Whoo hoo! Finally this fic is starting to move along! I played around with the order a bit, so that's why this chapter is next. Like I said about the last chapter, this is one of the first ones I wrote...like the second or third actually. I obviously edited the hell out of it so it would be decent enough, but yeah. It's been sitting on my computer for a good five months! It's about time that it came out and faced the world. Not one of my faves...but eh. Oh well. Okay, yay. Expect updates over the next few days! There is like, one road block coming up in a few chapters (yeah, I have to write out the entire chapter pretty much), but otherwise, this fic is about done. :) YAY! I have an idea for a new fic as well, so Gwen is happy. A happy muse is a good muse! Lol, I'm crazy, I know.

8. Flirting With The Enemy

After his shower the next morning, Locke spent most of the day preparing for the night that he was going to have. He traveled to Kohlingen by chocobo and bought himself a new outfit using the gold pieces that he got in exchange for some of the jewels that he found in the cave the previous day. He figured it wouldn't have been smart to go to Jidoor and buy everything because that was where the party was going to take place and it would possibly blow his cover. He also decided to get his hair cut so it wouldn't look as untidy as usual. It was now too short to pull back into the ponytail, but it was short enough so the ponytail wasn't needed. He figured a bandana would do the trick of keeping his hair out of his face on an everyday basis, but tonight would not be the place.

Upon reaching the hideout, he put on his new clothes, laced up his new boots, and as he combed his hair, he smiled at his reflection. He didn't look like Locke Cole: Treasure Hunter anymore, he now looked like Locke Cole: Nobleman. He was able to hide his dagger underneath his pant leg in case things would go somewhat amiss during the night, thus giving him more comfort in the situation. He heard a slight knock on his door and he looked over to see Xane standing there in the open doorframe. He was also dressed up, but the frown on his face ruined his important appearance.

"You ready, newbie?" He asked as Locke scoffed at him.

"First of all, I'm not a newbie. I've been here for a few months now," Locke started as he carefully tied his bowtie. "Secondly, I think we got off on the wrong foot here."

"Yeah, we did, what's your point?" Xane drawled as he leaned up against the doorframe. "If you're going to start apologizing or saying that we should 'start over' and all that bullshit, I'm not going to listen to you. I highly believe in first impressions, and yours made a lasting impression on my shit list."

"Aww, isn't that sweet," Locke retorted, running his fingers through his hair. "Fine, then let's just get through the night and act like we're civil. If we blow this, Vaughn is going to have our asses, you know that."

"From now on, we know nothing of Vaughn or Quantz, understood?" Locke nodded and Xane continued as he handed Locke a piece of thick parchment paper that had embossed writing on it. "These are our tickets. It's our only way into the party so if you lose it, I will kill you. Don't say a word as you hand your ticket to the guards at the door. Simply nod and move on."

"Got it," Locke said as he put on his new taupe trench coat that he purchased earlier in the day, ignoring the icy tone in Xane's voice. "Have you figured out what your alias is going to be yet?"

"I'm going to go by Wesley Sheridan," Xane announced, tipping his hat. "What about yourself?"

"Kain Atherton," Locke replied as he put on his hat, tipping it in the same style as Xane. "So, do you think we can pull this off?"

"I know that I can, but I don't know about you." Locke felt his face flare up in anger, but he decided not to add more fuel to the growing fire that already burned between he and Xane.

"I can hold my own," he said through clenched teeth. The look on Xane's face didn't loosen up, so Locke sighed and crossed his arms. "Let's just go before we murder each other."

"That can still be arranged, you know," Xane replied with an icy smile as he motioned for Locke to exit the room. "Ladies first."

With a slight growl, Locke let Xane's insult roll off his shoulders and walked out of his room, Xane not far behind.

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When they arrived at the VanLente Mansion in Jidoor, they handed their tickets to the doormen and walked inside to the foyer. Well, things are going smoothly so far…Locke thought as he handed his coat and hat to Xane so they could get them hung up. Locke prayed that he would be able to get his coat back and not have to run off without it for it was expensive.

They walked into the grand ballroom, causing Locke's jaw to drop in amazement. It was perhaps the most beautiful room he had ever been in, for everything in it was practically drowned in gold or some other precious metal. There were ice sculptures placed along the edge of the room, surrounded by hundreds of flowers, picture frames were hung on the walls with paintings in them so large that they must've been twenty feet tall apiece, there were at least five hundred people here already all dancing or chatting quietly with one another as waitresses and waiters walked around with platters of hors d'oeuvres and wine. A group of musicians sat in one corner of the room and a jaunty dance piece escaped from their instruments finished up the image of the room. Locke had never seen such an extravagant sight.

Then, Locke saw something more extravagant. At the end of the ballroom, there was a pillar encased in glass and surrounded by at least a dozen heavily armed guards. Several guests gathered around the glass and looked in awe at what was inside. Although he couldn't see the jewel inside, Locke didn't have to ask or walk closer to know what it was; the Clemix Diamond—the goal of the night.

"Look," Xane whispered as he grabbed Locke by the arm to drag him closer. "We split up. Stay discreet and aware of your surroundings at all times. If there is any sign of trouble, stand at the top of that staircase over there and lean against the railing, understood?"

"What happens if I'm being chased by a guard? I won't be able to just say, 'please stop so I can wait for Xane to know I'm in danger,'" Locke asked in a whisper, adding sarcasm to his voice.

"Well, let's hope that doesn't happen," Xane replied with a shrug.

"And if it does?" Locke wasn't one to be worried about things in the middle of a hunt, but he wanted to make sure that this night went as smoothly and quickly as possible. He knew that the longer he and Xane stayed there, the more likely they would be caught.

"If it does, let's hope you're agile enough to survive the battle," Xane replied nonchalantly as he started to walk off. Unfortunately, Xane wasn't able to see the face that Locke made toward him because his back was facing him, but Locke scoffed nonetheless.

Now what? Locke asked himself as he started to walk through the crowd. I have no idea what the hell I'm supposed to be doing! It's not like I can just waltz right up to the guards and ask them to hand me the diamond…I guess I have no other choice than to meander around the crowd for a little bit…

"Would you care for a refreshment?" Locke blinked in surprise when a waitress came up to him and handed him a drink. She slightly batted her eyes at him and he couldn't help but give her a flirtatious smile.

"Why, thank you, ma'am," he replied as he took a sip from the tall crystal glass. He watched as the waitress walked away, lingering his gaze on her rear end, and ignoring the taste of the wine. He wasn't too fond of the taste of it, but decided to sip it sparingly anyway. He continued his stroll along the edge of the ballroom so he wouldn't interrupt the dancing that was taking place in the middle, and stood by one of the ice carvings. It was in the shape of a swan with its wings in the air, as if it just landed in water. As he studied it, he dipped his finger in the wine and began rubbing the top of the glass, causing it to hum.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Locke jumped, practically dropping the glass, before looking at the owner of the voice. To his surprise, it was a beautiful brunette girl looking up at him innocently. She stood a few inches shorter than he, even though she was wearing rather tall high heels. She was in a beautiful baby blue dress, her hair was gently pulled back from her face and adorned with white baby's breath and ribbons, and diamond earrings hung from her ears. Her neck was bare, but the lacing on her low cut dress was enough to distract any man.

"Uh, yeah," he replied after a minute of silence. He was too busy admiring the girl to find words, so he had to focus his attention back on the ice sculpture.

"I've never seen you before," she asked with a shy smile. "Are you from around here, or did you have to travel a distance?"

Uh oh…Locke thought as he nervously took a sip of his wine. "You haven't seen me before?"

"No," she replied as she studied him with her eyes. "I think I would've noticed you, so it's obvious that I've never seen you. What's your name?"

"Loc—"Oh, dammit…Locke thought as he froze, almost choking on his own name. I almost just gave away my real name! What was the name that I made up? "Lord Kain Atherton." There, that's enough to convince her…I hope…

"It doesn't sound familiar." She furrowed her forehead as she thought about it for a second, causing Locke to nervously exhale. "Hmm."

"No?" He asked her, in lack of anything else to say. She gently shook her head and shrugged as she looked away from and reached out toward the ice sculpture.

"Oh well, it doesn't really matter anyway," she said as she fingered the wings on the ice sculpture. "I basically assumed that this would be a group of snobby noblemen anyway. I don't even know half the people here."

"Well, now you know me," he said as she shyly giggled. "Uh, you never told me your name."

"Now I know that this party has nothing to do with me," she sighed as she rubbed her hands together to absorb the water, not answering Locke's statement. With a huff, she continued. "This is fabulous. Not only do I not know half the people here, but they don't even know who I am either! It was just a chance for my father to gather up everyone he's ever met so they could all be the stuffy adults that they are and talk about politics."

"I'm sorry," Locke apologized as she shook her head.

"No need for an apology," she stated as she looked up at him with a smile. Her eyes went wide when the musicians started to play a new piece of music and she slightly bounced on her toes. "Dance with me?"

"D-Dance?" Locke stuttered as she grabbed his hand and started to drag him onto the dance floor. I haven't danced since I was a young boy! He thought as she grabbed the crystal goblet out of his left hand and put it on one of the tables that they passed. He swallowed hard as they reached the dance floor; he didn't even get a chance to protest or find out her name.

As a pleasant surprise to himself, he instantly remembered the dance steps and was able to perform them with grace without embarrassing himself. He was quite thrilled that he was able to look into her eyes at the same time; the sparkle behind them kept a smile on his face and he felt nothing would be able to break the moment.

They finished out the rest of the dance and the ending pose resulted in them staring into each other's eyes. Her cheeks started to turn a light shade of pink as she looked away from him. "You're a really good dancer," she said as she stared at the floor.

"It took a minute for me to remember that dance. I haven't done it in so long," he said quietly with a chuckle. She lifted her eyes back to his and shared his smile. "I was afraid that I was going to make a complete fool out of myself."

"You have a really nice smile," she said as she bit her lip. The compliment only made his grin wider and he brushed a tendril of hair away from her face, resting the palm of his hand on her cheek.

"You're beautiful," he blurted as he held her closer to him. The piece was long over, but they still were in each other's arms. He acted on impulse and leaned in to give her a kiss, but she backed her head away and looked at him with complete surprise.

"Lord Atherton," she exclaimed, her voice flustered. Locke noticed as several people started to turn their way and gawk, so he blinked uncomfortably as she stammered. "I-I'm sorry, but I can't kiss you."

"Oh, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable," Locke said nonchalantly as she removed her arms from him and crossed them over her chest. "I guess it makes sense. I don't even know your name." And she doesn't even know my real name…Not like that's ever stopped me before, but…Something in this situation is different….

"I apologize, I didn't meant to be so abrupt, but I don't want to make a scene." Locke nodded in agreement as he watched everyone slowly turn away from them again. "I really do enjoy your company though. May we talk more?"

"Uh, yeah, of course," he responded, his heart leaping practically out of his chest. Good, I still can work on this…

"Well, I don't want to be away from my father for too long, so I figure I will stand around him for a while to make him happy. How about in half an hour? On the top of those stairs?" Locke followed her finger and stared at the spot for a second in confusion.

Stairs…OH! Secret code for Xane and I! "How about somewhere else?" Locke asked, trying to be as suave as possible. "I mean, it's a beautiful night, so why don't we meet someplace outside? That way we can also escape what is going on inside."

"You certainly don't speak like a nobleman," she said, looking at him queerly. Locke gave her a nervous smile as she let out a giggle. "Oh, what does it matter, anyway? I'll see you soon?"

"Yeah, that sounds great," he said as he lifted her hand to his lips and gently kissed it. She smiled at him as she walked away and he watched her disappear into the crowd. He put his hands in his back pockets and let his dreamy gaze stay in that direction

"You better watch it." Locke sighed in annoyance as he recognized Xane's voice from behind him.

"Thank you so much, Wesley, for ruining the happy moment that I was having," Locke said sarcastically as he grabbed another drink off of a waitress' tray. "Can't you leave me alone for five seconds?"

"Staying away from you for eternity would be equivalent to the best thing in the world, but unfortunately, your little charade just proved that I can't," he snapped as he crossed his arms.

"What are you talking about?" Locke asked with a huff as he sipped the pale pink liquid from his glass.

"I saw you dancing with that girl," he replied, grabbing a glass of wine for himself. "Not only were you dancing with her, but you were making it obvious that you wanted to strip her down right in the middle of the dance. It was a minuet, Locke, not a piece that would be played in a pub."

"Oh, I see, I see," Locke said with a slight chuckle. "First you get pissed that you're my sidekick, and now you're pissed because I get a girl too. That's real mature."

"No," Xane said as he leaned in closer to Locke and lowered his voice. "I'm pissed because you're flirting with VanLente's daughter! The very one we're trying to steal from!"

"Whoa, what? Wait a minute here…" Locke trailed off as he looked back at the crowd of people that surrounded him. The girl was nowhere in sight, so he sighed. "That was…"

"Yes, that was Rachel VanLente." Xane backed away as he took another sip of his drink, leaving Locke to purse his lips together. "We're not here for her; we're here for her wonderful, shiny present that her daddy wants to give her."

"Whatever, it was only a dance," Locke stated, trying to make the situation look as innocent as he could.

"Uh huh, and we're only here for the free booze," Xane retorted, his voice heavy with sarcasm. "All I'm saying is; don't even think about it. You will get us into more trouble with Vaughn than it's worth."

Xane finished his drink and handed the glass to Locke before he walked into the crowd, leaving him speechless.