A/N: In my past fics, you have already met my two Skyeward baby OCs, Haylie and Ada, a couple of times. For those who don't follow me on Tumblr, their appearances might seem random – but I'd like to assure you that I have a whole timeline and a backstory for them. Actually, I have even put together a list of all the fics – in chronological order – that feature them/take place in their AU verse. And now that this list has a permanent URL, the link for this can be found on my profile :)

Minor Complications

In his ten years as an agent, Grant Ward has never butchered a mission. Sure, a couple have gone south, others just simply didn't work out, but there was none that was explicitly his fault. He didn't butcher any of them.

But damn, he is sure he is about to break that record.

Because he just can't stop staring at her, which is seriously messing with his focus.

It was supposed to be an easy mission, something he would have been able to do in his sleep: get into the banquet undetected (hell, it was even a masquerade; almost as if the guy was playing into their hands), mingle, wait for the opportunity, then steal away, get into the host's office, do their thing, then come back to the ballroom, mingle some more, then simply leave at the end of the event. And since the mission did involve some hacking, he thought it would be an ideal training-op for Skye (and anyway, these kind of missions were easier to do with a partner; if you are caught in a place where you shouldn't be, you can always just act like as if you just sneaked away for some making out or a quickie).

So he expected it to go smoothly.

Man, how wrong he was!

Of course, the problem is not with her (for once) – other than the slight tension in her posture, there because she is not used to "fancy folks like these" (her words), she is a natural. She charmingly flirts with the male guests, accepts their compliments with utter grace and a slight blush almost completely hidden by her mask, and innocently asks the security where she can find the bathroom (while snatching the guy's keycard, of course; Ward half-wonders whether he should be concerned about her pick-pocketing skills).

It's him who is about to blow the whole damn mission.

Because… ah, because he's so used to seeing her in jeans and plaid shirts and PJs with teddy bears on them, now that she stands before him in her red dress that fits her like a glove, her hair put up in an intricate bun, her heels making her seem so tall, it's just… wow.

Honestly, he has no other words than… wow. She's simply beautiful beyond words.

"Earth to Robot," he hears her voice then, pulling him back to the present. "The guards just started their round," she says, peering around from behind her gilded mask. "Meaning we have about ten minutes until action," she reports to him, as he asked her to do, so he could see how well she can assess the situation.

He just nods, looking around himself, to check whether she's right or not. She is.

"Okay. Good work," he says finally. He doesn't miss the smile forming on her lips at his compliment.

He fiddles with his champagne flute. Ten minutes is a long time. A long, long time. And she's beautiful.

He puts down his glass on a nearby table, and gently takes her hand, his thumb caressing the arch between her thumb and forefinger.

"What?" she asks, laughter hiding in her voice.

"We have some time to spare," he tells her, looking deep into her eyes, trying to sound not too smitten. "Dance with me?"

She grins at him, the corners of her yes crinkling.

"I thought you'd never ask," she answers, and lets him lead her to the dance floor.

(They miss their opportunity, and have to wait almost another hour until the guards' next round. The mission is still a success, but he has no idea how to explain the delay in his report without losing face.)

(It was still worth it.)