rightly | open post.

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.

With how fast it was creeping up on them, Steve just wanted to get on the road before it caught up to them. If the rain got too bad they might be forced to stop halfway through their trip, and he really wanted to avoid that.

His hair was sticking to his forehead and his coat and trousers were wet, but at least the clothes underneath were mostly dry. He could manage until they were back at his place and he could change into something dry. "Yeah... I didn't expect it to rain today," he looked out the windshield, then revved up the engine, starting them on their way back to the city. "Did you get too wet?"

"No," she replied. "I managed to get into the car before it started to pour." Mary had gotten a few drops on her, but nothing substantial. She reached into the backseat to get her hat. Even though it was a summer hat, it would at least help protect her from the rain.

They drove for a long time in steady rain, sometimes blinding the windshield. Steve had to slow in a few spots so that they wouldn't run off the road. When they finally reached New York, the rain had picked up to a violent storm that even shook the car a bit. The streets were mostly deserted, everyone having gone for cover.

The place where Steve had to park the car was about a block from his flat. Mary turned to him, a questioning look on her face. "I suppose we'll have to run, won't we?" The storm did not show signs of slowing.

Steve had to slow down more often than he'd have liked, but it was necessary to avoid having an accident. The delay meant the rain followed them steadily all the way back to the city, and they caught the worst of it on the last stretch of the trip.

He could scarcely see anything as he found a spot to park, and he could tell there was no point waiting for it to calm down. If anything he wondered if it might even get worse, like with a thunderstorm.

"Better that we do, yes," he nodded, glancing apologetically at her. "Come on. You've got all your things?" He helped her with anything she might need him to carry, then with a last moment's pause, he pushed the door open and jumped out of the car, rounding it and catching Mary's hand and helping her keep up as they ran as fast as they could to his building.

Mary grabbed his hand as he pulled her out of the car, using her other hand to hold onto her hat and the stuffed bunny that Steve had won her. She gave a little cry when she felt the cold rain hit her, and she tried to avoid puddles as the two of them ran as fast as they could towards his flat.

Even if they ran pretty fast, the rain was still falling down hard on them, and by the time they made it to the building, they were both drenched to the bone. Steve shivered and groaned a little once they passed the door, running a hand through his wet hair, if only to get it away from his face. "Jesus," he muttered, glancing outside, then his eyes drifted towards Mary, who looked as much of a mess as he did. "Mary, I... if the rain doesn't let up, I don't think I can get you to your grandmother's house tonight."

Mary gasped for breath as they stood in the lobby of his building. She was soaked to the bone, her dress clinging to her frame. Steve’s words worried her though. “No?” She asked. “What are we going to do? I suppose I can ask the chauffeur to come get me.”

What other option did they have? She didn’t even consider that she might be able to spend the night at Steve’s flat.

"In this weather?" Steve raised his eyebrows slightly. The whole issue was that the rain made it practically impossible for him to be able to drive safely, and the chauffeur would have the same problem— if he even risked driving out here.

"You can spend the night here, you know," he said, though he felt like he was pointing out the obvious. "I'm sure your grandmother will understand. There's a telephone on the building, you can try to call her and let her know you're safe."

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