorns first, and said nothing.

She wondered then if he still meant to bring her the firebrand as a present. Maybe he'd decided he liked this one enough that he didn't want to let her in on the game. Which would have been really funny, hysterical even, and might eventually lead her to slit the man's throat in his sleep. But more likely, Marluxia thought Axel was simply better suited to a different type of game, found these two aims irreconcilable.

She should have given him more credit.

*

It was one of those presents he bothered to wrap. She did a routine sweep, missing the tight high sound like wires snapping that would have been her Ninja following close behind her, and came home hungry for his attention. Wanting his large, long-fingered hands all over her body -- his wide, always-smiling mouth to dampen her skin. She dragged the first zipper down between her breasts and closed her eyes, savoring the moment, the well of sensuality, before she opened the bedroom door.

And there was Axel in her bed.

Larxene paused, clutching her zipper. The joints in her fingers frozen and ugly as the knots in a tree trunk. Then Marluxia swept in behind her, his body a warm hard familiar shape at her back, those hands she'd wanted now curled around her shoulders, and she relaxed very slightly. "You brought him?"

She could feel the smile on her neck, and Marluxia murmured, "He came."

There was significance in his correction, and she wasn't wholly sure she liked its implications. "Did he now."

"He did," Axel agreed, leaning forward awkwardly, and as her sheets slipped away she saw that he was bare-chested and possibly naked beneath them. His skin glistened prettily, and she liked the way he'd kept his hands behind him to sit up -- like they might be bound there.

These implications, she could appreciate. They were enough to make her relax the rest of the way.

"Did you oil his skin?"

Marluxia laughed, low and soft. "I thought you might appreciate it."

She did, and turned her head to kiss him lingeringly. She'd wanted him, his mouth. Nothing else had even occurred to her. And it would be different now, not quite what she had been in the mood for -- she wouldn't let him kiss away her aches or make new ones in more interesting places. But she'd wanted this, too. She could adjust her plans. "You're washing the sheets."

The look of brief surprise and then bemusement on his face was strangely steadying. "Of course." A gentle smile with a vicious twist.

Larxene matched it, all brilliant sharp teeth like a shark. Oh, yes. She could most certainly adjust her plans.

*

She took off her gloves first, and her boots, but only because the sheets were silk and freshly clean. Everything else stayed on. The best kind of contraceptive.

Axel did turn out to be tied to the bed. It was touch and go there for a moment, because he always slouched over strangely, and maybe he was just letting her climb into his lap like a good toy, but dragging her nails over slick shining skin, tracing not-quite-painful shapes in the oil, she found the shackles that kept his hands behind him. They were cold to the touch and glittered like black ice. To Marluxia she murmured, "Vexen?"

"He was amazingly cooperative. I think the idea of neophytes in chains appeals to him."

She nodded, thoughtful, and twisted the shackle so it dug into Axel's skin, made him hiss in pain. The ice probably hurt like a bitch. It made her smile. "Really. Maybe we should do something about that."

His answer surprised her a little. "All in good time."

It wasn't very explicit, only gave away the barest hint of their plans, and so little of it had anything to do with Vexen -- but Marluxia was always so careful, so precise. He wouldn't have said even that much if Axel wasn't allowed to know it all. Which meant he thought Axel might help them take Sora, and with him...

So this was the other game.

Her fingers slipped and drew blood, blood that did not quite match his hair but was still shallow enough to have streaks of red. She waited for the hiss, but this time there was nothing; Axel only went taut under her hands and made no sound.

"Careless," Marluxia chided softly.

She wet her lips instead of responding and bent down to lick, dragging her tongue through the blackred and tasting the ashes-metal of Nobody blood. He tensed up again, all lean muscle clenching, more than he had for the pain. Interesting.

"What did he say to bring you here?"

Brilliant green eyes met hers briefly, and for half a second they were dead, expressionless with nothing in them but her own reflection. Then he laughed, low and husky and almost sensual. She forgot the emptiness. "He said if I was very good and very lucky, I might get to fuck you."

Larxene cut him again, deeper so it went blackpurple, and decided she liked everything about this present.