The thing Cinder didn't expect she needed to do was ballroom dancing.

She didn't understand if Kai was out of his mind or what when he brought her to the palace's ballroom.

Cinder gaped at the enormous ballroom before her.

"I thought you were kidding when you told me about this."

"Why would I be kidding?"

"You're not getting me into a dress.

"That's going to be a problem."

"I'm a mechanic."

"You see, for it to be a proper ballroom dance, you have to wear a dress."

"I never do things the proper way."

Kai raised an eyebrow. "Noted."

Cinder sighed. She groaned, and stepped back.

"Fine. I'll wear something nicer."

She walked out of the room, pinching her greasy pants and muttering.

Kai grinned.

Once Cinder came back in a blouse with slightly dirty jeans, Kai kissed her cheek.

"See? You look much better."

"I look stupid." Cinder grumbled, though her mouth quirked up into a small smile.

Kai rolled his eyes.

"You look great. Now be quiet so we can dance. The princess must know something about dancing."

Turns out the princess knew absolutely nothing about dancing. Every so often, she would step on the emperor's feet, go forward when she was supposed to go backward, or go to the left instead of the right.

Kai would laugh gently- not at her but with her- and correct her. His hands would fix the position of hers, or gently nudge her into the right place. As much as Cinder didn't want to admit it, ballroom dancing was fun. With Kai, that is, it was fun.

Once the song ended, Kai pulled Cinder close and kissed her.

"You're not using your Lunar magic on me right now, right?" He murmured, eyelashes fluttering against her cheek. "'Cause you're looking really beautiful right now."

A faint pain beated to Cinder's cheeks, reminding her that she would blush if she could.

"You're not looking that terrible yourself. And just so you know, I can't blush no matter how hard you try."

He raised an eyebrow. "Oh, yea? That's going to make me try even more."

He jokingly winked at her.

She smacked him gently on the chest.

"But really," he continued. "You're a really beautiful girl."

Cinder may or may not have been speechless. So she did what she felt could express her words better.

Cinder put her arms around Kai's neck and kissed him softly.