Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy XII.

I've taken a few creative liberties with this chapter.

I'm aware the License Board functions differently within the game but I wanted a realistic reason for it to exist.

Regarding the Clan Titles, anyone who can guess what they are gets a question answered or an idea worked into the story. Or both. Depends on the question or idea, I suppose.

Apparently, Vossler, Basch, and Ashe had decided among themselves that the next place they we going was to meet with Ondore again. Frankly, that was the last place Vaan wanted to go, since he'd turned them in, but it wasn't up to him.

So, after Balthier had checked on the Strahl, they all headed up Travica Way to meet the Marquis.

They were brought directly to the man and Ashe immediately jumped straight into her story about how she faked her death. "When Vossler learned my father had been killed the night of the treaty-signing, he returned to Rabanastre to aid my escape. There was still time before Vayne's reach extended too far. We thought that you could protect me."

The man sat as his desk, listening to the young woman's tale as keenly as everybody else. "However, when I then made the announcement that you had taken your own life…I must have seemed a model citizen of the Empire."

Ashe nodded.

The man continued. "The announcement, you see, was Vayne's suggestion. At the time I was reluctant, but I could not perceive his reasons. Now it is clear: he meant to drive a wedge between us."

The princess looked at her hands for a moment. "Halim, we are past all this. Bhujerba must stand with us. We can stop Vayne."

The man sighed and got to his feet, and that was all Vaan paid attention to as the Marquis started reminiscing. He turned to the ghost instead. R was paying attention to the two nobles. Vaan took this time to look at his private companion. From what he could tell of the ghost, he was very handsome. He could only see the man's face, as only Dalmascan armor gave any true indication of a person's build. Of course, he'd also had that dream of the ghost as if he were alive. If the ghost did indeed look like that, he was as handsome as he was familiar.

It was then that Balthier's voice knocked him from his thoughts. "Incidentally, what is the going rate for rescuing princesses these days? Food would be a start – the good stuff, mind you."

"This can be arranged, though it will take some time."

"Time enough for a bath, I hope. Dirty business, you know. Ah, best bring a change of clothes too."

Vaan watched Ashe walk out the door looking dejected.

"Don't mind her, she does that every time things don't go the way she expects."

Vaan glanced to the ghost to his left. Confident that everyone else was paying attention to Balthier, he asked, "Exactly how well do you know Ashe, anyway?"

R changed the subject. "I do believe the time for a bath approaches." He floated off and Vaan was left to follow a servant to his quarters for the duration of their stay.

Vaan stood in his rooms in complete awe. He had a room to himself, and it was clean. He had a bed, with blankets, and a luxurious bathroom to himself.

The servant came out of the bathroom, her head down. "Your bath is drawn, sir. Is there anything else I can get for you?"

He stared and would have continued staring if R hadn't cleared his throat. "Oh, uh, no. No thank you."

She gave a quick nod and was out the door.

Vaan looked after her and blinked. "What was that?"

R's voice echoed from the bathroom. "She's a servant of the Marquis. She has to treat all guests as if they share his station, unless specified otherwise. Now, come in here and get clean."

The Dalmascan obediently headed into the bathroom after the ghost and his breath caught in his throat. There was a full tub of steaming water. "Do rich people actually bathe like this? What a waste of water."

R shook his head. "Bhujerba has enough water that even the common people can afford to bathe with water. Where I was from, only the rich used water. It's different in Dalmasca. Water is only for the royals, and even then it is used sparsely." He floated over to a bucket. "If you're like any other Dalmascan, you'll want to use this before you get in the water.

Vaan walked over. It was just a bucket with a scrub brush floating inside it. "What do you mean?"

R floated to the side of the tub. "If you get in like that, you'll leave the water unfit to look at, let alone bathe in." He gestured to two bottles after looking at them. "These are a liquid soap. The white one is for your hair, the sand coloured one is for your body, it has small minerals in it that help clean your skin."

"Okay." He treaded over to the bottles. "I've never bathed like this before. What do I do?"

There was a hue of blue on R's cheeks that Vaan was sure was a blush. "Well first you have to take your clothes off, like any bath. Then you should splash a little water on your body," he pointed to the drain in the floor. "Over there. Rub the soap into your body; use the brush if you have to. Then when you're all soaped up, pour the bucket of water over your head. That will get most of the dirt off. The hair is usually the easiest to wash in the bath."

Vaan nodded. "Okay, I think I've got it." He started taking his clothes off. First off were his grieves, then his armored boots, then his kneepads, then his armored vest. He unwrapped the red cloth from around his waist after removing his daggers. He took off the armor on his hands; they were not mere gloves, and then his forearm guards.

It was as Vaan stood there in only his loose pants that R finally spoke. "Would you like some privacy?"

The blond shook his head as he got to work on the laces of his pants. "No, I'd like to talk to you. You can turn away if you're uncomfortable though."

R turned and heard cloth hit the ground moments later. The soft sound of feet walking across the floor, the sloshing of water, more walking, wood on stone, more sloshing, the sound of a bottle opening, then finally the silky slide of liquid soap on skin. He almost wished his hearing wasn't so good because he could visualize every sinful moment.

"I forgot to use water."

"You can add water as you need it, simply dip your hand into the bucket."

For a few moments, all he heard was water and soap and skin.

"How do I know when I've scrubbed enough?"

"When the minerals in the soap dissolve."

"They're gone."

"Then pour the water in the bucket over your head. Make sure you're standing over the drain."

He heard the cascade of water hitting skin and then the floor. Wet footsteps followed by sloshing water.

"Alright, I'm done. You can turn around now. I won't offend your delicate sensibilities." The teasing tone of his voice was plain to hear.

The ghost took a moment to breathe and compose himself before turning. Vaan was sitting in the tub, reclined with his arms on the sides as if he'd been born to sit that way. He looked cleaner than R had ever seen him. He sighed. "I wish I had that magicite." He floated over but was careful not to look into the water. So as not to tempt himself, he mimed sitting on the floor, leaning against the side of the bath, facing Vaan. They were very close.

"What?"

"Oh, I, I haven't had a bath in years. I miss it. How does it feel?" Quick answer, and then divert attention.

"Heavenly." Vaan threw his head back and sighed. "I understand why this is a special thing. I've never felt so good."

R recalled the very few times he'd had mandatory sex and had to laugh. "There are few pleasures like a bath." He agreed. The spectral man decided to change the subject again. "So you really have nothing to worry about with Balthier and Penelo."

Vaan said nothing, merely raised an eyebrow.

"They were given separate rooms, but Fran didn't go into hers earlier. She didn't even consider it. She went straight into Balthier's room. So you've got nothing to worry about."

Vaan nodded thoughtfully. "Good. She's too young and innocent for a sky pirate."

He raised a ghostly eyebrow questioningly. "You say that as if you aren't."

Vaan shrugged. "I lived on the streets. I know how things are. I know how men are." He sighed. "Even so, I'd rather not end up with a woman." He laughed. "Penelo is bad enough."

Now that was interesting. And not at all unpleasant. "You don't want women. Don't they have an affect on you?" He waved his hand around his chest in reference to breasts.

Vaan shook his head. "Not even Fran."

If a scantily clad, well-endowed viera didn't get a reaction from the teenager, then nothing would. R hummed comfortably.

For a few minutes, there was a comfortable silence between the two.

"R? How come nobody else can hear you?"

His eyes shot to the blonde's face. "Honestly, I haven't the slightest clue. Even people that I knew in life can't see or hear me. But you can."

"I'm glad." Vaan blushed from embarrassment. "That I can see and hear you, I mean. It's let me get to know you, when I wouldn't have known you in life. I'm glad I got to know you."

They were looking at each other. "Me too."

Vaan's eyes were bright, his cheeks were flushed, and his lips were pink. A quick tongue darted out to wet those pink lips.

R tore his gaze away and cleared his throat. "So, that hair needs to be washed."

He ignored the way Vaan's eyes didn't leave him for the rest of the bath.

It was the middle of the night when R woke him and told him that Ashe had just left her room and turned into the hangar. Blearily, Vaan got up and dressed in the comfort of the dark. Everything in place, he silently followed her. Once in the hangar, he saw the Strahl's door open. He soundlessly crept inside. He saw Ashe sitting in the pilot's seat. He advanced on her. "What are you doing?" She hardly jumped and didn't reply. "This is Balthier's ship."

She examined some gauges. "I'm going to retrieve the Dawn Shard. It's the proof that I need."

Vaan tensed and he heard R's breath hitch beside him. Another piece of magicite? Would it allow them to touch?

"I know where it's hidden. I'll return his airship later."

She was actually planning on stealing a skypirate's airship and getting away with it? Balthier and Fran were probably on their way here already. "Are you crazy?"

Ashe finally deigned to turn and look at him. "This is something that I have to do! For myself and all those who have fallen. I will not be made to hide!" She huffed and turned back to the controls. "I'll fight alone, if I must."

Alone? She had a loyal man who had vowed to protect her. "You still have Basch. Besides, you can't just go around stealing people's ships. What are you trying to do?"

The royal surged to her feet. "I'm trying to concentrate!"

A man's voice came from behind them, "That's quite enough, your Majesty." When Vaan whirled around, he was sure that Judge Ghis would be standing there. It was not in fact Judge Ghis, but Balthier using a device to alter his voice. "What do you think? A bit over the top? In my line of work, you never know when something like this might come in handy." This time he mimicked Ashe. "I'm trying to concentrate!" He watched her look anywhere but at him in her shame at being caught. He turned off the device. "I'm leaving you with the Marquis."

Ashe jolted. "You can't."

"You're better off staying here." He turned to leave in clear dismissal.

"Suppose you kidnapped me instead?"

Balthier stopped.

"You're a sky pirate aren't you? Then steal me. Is that so much to ask?"

Vaan stared at the back of the man's head as he answered. His voice was calculating. "What do you have that I would want?"

"The Dynast-King's treasure."

Vaan's head whipped to the side to look at her. Her face, her voice…she was serious. Imagine, the treasure of a legendary king! He was giddy just thinking about it.

R grinned at him.

"The Dawn Shard is but one of the riches that lie waiting in King Raithwall's tomb."

That caught R's attention, and Raithwall's tomb.

Balthier whistled and Basch walked in. Vaan listened with half an ear as the ghost floated over to him with a huge grin.

"Vaan! The Dawn Shard in Raithwall's tomb!"

"-Bounty on your head."

"It's another piece of magicite! Like the Goddess' Magicite."

"Allow me to escort-"

"If you held it, like the last time, maybe we could touch again." His voice was almost desperate.

Vaan's eyes darted to the ghost's eyes, and then to Fran and Penelo as they walked in. Being able to touch again. That would be nice.

Fran jerked her chin at him. "Will you be joining us?"

He was sure he made some sort of face. "What? Are you kidding? I don't wanna stick around this place." And miss out on the theft of a lifetime?

Penelo darted into a chair and held onto the arms for dear life. "Then I'm coming to!"

"Penelo?"

There were tears in her eyes as she shook her head. "Don't leave me here."

How could he when she did that? He sighed. "Of course not."

Fran smiled and R had to acknowledge that her smile was very pretty. It was the first time he'd seen such an expression on the serious woman. "Then it's settled. We should leave before the Marquis realizes she's missing. Like proper kidnappers." The mirth in her voice was evident to everyone.

It was because of Balthier that they managed to postpone the journey to Raithwall's tomb for just a few more days. He'd told a fuming princess that none of them had gotten any proper rest because of her foolhardy desire to desert them in the midst of the night.

R had laughed long and hard at that.

By the time they'd landed in Rabanastre, it was early morning. They'd had little time to rest between the Lhusu Mines, the Leviathan, and now. Suffice to say, Balthier wanted to spend a night or two in the Sandsea. He also argued that they were out of supplies. Ashe had no room to protest.

Vaan on the other hand, was just happy to be home. He'd gotten all the rest he needed after Balthier had shooed him away on the flight. He wanted adventure. While Balthier and Fran went to book themselves a room, Vaan headed directly to the Hunt board. He looked through the marks.

R looked over Vaan's shoulder with a grin. "How about you consider the license board before you look through the hunts, Vaan?"

The thief distractedly glanced at him and muttered quietly. "What do you mean?"

R just looked at him for a moment. "You've been fighting this well without licenses?"

Vaan shrugged as he considered a Wolf hunt. "Well yeah. Tomaj sort of told me how they work before I went on my first hunt but I haven't really added any or needed them. I fight fine without them."

"So far. What's going to happen when you fight a group of mages or monsters who are invulnerable to physical attacks?" He held the teen's gaze. "For my peace of mind, will you consider licenses?"

The thief sighed and passed up the wolf hunt until he looked at the licenses. He covertly glanced around before speaking to R when he saw nobody in hearing range. "Yeah, I suppose. What do you know about them?"

"Well, they are in every store and at every stall where you can buy anything you need a license for. They're free. They depend on something like experience fighting, I think. They're pretty much just for the shopkeepers' safety. If you have a license to use Doom, they can't be held liable for selling you a spell that allows you to kill people. A lot of the time, you need a license to buy the merchandise." The ghost headed over to a smaller box on the wall to the left of the hunt board. "You can get license boards here, and then keep them with you. If you lose your license board, you risk the confiscation of your weapons and so on."

Vaan frowned in thought. "I remember Tomaj giving me one and stamping something, but I don't know where he put it."

R waved a ghostly hand. "It's likely with your hunt information." He, too, glanced at the hunts on the wall. "We could easily do some of these with licenses. Dig out your board, let me see."

Vaan obediently fished his Clan Primer and License Board out of his other belongings and the two of them moved to a table. He spread the Board flat on the surface and the two leaned over it to begin debating. "Okay, what do you think?"

First R looked at the Clan Primer itself. He recognized the crest. "Clan Centurio?" He saw Vaan's surprised look. "I was a member. Could you open it please? I'd like to see the inside cover."

Vaan did as he was asked without hesitation.

R sighed happily as he saw the shimmery images in their designated boxes on the inside cover. "This is a pleasant surprise."

Vaan had never noticed them before. "What are they?"

"They're hard to explain. By fulfilling certain conditions, you'll be given a title only recognized within the Clan. They appear on their own as the conditions were fulfilled. It's some kind of Moogle magic. They gain you standing within the Clan, similar to your rank. I'm not entirely sure, but I think you need all of them to get the highest Clan rank. So, for example, you're a Moppet. You would be of a higher rank than a Moppet without any titles."

The young thief's eyes were wide. "How do you know all of this?"

"I was important within the Clan." He pointed to one of the easier titles to acquire. "There, you see the chocobo? That appears once you've walked 50 000 steps since joining the Clan. It gives you the title of Wayfarer." He smiled and pointed to the only other image, in one of the last boxes. "The gil coin? That gives you the title of Master Thief. It means you've successfully used the Steal Technick 50 times." He grinned. "And if you've got that one, you should be well on your way to earning Premier Prestidigitator." He refused to tell the blonde how to get any of them. They weren't told how to earn them for a reason.

Then there was the License Board. R looked over it. There were very few stamps. Accessories 1 for Orrachea Armlet. Steal for the Technic. Light Armor 1 allowed possession of a Leather Cap and Leather Clothing. Light Armor 2 allowed possession of Headgear, Chromed Leathers, a Headguard and a Leather Breastplate. Shields 1 for the Escutcheon and a Leather Shield. Daggers 1 and 2 meant Vaan could use a Dagger, a Mage Masher, a Chopper and an Assassin's Dagger. He nodded, "Okay, the way licenses work is a bit strange. You can't jump around the board buying whatever you want. You have a starting point, like Accessories 1, and you can get the licenses above and below it and to either side. No diagonals."

Vaan nodded, examining the board. "So what do you recommend?"

R looked him up and down for a minute. "Well you can't do magic right now. I propose we get some licenses and see if you can do it. Not everyone can but you mentioned that your mother was a White Mage so you should be fine. I would advise you to get the licenses for White Magic 1, Black Magic 1, Green Magic 1, Time Magic 1, and Arcane Magic 1. That way we'll be able to see what sorts of magic you can do. Eventually, you'll be able to get the license for a quickening." He pointed to a red box to the left of White Magic 8. "It's a magic intensive battle move for most people, although the physical moves are possible too. You don't know what it is until you buy it, as they're different for everybody."

"You sound like you know what you're talking about."

R sent the blond a sharp grin and delighted in his blush. "I have three Quickenings, the maximum allowed."

Vaan's eyes widened when he looked at the board and realized the amount of licenses needed to learn even one Quickening. "Okay, so magic. What else?"

R was ahead of him. "Well your frame is lithe and I know you're fast. A good weapon for you would be daggers, right now, as you've been using them for years. Get Daggers 3. If power becomes an issue in the future, you could use ninja swords without sacrificing your speed. It's worth thinking about." He pointed next to the armors. "I would focus on light armor for you with some mystic armor if it turns out that you're skilled with magic, which I'm sure you will be. Get Light Armor 3, and possibly Light Armor 4. Your shield is fine for now; the next upgrade is out of your way. Libra is a useful technic to have, and so is Poach, get those. Accessories… I don't see anything overly useful to you until the Thief's Cuffs in Accessories 10. You might as well get Accessories 3 and work toward it." The ghost leaned back.

"What about this section?"

Vaan was pointing at the light blue section below magic and to the left of technics.

"Those are Augments. You get the license and you get a skill or information that makes fighting a little bit less difficult."

"Should I get any?" Steal and White Magic 1 would allow him to get a Gambit Slot. "What's a Gambit Slot?"

"It allows you greater focus and the ability to prioritize and multitask. Getting one wouldn't hurt, I suppose, and they're in the way of some of the higher-level stuff anyway. Potion Lore is always great, so are Health Augments. If you get another Gambit Slot, you can also get Battle Lore and Shield Block."

"What do they do?" Vaan glanced up at him through his lashes and R was breathless. He'd never realized how seductive the thief could be.

He cleared his throat. "Well Potion Lore means that potions heal you more effectively. Battle Lore is a stance that increases how hard you hit, and Shield Block is a stance that makes it easier to block with your shield." He looked up to see Vaan chewing on his lip.

"Thanks for this, R. I don't know what I'd do without you."

The ghost could only smile at Vaan, trying in vain to ignore the warmth in his chest.

RtS

After purchasing the spells, Vaan was unable to try them until that night. He was unable to get away all day. When night finally settled, and Vaan was free, he was practically vibrating in his excitement to get away.

He turned to R with a grin. "I'm going to go practice my magic, you're coming right?"

R happily nodded. "Someone has to make sure you're doing it right!" He floated after the thief and saw that they were headed toward the gates. "Where are we going?"

"The Southgate has an entrance into Lowtown, and we're closer to that one."

He headed after the boy as they descended the dim, sandy stairwell into the gloom below. They headed north, to the Garamsythe Waterway.

"A waterway? Why are we going into the sewers?"

"There's a huge empty chamber with a little water sometimes, and huge rats. I used to spend hours down there killing rats. Got me the name Ratsbane." He laughed. "It'll be perfect."

When they reached the chamber, Vaan acknowledged that Vaan was right. This was a good place to practice all manner or things; fighting, defending, magic, technics, and it offered targets in the form of rats. Although R was slightly disgusted at the sheer volume of rats in the city, they had their uses.

"So where should we start?"

"Well you only have the first spells. These are the easiest to cast and don't generally offer any trouble. A child could cast them." He paused and looked to the teen in the middle of the room. "Vaan, don't be too disappointed if you can't cast some spells, not everybody can cast all magicks. Let's start with the Green Magic. Try Protect on yourself."

Vaan easily cast the spell, a blue barrier proving his success.

"Now Blind."

Vaan cast it on a rat but was forced to kill it with his dagger as it lunged for him. "It didn't work?"

"Hard to say. Cast it on yourself." He saw the hesitation. "You have Blindna and eye drops, come on."

Vaan took a deep breath. "Blind." He shook his head after a moment. "My vision went cloudy for a second but I can still see just fine." He tried again, and again shook his head.

R floated closer and chuckled as Vaan blushed. "Strange. There should be a dark, smoky residue around your eyes. I guess you can't cast it."

"Why? I could cast Protect so it's not a problem with the Green Magic."

"I'm not sure. Try something else."

Vaan cycled through the spells he had. Dark should have caused darkness to envelop the rat and caused damage, but it was barely a fog. Berserk caused loss of rationale and the target would attack senselessly with increased strength and power. It didn't work at all. Slow worked perfectly, Immobilize didn't work at all. Fire blew up in his face. Thunder didn't work at all, and neither did Blizzard. Cure worked better than usual, and so did Blindna.

"So what's the verdict?" Vaan was sprawled on the stairs, panting. Magic was very tiring when you weren't used to it.

"I have a theory." It was strange, but no stranger than his own problem with magic.

"And?"

"Regarding Green Magic, you can cast Protect, but not Blind, which blinds your target. Regarding Time Magic, you can cast Slow, which slows the target, but not Immobilize, which prevents a target from moving. Regarding Arcane Magic, you can't cast Dark, which does non-elemental damage or Berserk, which causes the target to charge carelessly into battle. Black Magic doesn't work for you at all. I think the Fire had more to do with your own affinity with heat and the element than the spell itself. Your White Magic, on the other hand, is excellent, even better than experienced casters."

Vaan nodded to show he understood.

"Essentially, I don't think you have the ability to cast offensive magic. Sometimes, a certain type of magic 'runs in the family', so to speak. Your mother was a White Mage; likely a powerful one if what I see from you is any indication. You physically aren't able to cast the offensive spells, or spells that could cause harm. That's just the way it is." He smirked at the shocked teen. "You're my opposite."

"What? Your opposite?"

"My grandfather was a Mage. He was successful with all magicks but he favored the more lethal spells. My father never learned magick, so I'm not certain if he had the same problems as I do, but my magic issues definitely stem from my grandfather." He glanced at the boy and could see impatience burning in his eyes. "I can't cast support magick; I can only cast dark spells."

"Dark spells? Like Black Magick?"

He shook his head. "No, dark. I can only cast spells that will do harm. I am a master with Arcane Magic, I can cast Dispel and Dispelga, which removes support spells from the target, Poison and Toxify are within my ability, and I can only cast the worst Time Magick and Black Magick. Bleed, Balance, Countdown, Bio, Shock, Scourge, Flare, Scathe; all spells you'll never use. If you think about it, our magic complements each other."

Vaan smiled up at him. "Yeah, I suppose I does." He pondered his magic, and that of his friend. "It can't be easy, only being able to attack."

R hummed. "It's no different than never being able to attack. I am unable to heal myself or my comrades while in battle. You are only able to heal and support your allies. Together, though, we can cast the most powerful defensive spells, heal the most grievous of wounds. Together, we can protect."

Vaan's smile only grew. "Yeah, together." He laughed. "You always do that, R. Transform a situation with that silver tongue until it suits your fancy."

The ghost slowly moved forward until he was standing between Vaan's feet on the stairs. He crouched to be at eye-level. Slowly leaning forward until their lips were only a breath apart, he whispered, "You like my silver tongue", and kissed him.