They'd only been there for about an hour, and already Darryl was wondering if perhaps he should have left this particular duty up to someone else. He was fast discovering that a forty-eight hour stakeout was nothing compared to sixty minutes in the company of the WUN elite. How Kuja could enjoy things like this...

Yet another young woman broke away from a group of dilettantes and approached his seat among the tables scattered along two edges of the dance floor, her gleaming hair strategically coifed and face primped to synthetic perfection. She flashed dazzlingly bright teeth in a smile that was undoubtedly meant to be charming, but was completely wasted on Darryl, who simply tilted his head to better keep a line of sight on Kuja and the small knot of tuxedoed men that had formed around his friend.

"My friends and I don't recognize you, and we thought you looked a bit left out, over here all by yourself. We were wondering if you'd like to join us." She managed to look both poised and breathlessly anxious all at once, and Darryl was actually distracted for a moment as he considered all the practice such an expression must have required.

"No."

She made a moue before opening her mouth to speak again, but before she could get a word out they were interrupted by the WUNPO Director, who approached the table in full dress uniform with a small smile playing around her lips. "What on Earth are you doing in a place like this, Albin?"

Darryl respected Tekla, having heard plenty about her from Wren and Jian, and having himself dealt with her on several occasions, and so he shrugged one shoulder. "Friend needed an escort." He knew she'd understand all that implied.

Tekla's eyes widened almost imperceptibly for just a moment, then her face relaxed again. "Anything I ought to know about?"

"Doubt it."

Tekla nodded once. "Enjoy the party, Albin." That damnable smile was back, and the look she tossed him before she turned and walked away suggested that she had an inkling of just how much he disliked events like these.

The girl was still standing there, looking a bit put out, and Darryl considered the likelihood of her giving up and leaving if he continued to ignore her. Then she leaned forward again. Darryl let go of that momentary hope for reprieve and began to peruse his memories of the rather hasty shopping trip with a frantic Kuja earlier that day. Apparently Darryl didn't own anything suitable for this kind of engagement, and then when they finally found something that met with Kuja's expectations, there'd been an entirely new set of shops to go through until the silver-haired man had found a dress that coordinated with Darryl's new white suit.

"Oh, you know Director Ahlstrom! Isn't she wonderful? Say, if you know her, then you must know all about that new program that WUNPO is supposed to be working on. The satellite surveillance one..." The girl trailed off suggestively, her smile firmly back in place, and the question neatly interrupted Darryl's reflections on the complications of finding shoes that matched his suit without compromising his mobility.

Darryl dragged his eyes away from where Kuja was laughing delicately at something, one gloved hand up in front of his lips and eyes sparkling, over to the girl's face. His eyes narrowed and a swift, shallow mental probe confirmed his half-formed suspicions. "You have no security clearance. You should not be asking those kinds of questions."

She opened her mouth again, but Darryl stood up. "I suggest you go back to your friends. No doubt they find your company entertaining." He walked past her without waiting to see her response, though he could feel the offended outrage that flashed through the air behind him.

Not that it mattered. She was just trying to make conversation, not fishing for information about classified projects. Just another nobody who thought they were everything. There were so many, in places like these.

Kuja appeared at his elbow suddenly, and he blinked down at the slender form. It always startled him how Kuja could navigate a room like this without Darryl noticing, even when he was sure he'd been keeping an eye on him. "Kuja-dono. Did you want something?"

Kuja's smile was more genuine than that girl's could ever hope to be, for all that there was a bit of mischief in it as well. "Actually, yes, I do. You do realize that, as my escort, you should be dancing with me, yes?"

Darryl was able to restrain a wince. "Kuja-dono, it would probably be better if I observed you from the edge of the crowd." Not that there was likely to be any point in trying to get out of it, if Kuja had his mind set. But it couldn't hurt to try. "I'll be able to detect any danger from the other guests much more efficiently if-"

"Surely your training can help you survive just one dance with me?" Kuja pouted, fingers playing with Darryl's bowtie. He straightened it, then absently smoothed it down and smiled up at Darryl. "I promise to behave."

Darryl sighed, then held out his hand. "Alright, Kuja-dono."

Capitulation really was worth the delighted expression on Kuja's face, and he led his friend out onto the dance floor without any further hesitation. "I should warn you, it's been a while since I've done any formal dancing." He dropped one hand down, resting it on Kuja's waist.

Kuja chuckled and set his free hand on Darryl's shoulder. "I'm sure you'll do fine."