rightly | open post.

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'.

"I do," she replied. "I have never met another man like you."

He was a gentleman, but he was also fun. He made her laugh. He cared about her for more than her title of her family's money. He was so much different than every man of her social class.

"Well, how can you be so sure that I'm special?"

He was actually curious to see how she would answer that, to be honest. In part because he would like to know what in him she found so unique and appealing.

Mary pulled her head back to look at him, though her face was still close to his.

"You care about me, the person, rather than who my father is or what connections I can give you. And you're kind and gentle with me. You don't give a damn about things from my past, things that many men of my station would find intolerable."

Would marrying such a man be beneath her? Honestly, she could not think that, not when most of the men she had met of the upper class seemed so dull and boring.

"Honestly, I didn't even know who your father was when I went to Downton," Steve admitted. Some of the British upper class slipped past his notice, unless they were more London-based and more participative in war efforts. Now he knew, sure, but he had a feeling he'd have remained ignorant if not for his stay at Downton.

But no, he didn't care. He never cared once who her parents might or might not be, or how much money she might have. Granted, Steve wasn't exactly wealthy, but he lived comfortably enough.

"People judge others for all kinds of stupid reasons, don't you think?" A thought said out loud, he shrugged at her. "I don't think there's anything wrong with your past. Anyone who thinks otherwise is wrong. Not that it's any of their business one way or the other, but still."

"I think they do," she agreed quietly. Mary might not have thought that if Steve hadn't pointed it out. His conviction about her past not mattering meant a lot to her.

Her eyes flickered towards his lips, so close to her own. "Do you still want to kiss me?"

He wasn't just saying it simply because, either. He could very well be trying to ease her into the idea of something casual, but he wasn't. He didn't think this was just something casual, either. At least he didn't want it to be.

"I do," he breathed softly, tipping his head lower and letting his lips all but ghost hers, though without kissing her. He wondered if she'd close that distance herself.

Mary wasn't the type to do casual, so her intentions with him were real, if she could convince herself that it was okay to marry someone who wasn't rich or British.

"You should then," she whispered, her lips barely brushing against his. Just that was enough to send a shiver through her. Unfortunately she wasn't bold enough to make that final first move herself.

Well, worth a shot. He certainly hoped to have the time and the opportunity to get her to ease into it, so maybe one day she would feel comfortable and be bold enough to take that step herself. But for now he was all too glad to be the one to close that distance, tipping his head lower and pressing his lips to hers in a present but for now fairly chaste kiss.

Once he initiated it, Mary felt very comfortable continuing the kiss. She pressed her lips harder to his, deepening their kiss. His lips felt perfect against hers and it was truly the first kiss that she really enjoyed. Mary pulled in closer to him, her body resting against his.

The music was still soft and slow, and he kissed her to the same pace, his lips moving gently against hers, coaxing her to return the gesture. He didn't try to deepen the contact, at least not just yet, although he did part his lips and let only the tip of his tongue draw across her lips, humming softly at the taste.

His lips were soft and inviting. The tip of his tongue against her sent a shiver up her spine. Something deep inside of her longed to keep going, to push into him further, but the noise around her reminded her that they were in public. Besides, both of them needed to breathe. Mary very gently pulled back.

"I never knew that a kiss could be like that," she whispered.

He pulled from the kiss slowly, wetting his own lips as if he could capture the remnants of her taste on them. Blinking his eyes open and looking at her, he smiled, his hand moving around her waist and smoothing up her back.

"A kiss can be... even better than that, actually," he answered in a vague but hopefully enticing sort of way. If only to leave her curious about it.

"It can?" she replied, desiring very much to see what that was like. Mary had never felt such a passion before while kissing a man.

They had just about stopped on the dance floor and Mary looked up to realize that they were near the bar. "Would you mind if we got drinks?" she asked. After dancing and kissing him, Mary was a bit thirsty.

"Yes," Steve couldn't help a small smile at that, though he drew to a halt at her question. "Of course we can."

He was feeling a little warm and thirsty himself, so something to drink would be welcome. Still holding her hand, he moved them to the bar, tipping his head in greeting to the barkeep serving drinks. "Beer will do," he asked, then turned to Mary. "And for you?"

"Um.." Mary glanced at Steve and then at the bar, trying to decide what to order. She didn't exactly drink beer. "Gin, perhaps?"

Along with whiskey, gin was her preferred liquor. Mary had just recently acquired a taste. She supposed it had something to do with up until recent prospect of being trapped in a loveless marriage.

Steve didn't expect she'd like beer, so that wasn't particularly surprising. Something along the lines of gin or whiskey, though, that seemed more fitting, so when she ordered her drink, he tipped his head while the barkeep went to serve their drinks.

It didn't take long for their glasses to be set down on the bar in front of them, and Steve picked up his beer, waiting for her to do the same before lifting up the drink for a toast. "To exciting adventures."

She grinned and lifted her glass to him. "Indeed." Mary took a sip. The gin was smooth, fortunately.

"You have made my time in New York so delightful, Steve," she said. Everything seemed so easy with him. Mary felt that she could be herself without being judged and that she didn't have to be so on guard about being proper all the time. Granted, she liked being proper, but it was a difficult thing to have to keep up all of the time. She could relax a bit around Steve.

For a popular and not particularly fancy club, they had surprisingly good alcohol. Steve took a good swig from his beer, humming as he set it back down on the counter.

"I'm glad to know," he smiled, leaning a little into her space. He settled his hand on her back, a light but still present touch. "You've certainly made my days brighter, too." Surviving the war had been great, getting to go back to New York, even if he wouldn't go so far as to call it home. But until he ran into her again, his days hadn't been particularly exciting. Hadn't been much of anything other than dull and a little repetitive, actually.

Mary reached out and placed her hand on top of his. "I think I've always dreamed about meeting a man like you, even if we have technically met before."

It was different then though. Giving him a bath was her trying to be helpful, even if she did steal a few looks at his body. As a young woman who was ultimately curious about a man, she couldn't help it. They had spoken a few more times after that, but the situation was so much different. Here they seemed more like equals. Here she could really get to know him for the man that he was.

"Technically, yes. But you only really got to know me now."

It was for the best, all things considered. There was a war then, a war that Steve was in part convinced would take his life. If she had gotten to know him then like she did now, then there would always be the risk that his loss would be more difficult on her. It would have been more difficult on him too, to grow close to her only to have to give that up.

Felt like a whole new life now, with brand new opportunities, a future he hadn't even dared to consider before. Now, he had the freedom to hope and wish for things he never thought he'd get to have. Smiling at her, he leaned in and pressed a kiss to her temple, lingering for a moment before pulling away again.

"I'm glad we get to have more time, now."

"So am I," she told him, happy to feel his lips on her skin again. "I think my uncle likes you. I believe grandmother is warming to you as well."

Mary knew they weren't the relations that he would really have to impress, but it was good to at least have that in their favor.

"Well, for what it's worth, I do like them," he said, hoping to soothe any concerns Mary might've had. "They've always treated me nicely. Guess I am glad for that much, at least."

They could've easily told him to stay away from Mary. Not that that would've stopped him, though. The only thing that would've gotten Steve to stay away was if Mary herself told him she wanted nothing to do with him.

Perhaps her American relatives knew that Steve would not give up on her. Perhaps they could see the inevitable and they wanted to accept it with as much grace as they could.

"And I've never been as fond of another man as I am of you." Mary took another sip of her gin and then smiled at him. "You've left me with a desire to know what sort of kiss could be better than the one you gave me."

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