rightly | open post.

"Normal," he shrugged, pursing his lips a little. "Pretty uneventful, but not necessarily boring. I did miss you, though," he admitted easily. They saw each other often enough, but still the more time they spent together, the more time he wanted to have with her. It was a bit of a double-edged sword, really, but he didn't regret a single thing.

"What about you? How was your day?"

"I missed you too," she replied with a little smile. "My day was rather uneventful as well. Grandmother and I took lunch at the Ritz." It did occur to her that since she had been seen in public with Martha, people might put two and two together and realize that Mary was a relative. "I believe I told you that my life is rather boring."

"The Ritz? Well, I'd say that's pretty exciting. To me, anyway." Then again, that was only because he literally never set foot in the place. Pretty sure he didn't have any outfit that would get him allowed past the door, anyway. Probably. "Luckily for you, you've got me to make things a little more exciting."

"Perhaps you might come with us next time," Mary said. It was so easy to invite him that it never would have dawned on her that he didn't have the proper attire. Granted, lunch was a less formal affair than dinner. He probably had something in his closet that would be suitable. "Things with you are always quite exciting, Steve." She squeezed his hand. "Are you taking me dancing?" she asked, trying to get some more information out of him about their destination.

The offer had him smiling, even if he wasn't entirely sure he'd fit in at a place like that. He didn't think that her grandmother would be that easy to convince either, although he knew if anyone could talk her into it, it would be Mary. "I am," he nodded, amused that she guessed it on the first try. Not that it took much, granted, what with the music filtering through barely cracked doors and windows. "Actual dancing. Not that fancy proper waltz thing."

"What do you mean actual dancing?" Mary asked, brow furrowed. "The waltz is actual dancing." It was formal dancing, the only kind that she knew how to do. She hoped that wherever he was taking her she would not make a fool of herself for not knowing how to do the dances. Was it some sort of American thing?

"You'll see when we get there," he offered vaguely, though smiling at her. She wouldn't embarrass herself, not really. No one would be looking at her anyway, and everyone would just be focused on moving wildly all over the place, dancing to the music without really caring about any proper steps. There were no proper steps.

"Here we are," he said as they reached a fairly nondescript building front, with only a small sign over the door. A couple of people were standing outside, and they barely spared them a glance as Steve pulled the door open, gesturing for Mary to go in first. The loud sounds of music played by trumpets, piano and drums would easily reach her ears once they stepped inside.

The dancehall was a noisy, crowded place filled with couples and the smell of cigarettes. Mary held onto Steve's hand a bit more tightly. The dances happening on the floor appeared to have no rhyme nor reason to them, and there certainly weren't practiced steps. She looked back at him with a bit of apprehension in her eyes.

"I hope I don't embarrass you," she called to him over the din.

Steve wasn't the least bit worried, but he still could tell there was a hint of concern in her eyes, and in the way she held his hand a little tighter. "You won't, I promise," he lifted her hand up and kissed the back of her fingers, letting go for a moment so he could shrug off his coat. He was down to a pair of high-waist trousers, a white shirt neatly tucked in and a pair of suspenders over his shoulders. Catching the lapel of her coat, he tugged lightly on it. "Want to take that off, too?"

Mary let him take her coat and handed him her hat as well. After he checked their items, she grabbed his hand again as they made their way inside. There was so much activity that Mary didn't know where to look first. The band was playing a rag and all of the couples were holding onto each other in a way that seemed more suggestive than in the dances she was used to. The idea of being held that closely by Steve excited her though. This was a chance to experience something in his world.

"You will show me how to do it?"

Steve would be lying if he said he wasn't a little excited for that, too. He was also relieved to see that she didn't seem bothered by the prospect, and with their coats out of the way, he led the way farther into the party. There were a few tables and chairs along the edges of the large room, a bar serving a few drinks and a band playing on a small stage, but other than that, the area was filled with couples dancing and laughing, moving around in a fast pace.

That was exactly where he took her, turning around and taking a few steps backwards as he lifted their linked hands up, reaching out with the other hand, inviting her to get closer to him. "I will, don't worry. I've got you."

She gave him her other hand as they disappeared into the crowd of bodies. Steve pulled her in close and they began to sway. Mary tried to look at the other couples for some direction on what to do. Admittedly, just being this close to him was exciting. She wrapped one of her arms around his shoulders. "Do you come here often?"

Wrapping his arm tightly around her waist, he pulled her close to him. Much closer than the last time they'd danced, their bodies pressed flush against each other. He looked down at her, as he started to move them around the room, slower than the rest of the couples for now.

"A couple of times. To be with some friends, mostly."

Mary gasped gently when Steve pulled her in close. Her pulse started racing as soon as her body was pressed to his. She moved her face closer to him, lips near his ear so that he could hear what she was saying.

"Other young ladies that you fancied?" Not that she wanted to hear about other women he had wooed, but she was curious about who else he had brought here and who they might run into.

"Not really," he hummed, tipping his head a little so he could catch a glimpse of her face. Hips swaying a bit, he slowly picked up their pace, pulling her along as they started dancing a little quicker to the music.

"I always came alone. I always left alone, too." Just in case she might be wondering about that. "I just had some drinks with friends, is all. Nothing more."

Mary raised her eyebrows at him in surprise. "And a handsome man like you didn't have many ladies wishing to make your acquaintance?" That seemed impossible to her, almost as impossible as the idea that Steve had not entertained any of them.

She kept up with him and the music, rather surprised to find herself catching on quickly. Mary supposed that it helped that there was no real right or wrong way to do the dance. The two of them were simply moving together in time with the music.

"Some," he admitted truthfully, if a little reluctantly. He didn't want her worrying about those things, honestly, but he also wouldn't lie to her about it. "But I never really wanted to have much to do with them after the war."

After he met Mary, more specifically, and after all the things he went through. He just didn't quite feel like getting involved in any dalliances after all that.

She wasn't worried. Mary knew that she was uncommonly beautiful and Steve seemed to have eyes only for her. Truthfully, it made her feel a bit better that he had been with other women - though he had mentioned that the night they reunited.

"I should think you would certainly want to go out with women after the war." After the danger was past and he knew that he would survive? Mary would think he would want to have someone to be with.

He pursed his lips at her remark, shrugging a bit. "Not really. I've never even danced with any of them, let alone... do more."

Like kiss or hold hands or anything more than that. In a lot of ways he was just tired, really, and in others, like he'd told her, sometimes a beautiful and wonderful woman just wasn't enough.

Pulling her weight to his, he lifted her up just barely as he spun them around on the dancefloor. "Is that so strange?"

She held on tightly when he lifted her, smiling delightedly at the movement.

"You told me that you had been intimate with women before though," Mary said. "I suppose you mean before the war? Why not after the war?"

And what was different about her? Because Steve seemed very willing to court her.

"I don't know," he shook his head a little, not wanting to dismiss her questions if she really needed to know so much. "I guess I just wasn't... I don't know. I didn't want involvements that didn't mean something."

It wasn't to say that he didn't care about those women he had been with, because he had; but never on a level much deeper than a passing fancy.

"I wanted something special. That's all."

Mary was quiet for a moment, as the band started a slower song and they shifted their dance in turn.

"Is that what you feel I am? Special?"

Part of her was afraid to hear the answer, even though he was doing with her all of the things that he said he did not want to do with other women.

That was definitely a question that was easier for him to answer, and one he knew the answer to. Without needing to pause and think now, he just nodded, offering promptly enough. "Yes."

They might yet be learning a lot about each other, but of that much Steve was sure. Mary was special. As a person, a woman, on her own and to him as well.

She'd always thought highly of herself, but it still surprised her to hear that, and how quickly he answered it. Mary leaned in and rested her cheek against his as they moved slowly together.

"Steve... How can you be so sure?"

She still felt soiled from her earlier experiences, and like somewhat of a failure after her engagement fell apart, even if she had never been in love with Richard anyway.

There she went with her complicated questions. Well, not complicated necessarily, but tough to figure out how to answer to. Sighing softly, he closed his eyes a moment, humming thoughtfully before he spoke up.

"Let me put it to you this way. Do you think I'm special?" Alright, now he just seriously hoped she wouldn't answer that question with a 'no'.

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