Summary: What if Squall's first mission wasn't in Timber? Instead he's chosen for a covert operation in Trabia where a simple mission will turn into more than anyone could have expected. Cross-dressing, slight AU, and slash.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the FFVIII related stuff. I did create some excess characters for the story, though, which are mine I tell you, Mine!!! Muahaha! Okay, now that I've gotten that out of my system I'd just like to say that I'm not getting paid for writing this and don't make any money whatsoever, so in other words: No reason to sue.
CHAPTER ONE: DRESSED TO KILL
"Oh Hyne, I'm not drunk enough for this," Squall mumbled to himself, not bothering to dwell upon the somewhat disturbing fact that he was talking to himself. His declaration of his reservations—and aloud too—was testament to just how distraught he truly was over this covert operation he had been assigned to. He knew, of course, that many SeeD operations were undercover jobs, gathering intelligence and the like, but he certainly hadn't expected this.
He dared another glance into the suitcase filled with the supplies he'd been given for the mission. It really shouldn't have come as that much of a shock to see what was contained within—not with the manila folder detailing the mission objectives and procedures he'd read through, along with Headmaster Cid's explanation of the situation before they'd left—and yet somehow it did. The silky, blue dress, matching high heeled shoes, and make-up, among other things made the reality of what he was about to do really hit home.
He, Squall Leonhart, newly appointed SeeD and resident 'Ice Prince' of Balamb Garden, was about to dress up in women's clothing and attempt—no, succeed—in seducing the Prime Minister of Trabia.
It sounded rather ridiculous, even in his head. How could he be expected to seduce anybody—let alone the Prime Minister—and in a dress no less?! But the message had been quite clear; this mission would either make or break his career, and he had been working too hard and for too long to allow the latter to happen.
So he would do it. It wasn't like he really had a choice, was it? He'd just have to put the dress on, get the information that was needed, and hope that anybody who had seen or even heard about his little foray into cross-dressing would be professional enough and have enough sense to keep their damned mouth shut.
But, maybe it wasn't so bad. After all, it was only his first real mission as a SeeD, and already he was an undercover operative. Most SeeDs would jump at a chance like this, even if it did entail a little cross-gender dressing, as undercover missions were becoming rather hard to come by these days, what with the straight forward, let's go in and kick their asses attitude becoming more and more popular.
That's what the SeeD test had been all about. Go in, kick some Gabadian butt, and liberate Dollet. This time, though, the situation was a little bit Yes, that was the easiest way to put it.
Apparently Trabia, the smallest and least influential of the Garden hosting Nations, was attempting an alliance with a powerful, influential, but most of all unknown source. And that's what this mission was all about, finding out exactly who that source is and to what purpose the alleged alliance would be formed.
They'd heard all sorts of rumors. From Trabia trying to combine with some of the many Timber rebel groups in order to topple Galbadian rule, to Trabia joining up with the Galbadians themselves. At present, they were unable to verify or dismiss any of these claims due to insufficient evidence on the subject. It was Squall's duty to rectify that problem.
And what better way to do so than to convince the Minister to take him back to his hotel room with him for a little night time rendezvous and then sneak a peek at all of his personal and professional files?
They had been keeping tabs on Prime Minister Eckhart for quite some time now, though no one had been able to get the real juicy insider information they were interested in...yet. But they had found out about this little fetish he had for boys in skirts.
He liked them young, late teens mostly; effeminate, so that with a touch of make-up they could easily pass as female; with dark hair and long legs. And they had to be shorter than him as well. Squall happened to fit the profile perfectly. Just his rotten luck.
With a sigh of resignation, he carefully pulled out the silky dress that had been carefully packed in the rather large and overstuffed suitcase, looking at it with first disdain and then mild curiosity. What would he look like with a dress on? People had always told him he appeared rather feminine, even in his normal get-up. Oh well, guess it was time to find out.
Laying the dress delicately across the queen sized bed, he continued to explore what all had been packed for him to use. He'd already taken a peek at the toiletries, which he had needed to use in order to take the shower he had just gotten out of only minutes ago. He'd had to shave his legs; that had been, well...weird, to say the least.
Pushing the thought aside for the time being, he continued to dig through the contents of the bag, pulling out a pair of rather low high heels (which, hopefully, would make them easier to walk in), a wig, a pair of pantyhose, undergarments and the gel filled sacs that would give the illusion of breasts, a velvet lined box full of jewelry, and the make-up bag he'd need to get ready for the mission tonight.
Setting all of the items carefully on top of the bed, he tried to recall in what order he was supposed to apply all of the necessary items. Deciding that the undergarments should definitely come first, he proceeded to put on the neutral colored bra and panties (which he could not believe he was actually doing), before stuffing the fake boobs into place after everything else was properly adjusted. Next came the pantyhose, which he carefully donned so as to prevent snags, noticing that they were somewhat tight and not all that comfortable to wear.
Now it was the dresses turn. The shimmering garment, rather high cut in the chest area (in an attempt to hide the fact that his assets were fake), though with enough leg showing to compensate, was slipped into and zipped up slowly to avoid skin getting painfully caught in the zipper. And now for the hard part—the make-up.
He could do this; he knew he could. He hadn't graduated at the top of his class with an amazing battle record and an impressive initial rank of level 7 for nothing. How hard could applying a little make-up be?
After about a half an hour, though, Squall concluded that it was, actually, harder than it looked. He'd finally gotten it—at least to the point of being halfway decent—and after three failed attempts at applying the eye liner, he deemed himself ready to put on his wig and high heels, and pay a visit to the tech's suite on the third floor.
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"Alright, then. Looks like you're all geared up, sweetheart," the technician, Redge, informed Squall, who glared at the abhorrent addressal. Redge merely smirked in reply, letting Squall know that he was only teasing. Squall didn't think it very funny, although Byron, the technical assistant, did.
Squall smacked him, hard on the shoulder, as he continued to chuckle. "I would get you back for that, but my mother always taught me that I should never hit a lady," the dark skinned man teased, laughing harder as Squall sent him a glare that would have sent a lesser man running for the hills.
Redge shook his head in amusement at the two younger men before clearing his throat rather louder than necessary to alert them of the fact that he had something he needed to say. "Okay. It is currently nineteen hundred hours. We have exactly one hour before operation Blackbird will commence. At this time we are to go over the procedures one more time.
1) Meet the contact at the 'club.' Her name is Madame Missal and she will help with preparing you for phase two.
2) Initiate contact with Eckhart. Make sure that he takes you back to his hotel room with him and that he's had plenty of drinks beforehand.
3) Use the tranquilizer located in the ring we have provided you to knock Eckhart out for the duration of an hour.
4) While Eckhart is incapacitated, search his room for any files or folders whether loose or on the laptop he will have located in his room that may contain useful information regarding our mission objective.
5) Copy all files or folders from Eckhart's hard drive onto the microchip which will be stationed in a hidden compartment in the heel of your left shoe. You will then take pictures of any loose papers you perceive to be pertinent using the digital camera hidden in the heel of your right shoe.
6) Everything must then be arranged precisely as it was upon your arrival.
7) After that, you are to await Eckhart's revival and convince him of the fact that he passed out due to his over consumption of alcohol.
8) Make sure he pays you for your 'services' and then exit the premises and meet back in this room at 07:00.
Remember, if you are compromised at any time during the mission then cast a confusion spell on Eckhart. You are only to abort the mission if it becomes apparent that you will be unable to fulfill the objective of obtaining a copy of the files on Eckhart's hard drive. Good luck," Redge finished on a bit lighter note, giving Squall a small, reassuring smile. Squall just nodded his head in return, signaling his acceptance of everything stated.
He had gone over the procedure nearly a hundred times now; he probably said it in his sleep. But it was his first mission and he really couldn't afford to fail. He wouldn't fail. Because he was ready. He could do this. Couldn't he?
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Kind of an odd little story, I know. This idea just sort of...I don't know. I guess it just sort of came to me one day and wouldn't leave me alone 'til I'd written it down. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed. The next chapter will probably be a while in the making, so I don't know when I'll be able to have it up, for any of you that might be interested.