rightly | open post.

"I might still be, a little," she replied, cocking her head to the side as she looked at him. Mary had a feeling that it would all really hit her when she was seated in the plane and they were rolling down the runway. "A walk on the beach would be lovely, actually." That was something she didn't get to do very often. Even though England was an island, and not a terribly big one, the family didn't frequently go out to the shore. While Mary preferred the rolling hills of her home, it was nice to visit the ocean once in a while.

"You'll ease into it. I promise you, it's not as frightening once you're up there." Steve felt that, to people unused to flying, it was the taking off and the landing that scared them most, even though technically those were the safest moments of the journey. Not that he'd tell her that, of course, lest she be terrified the whole time.

"Come on then," he tugged her along gently, stopping by a small candy stand to get them a bag of fairy floss that they could eat while they strolled through the beach.

Mary trusted him, of course. Even if she was anxious, she knew that Steve wouldn't do anything that would intentionally frighten her and that he would keep her as safe as he could. She still wanted to experience what it was like to go up in an airplane.

Holding onto Steve's arm, Mary walked with him down the boardwalk before they started to descend to the sand. "I used to love going down to Brighton as a girl," she told him.

To avoid getting his shoes and socks dirty or wet, Steve paused as soon as they made it to the sand, toeing off his shoes, then reaching down to tug his socks off. He tied the laces together and settled them over his shoulder so he had both hands free to hold the fairy floss between them.

"I've never been there, I don't think," he pulled a string of fairy floss from the bag. He probably looked silly trying to eat the sticky treat, but he didn't seem to care much. "Is it like Coney Island?"

[ ooc: I emerge after disappearing for two weeks... sorry for vanishing. ]

Mary put her stockings in her heels and carried them with one hand, while she clutched Jim's arm with the other. He did look a bit odd with the fairy floss, but it mostly amused her, seeing him shove pink strings into his mouth. She leaned over and bit a piece of it out of his hand.

"Not exactly. It doesn't have games or rides like this. There are a few arcades, and a theater. We would mostly go to enjoy the shore and to swim if it was warm enough."

[ooc: yaaaay I missed you!]

He was a little surprised when she took the floss from his fingers with her mouth, but promptly took another piece and held it out for her to take, before he ate the rest and licked his fingers clean.

"Still sounds very nice," he nodded, lifting a shoulder. "We can go there, too. During summer holidays, maybe? Would you like that?"

She took the second piece as well, this time running her tongue playfully along his finger, just as a slight tease.

"Yes, I think that would be lovely. My favorite place to visit is London and I'm sure we'll make regular trips there. They have the best shopping and restaurants."

Looking out to the ocean, she watched the waves crash to the shore. There was always something so peaceful and calming about that. Fortunately, the beach wasn't packed, so they had more room to walk down closer to the shoreline.

He narrowed his eyes at her teasing lick, poking the tip of her nose and getting a bit of sugar stuck there.

"Regular trips, hm? You'll yet make a worldly man out of me," he said playfully. He'd traveled plenty, they both knew that, but it was different to travel out of necessity and for work than for pure enjoyment. He hoped he'd get to see a lot of places with Mary, both old and new.

"Hey!" She laughed, wiping at her nose, then took a piece of the candy from the package and held it up to his lips. "As if you're not worldly already, but we can go to the Continent too. France, if you are not adverse to visiting France, or perhaps Belgium or Holland."

The war may have left Steve loathe to visit France. Germany was still in shambles, though Switzerland usually made for a good holiday.

He laughed right back, a little more teasing. He reached forward and bit off a piece of the floss, although he avoided her fingers so he wouldn't tease or embarrass her too terribly much, particularly after how riled up she'd gotten on the Ferris wheel.

"Those all sound wonderful, I'd like that a lot." He had nothing against any of those countries, despite his experiences during the war. It would be different, going for pleasure, and when Europe wasn't at war anymore. "I look forward to doing so much with you, Mary."

She wouldn’t have minded a little teasing, but appreciated that he was trying to be gentlemanly.

“As do I, Steve,” she replied with a smile. “I can’t wait for us to try to have children.”

Mary rested her head on his shoulder, feeling as light as the salty air that floated around them. There was a lovely breeze on the beach that made the day seem cooler than it was. “Where do you have your plane parked?”

He too was admittedly excited about that, and the more they talked about it, the more impatient he was for them to finally be married. He had to remind himself to be patient, though. He knew that even if things went smoothly with her family, their engagement could end up being a long one.

"Not too far, just a small track a little north of the city. It should be about an hour's drive away." He'd brought a car along especially so they could get there faster, and not waste a second of their day.

They walked for a little while longer, enjoying the feeling of sand beneath their toes and the cool ocean breeze. After they had their fill, they cleaned their feet off, put their shoes back on and made for Steve's car.

Mary sat in the front, though she wasn't used to that. Normally when she was chauffeured, she would sit in the back. At least they had a beautiful sunny day for their drive through the country. As they got closer to the hanger, there were a few more clouds covering the blue sky, though it didn't seem to be any cause for worry yet.

Steve parked the car next to the airplane and Mary got out, taking in the flying machine in front of her. It seemed so much to put one's faith in a hunk of metal, but Mary did at least have faith in Steve. If anyone could get them off the ground and then back onto it safely, it was him.

[ooc: just speeding up a bit if that's ok]

[ ooc: no problem at all! I was just thinking about it myself. ]

Walking along the beach in Mary's company was fun, but if they delayed leaving for much longer, it might get to be too late for them to have a safe flight. So he proposed they leave as soon as they finished their candy, and leading them back to the car, he drove them up to the airdrome where his plane was.

The ride wasn't too long, and they enjoyed mostly sunny weather the whole way. Steve studied the clouds in the distance but they hardly seemed threatening enough to warrant any concern, particularly since no scheduled flights had been canceled or postponed. Letting Mary inspect the airplane on her own for a moment, he checked in and signed a few forms, then made his way back to her.

"Ready?"

Mary nodded, somewhat shyly and reached out for his hand again, giving it a squeeze. The nerves she felt must have been normal. She had no idea what this would be like.

After getting fitted for a helmet and goggles, Steve helped her up into the passenger seat of the plane. It was small, but seemed secure. He closed and locked the harness around her before getting into his seat and starting the preparations for take off.

Mary leaned in close to speak to him. "Is there anything I need to do while we're up there?"

Once he made sure she was strapped safely to her seat, he leaned in to plant a soft kiss on her lips, then climbed onto his seat. He glanced over his shoulder at the question, smiling and shaking his head. "Don't worry, I can control everything from over here. You can just... do whatever you want."

Whether it was screaming, closing her eyes, laughing... People had all sorts of strange reactions, when they felt that unique kind of rush for the first time.

Turning on the engines, he waited for them to get to full power, the noise increasing gradually until they'd have to shout if they wanted to hear each other. The runway was cleared, no other airplanes scheduled to take off or land, so he knew he wouldn't have to worry about that. Turning a little more to shoot her a grin, he faced ahead finally, and slowly started the plane down the runway, manoeuvring it into a straight line before starting to pick up speed.

Mary could feel her heart pounding as they moved down the runway, going faster and faster. She clutched the seat for dear life, trembling a bit in anticipation. Finally, there was the sensation that there was nothing below them any longer and they were rapidly gaining altitude. To her credit, Mary didn't scream. For the most part, she was stunned into silence, scarcely believing that they had actually left the ground. They were quickly able to turn around and clear the hangar itself before sailing off over the green fields below.

To Steve, this was fairly mundane. This wasn't even among the fastest planes he'd piloted, nor could it fly as high up. The main difference was that Mary was up here with him, and while it brought him great joy to be able to share this with her, it also reminded him that he had to be additionally careful and take things slow, where normally he might've been a little riskier, possibly even pulled a few stunts.

Once they were high up and flying steady, he levelled the airplane, then tipped it to the side to take a wide turn over green plains. Were she daring enough to look down, she'd note the houses on the ground were tiny as ants.

After the initial ascent, and when Mary got used to the wind and the roar of the engine, she actually found it to be quite peaceful. She felt like she was floating in midair, and calmed down considerably. It was amazing how far out she could see from up here. Looking down on the farm fields and tiny houses was a novelty.

Mary smiled when Steve glanced back at her. She felt safe, particularly because he was at the helm.

Steve smiled back at her, feeling relieved that she didn't seem to be so scared anymore. He wished he could hold her hand or kiss her, but as it was he wouldn't risk moving too much, nor take his hands from the helm too long.

He settled for a few wide flights over the fields and farms, making sure not to fly too far out. At first he didn't notice, but as time passed the clouds started to creep closer, until Steve realized they'd be heading their way. Gesturing so Mary could see them too, he then pointed to the ground, as if saying they'd have to land soon for safety's sake.

It was beautiful, watching the landscape go by below them, and looking out as far as she could see. The tall buildings of New York were in the distance, looking like toys from their vantage point. Not too much further in another direction was the ocean. Mary wondered what that would be like, and if it was even possible to do yet.

She noticed the very dark clouds that Steve pointed out and nodded at his hand signal. As nice as it was up here, she knew it was because the skies were calm. Driving through a storm didn’t seem like it would be the best idea.

He could only guess that she had seen his gesture, and soon after he focused on lowering their altitude, piloting in soft circles as he spotted the airdrome and flew closer to it. He'd have to align himself with the runway before starting the landing sequence, not to mention make sure that there would be nothing and no one on their way.

Once he was clear for a safe landing, he flew one last turn over the track, glancing up just in time to see the clouds gathering. His focus shifted back to the runway as he started the plane on a quicker descent, the nose tipped upwards just slightly, hoping they'd make it to the ground before it started raining down on them.

The landing was less comfortable, and it didn’t help that Steve was in a hurry to beat the storm. They bumped along as they got closer to the ground. It jolted Mary a bit when they finally made contact. Overall though, being in the air was actually enjoyable. The take off and landing were the worst parts.

Once Steve helped her get out of the harness, Mary grinned and kissed him. “That was quite exciting,” she said, still happy from the feeling of coasting above the trees. “I think I can see why you like it so much.”

Landings tended to be a little bumpy, even bumpier than liftoffs in Steve's experience. But they made it to the ground safely, and managed to get there with only a couple of raindrops falling on their faces.

He kissed her back and held her hand, helping her climb out of the plane and put her feet back on the ground. "I'm glad you liked it too," he smiled, leaning in for another kiss only to get interrupted by a few more droplets, and he glanced up. "Alright, we should... go, before it starts pouring. I'll go hand in our gear, you should get in the car. I'll be right back."

Steve seemed to be taking the storm quite seriously, so Mary did in turn. She hurried to the car just as it started to rain in earnest. He jumped in the car about 5 minutes later, hair dripping with rain.

“The storm came up rather quickly, didn’t it?” She asked.

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