Ben sat down at the table next to Gwen, his pride a little wounded from his slip on the dance floor.

He looked at his dance partner, now bouncing all over the room looking for a new partner.

"I've never seen anyone with so much energy." He said to her.

"Yeah, I wonder if that's how we make grandpa feel."

"Maybe, and you can't tell me that mud was an accident. That wasn't mud it was part of her."

"Oh yeah," she agreed. "She's a prankster. Pranks aside, you did great out there. I'm proud."

"Thanks, I had a great teacher."

She smiled, "Thank you Ben." She's found that complements from him really felt good.

Just then Ben stood up and extended his hand to Gwen."So how about a dance."

She took his hand and stood. "It would be my pleasure." With that they walked out to the dance floor.

They danced together in perfect sync, talking and laughing the whole time. Max looked on with a smile on his face, happy to see his grand-kids just enjoying each others company.

He thought back to earlier when he'd caught them in their dancing lessons. He hadn't interrupted to embarrass them. As sweet as the moment was, he wasn't sure if he should let it go where it seamed to be going. He'd have to give that some thought. What should he do if...

After their second dance together ended Ben whispers to Gwen, "Let's step out for some fresh air."

"Sounds good to me."

The two walked a short distance from the reception to a secluded area. They were in sight of the gazebo where the fight early that day had happened; on the edge of the lake that cannonbolt had jumped into.

They walked among the trees quietly at first. Gwen leaned against one of the trees, "It's really nice out here tonight."

"Yeah, it is." He said turning to her. After a pause he added. "Thanks for teaching me to dance. It's kind of fun once you know how."

"You're welcome..." She cut her own thought short then spoke again. "We really do make a great team. In a fight or a dance."

"Yeah, I guess we do." He seamed unsure of himself for a moment. "You know I really don't mean it when I call you things like Dweeb or Doofus, right? I mean maybe I did but not really much anymore."

He was really close now. It made her both uncomfortable and excited somehow. "Ha, yeah I think I know what you mean. Um, same here."

He looked at her in a way that she couldn't describe. She looked back in anticipation. He asked her.

"Gwen,"

"Yeah."

"When we were, I mean when I was, learning to dance in the rustbucket...Um, well I'm sorry that I pushed you away when Grandpa walked in on us."

She understood. "Were you feeling kind of weird?"

"Heh, yeah. Um, were you?"

She noticed they seamed to be getting closer. She answered. "Maybe a little, but it was nice."

He looked at her in the eye. She was used to silly Ben, hyper Ben, playful Ben and even annoying Ben; but serious, sincere Ben...looking right into her eyes like that...It made her feel..something. She wasn't sure what. He asked.

"Gwen, if Grandpa hadn't walked in on us...what..what do you think would have happened?"

She'd also thought a lot about that since it happened, and somehow it felt good to know that he had to.

She had been angry about being shoved away like that but she understood why: and she was pretty sure that it was the answer to Ben's question.

"Ben, I don't know, we were really focused on each other." Kind of like right now, she realized.

Just like when they fought together it was like they were thinking the same thing. As they came closer to each other Gwen said. "Maybe something like this." Then their lips met. It was a simple kiss but conveyed so much; a connection, a partnership, caring, and feelings long denied.

When they ended the kiss Gwen, her heart pounding, said, "I think it might have been something like that."

"I think so to." He said.

Her mind was going in all directions, her heart in only one. As she played with the collar on his tux she said. "I...don't know if we should be doing this Ben."

"Do you want to?"

Did she?...She found she couldn't deny the answer. "Yes Ben, I do."

"I do to. So we make it work. We may have to keep it under wraps for a while." Gwen interrupted, "Maybe a long time Ben."

"As long as it had to be, as long as we're together."

Gwen smiled at him. "We will be. But I think we'd better get back inside before anyone comes looking for us."

"Always the voice of reason. Okay lets go, but uh, we probably shouldn't be holding hands."

With a blush she let go of his hand that she hadn't even realized she had been holding and they went back to rejoin the party.