Summary: Kane and Mavis go undercover at a fancy ball

Stories That Must Be Read Before Reading This One-Shot: none, really

…

Mavis stepped self-consciously through the grand doors, smoothing down her long, purple ball gown for what must have been the hundredth time.

"Relax, Mavis," Kane said as he fell into step next to her. OWCA's mission controller was wearing a smart black tuxedo with a black bow tie. "You look beautiful."

"I hate dresses," sighed Mavis. "Why did Rodrigo have to come here of all places?"

Kane shrugged and offered Mavis his arm. Linking arms with him, Mavis continued walking towards the main ballroom, which, as they found, was below them. They realised they were standing on a balcony.

"Why did we have to be the ones to come?" Mavis grumbled, fixing her brown hair, which was up in a fancy style.

"Because everyone else in is either not fancy enough or an animal," Kane replied, grinning. "Come on, I know you don't like fancy things, but neither do I, so let's suffer together, okay?"

Mavis sighed again. "Okay."

Kane took Mavis's hand and led her onto the dance floor, just as the Major Domo announced that the next dance was to be a waltz.

"Can you dance a waltz?" Kane asked quietly as everyone took their places.

Mavis grimaced. "A little. I'm not an expert, but I have practised a bit. You?"

"Got to the regional ballroom dance finals when I was thirteen. Won it when I was fifteen and sixteen. All three times were for the waltz."

Kane laughed aloud at the stricken look on Mavis's face. "It's okay, I'll guide you."

Mavis still looked worried, so Kane gently moved her arms into the correct positions, just in time for the music starting. Mavis was a little nervous at first, but as Kane guided her, she became lost in the moment. She was in very close proximity to her boyfriend, something that always made her heart beat faster. She could feel her dress swirling round as they twirled. The first time Kane dipped her, she let out a short gasp and clutched his sleeves, fearing that she was going to fall. Kane just gave her a loving smile. "I will never let you fall," he said. "I hope you know that."

Mavis smiled back. "Of course."

Kane pulled Mavis back up and they continued the dance. However, this time, Mavis's eyes were glancing around the room. She had slipped into agent mode.

"I see Rodrigo," she said softly to Kane. "Next time we twirl, he's sitting on the seat to the right of the fountain."

Sure enough, Kane spotted the LOVEMUFFIN scientist sitting in a royal-looking chair next to an ornate fountain. How he was able to sit there and not be splashed by the large fountain was beyond Kane. Rodrigo seemed to be talking to a woman next to him.

"Gotcha," Kane muttered. "So how do we get him?"

"We can't with all these people around," Mavis replied. "So for now, we may as well enjoy the waltz."

"It's almost over," Kane pointed out.

As if on cue, the music came to an end and everyone stopped dancing. The Major Domo announced the next dance, and all of a sudden, more people flooded onto the dance floor. Mavis, who did not fare well in large crowds, immediately shoved her way through the crowd in a panic. Trying to find her, Kane spotted her running out onto a balcony.

When he went out onto the stone balcony, he found Mavis standing with her hands resting on the stone railing.

"Are you doing okay?" Kane asked her.

Mavis nodded without turning round. "I just needed some fresh air. I don't like large crowds."

"That much is obvious."

Mavis huffed. "Sorry. I forgot who I was talking to, Mr I-have-no-fears."

Kane felt stung by that. He went to stand next to Mavis at the railing and gazed steadily at her until she eventually turned her head reluctantly to look at him. "You think I have no fears?" he said quietly.

Mavis looked quickly away. "You just never seem to be scared."

Kane raised his eyebrows. "I hope you know that when I walked into this ballroom, I was so scared I thought I was going to pass out."

Mavis snorted. "You?"

"Yes." Kane placed his hand on Mavis's wrist. "Everyone has fears, Mavie. I'm scared of the open sea because it seems to go on forever. I'm scared of the dark because I can't see anything that might be coming to attack me. I'm scared of being abandoned because my father walked out on me and my brothers when I was ten. I'm scared of spiders and I have no idea why that is. Being scared keeps people alert, Mavie. There's no shame in fear. Only when you assign shame to fear do you have reason to be ashamed."

Mavis sighed. "Why, Kane Kennedy?"

Kane frowned. "Why what?"

The corner of Mavis's mouth turned up in a wry smile. "Why are you so good at being right?"

Kane matched her smile. "I had a wise mother."

"Are you sure it was your mother and not your charming brothers who were the wise ones?"

"Excuse me, what?" Kane almost choked on air. "Have you even met Kirk and Kegan?"

"Nope. One of them makes killer robots and the other leads an evil organisation. Clearly, you're the only one who turned out okay."

Kane smiled sneakily at Mavis. "Just okay?"

Mavis swatted his arm. "You know what I mean, smarty. You're the only one who turned out good."

"Just good?"

Mavis rolled her eyes humorously. "Do you want me to keep going?"

"No." Kane's face turned serious. "I can see it all in your sparkly brown eyes."

"Do you know what I can see in your eyes?" Mavis asked, putting her arms around Kane's neck.

"What can you see?"

"First of all, you have the same colour eyes as me but different eye colours to both your brothers."

Kane let out a short laugh. "And here I was thinking you were going to say something romantic."

"I wasn't finished," Mavis said. "Second of all, I see stars. I see an unparalleled optimistic view of the world in the eyes of someone who has more reason than most to have a pessimistic view of the world. That's one of the many things I love about you, Kane."

"I love you too, Mavis."

Mavis smiled and hugged Kane. "Thank you for making me feel better."

"Like I said: I love you, Mavie. I don't like seeing you upset."

As they broke apart, Mavis suddenly spotted something inside. "Rodrigo's on the move," she said. "Let's go get him."

Kane grinned as Mavis took off running back inside. "That's my girl," he said, before following.