thequitecontrary | A Bath and More

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steve trevor

A Bath and More

Mary was supposed to meet Steve for afternoon drinks at a bar in his part of town, which Mary was happy to describe as 'working class' and not seedy in any way. It had taken a bit of convincing to be allowed out without a chaperone. Consequently, Martha knew about Mary's late night outings with Steve. The old woman was no fool. They had a sit down conversation about it, in which Martha acknowledged that Mary was a young lady, old enough to be considered an adult who would make her own choices. Her only advice was that Mary be discreet and not do anything that might get her into trouble. Martha realized that it was a new world after the war and that women were expressing their freedoms, her own granddaughter among them. If Mary wanted to be out with a man, so be it. Have her dalliances. But be careful. Apparently, Martha did not see this relationship in the long term.

Mary saw it a bit differently. She and Steve had spent a lot of time together and she could tell that she was starting to fall for him. They had fun together and he made her feel comfortable. He was kind and courteous and always a gentleman. He made her laugh and he made her think. And of course, he was one of the most handsome men she had ever seen. The only thing that may have made him unsuitable was his social class.

Steve arrived a bit late to their meeting and Mary was dismayed to find him covered in engine grease. He apologized profusely and said that he'd had to do some unexpected work on the airplanes. He hadn't even bothered to change out of his work clothes since he knew that he was going to have to take a bath. Mary was invited back to his flat while he cleaned himself up.

She was excited to get to see where he lived. The building was nondescript, and they climbed two flights of stairs inside before he let her into one of the apartments. Mary looked around as they entered. It was humble, but clean and tidy. At least he wasn't crammed into one of those tenements.

"It's lovely," she said, honestly meaning it, even if she couldn't picture herself living in a place like this.

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He was still tasting her, even after her orgasm, which sent little aftershocks through her. That was the best orgasm she'd ever had, and the sated smile on her face should tell him that much. Mary pulled him in to kiss him, tasting what she presumed was herself on her lips. She curled up next to him, head on his chest as she tried to catch her breath.

"I've never felt anything like that before," she said quietly.

He rolled onto his side as she kissed him, then settled on his back, curling an arm around her shoulders while she lay down against his side, head resting on his chest. "Me neither," he breathed softly, closing his eyes and kissing her forehead. "I'm glad it was good for you too, Mary."

He had taken great care not to make it yet another unpleasant experience for her, so he was pleased that he had managed that.

"You make me feel so good." She laid a series of kisses on his chest before turning her gaze up to him. "I do love you, Steve. I want us to be together. We... will find some way to explain it to my family."

Her American relations might be tolerable, but she knew that the British ones would be a battle. Steve probably wasn't what Robert and Cora had envisioned for their daughter, even if he was the best man that Mary had ever met.

"Any other reason than the simple fact that we are in love with each other?" Yes, he knew what Mary meant. It was just his own view on love and marriage and how the two related poking its head back into their conversation. But honestly, even if Steve knew he had some complicated times ahead of him, he didn't care. He wasn't going to back down and give Mary up now, even if he had to stand just outside her family's property for months on end until they buckled. The only way he would stop was if Mary herself broke things off.

And he honestly hoped that she loved him at least enough to feel as adamantly about them being together.

Running his fingers quietly through her hair, he finally broke the brief moment of silence. "Your family— your father, your mother... they want you to be happy, right?"

Mary was quiet for a moment as he stroked her hair. "They do.. but I know they will prefer that I marry a man of wealth, hopefully one with a title. Since Downton will not be mine, they worry that I won't be well cared for."

Granted she did not have that same worry, but maybe she just wasn't thinking rationally enough about this. Love was wonderful, but would it be able to sustain her? Or would she miss having such a privileged lifestyle?

He fell quiet again, thinking with a clear head about all of those things. His fingers sifted softly through silky brown strands, sighing softly before he spoke up again. "I don't... have a lot of money, Mary. I can pay for a comfortable life— we could have a nice house with a small garden, a car and maybe one or two people to help around the house. But there are certain luxuries that I probably couldn't provide you with. Expensive clothes, or going out to fancy restaurants..."

He'd seen Downton, so he knew the kinds of luxuries Mary had grown up with, the kind of life she was used to. Steve would never be able to afford that kind of lifestyle, even if he worked every minute of every day of his life.

"Look, Mary, if... if you don't want to part ways with that life, it's fine. It's your right to choose what you want, and... you would break my heart, but I wouldn't judge you for it. I wouldn't hold it against you, either."

Mary shook her head. "I will still have some money, even if Downton is not mine." She never imagined that she would not be living an upper class lifestyle and the idea of it was a bit frightening to her.

Even still, she couldn't bear the idea of parting from him. "Steve... you told me that the only reason a person should marry is for love. I admit that I thought it was a bit silly at the time, but now I see that I would not want to be with any man I didn't love. I don't think I will ever love another as much as you."

It was a hard decision though, and giving up her way of life completely would not be easy for her.

He figured she wouldn't be entirely penniless, but still, he knew it could never afford them the same lifestyle she had before. Steve wasn't so sure he'd fit in, either. Granted, he could play the role, but he'd likely never feel truly comfortable.

His hand moved to cup the side of her face, thumb brushing across her cheek. He closed his eyes and breathed slowly, listening to her words, smiling warmly as she said those things. Well, at least that was something. But he also wouldn't want to sway her into marrying him through sentimentality, only for her to regret it later on.

"We still have some time," he said finally, nudging her head and kissing her temple. "You can think about what you want, and then... we'll work something out."

Mary nodded. In that moment, she wanted him, though she knew that her emotions might be compromised after such intimacy. Perhaps they would change later.

"We shall see what my parents think. It may take some persistence on both of our parts."

The last thing she wanted was for her to have a falling out with them. Sybil had moved to Ireland over her choice of husband. Mary knew that it would break her father's heart to lose her in the same way. She felt that she would be able to persuade them though and that they would come to love Steve as she did.

"Yes, I imagined as much."

He hadn't really spoken to either of them when he was back in Downton, but he understood how upper class worked, well enough to know that any potential engagement between them wouldn't be easily welcomed with open arms. Steve had faced plenty of dangers and hardships in his life, though, so if Mary decided she wanted this, then he would fight for it— for her.

"Do you want something to eat? Or would you rather just get some sleep now?"

"Mmm..." Mary felt very much like sleeping at that moment, because the idea of being curled in his arms was incredibly appealing. She lifted her head to check the clock on his bedside table. Unfortunately she was due back at the house soon. She sighed.

"I must leave soon. Do you have something to eat here?" If not, they could pick up something quickly before she went home.

Steve let out a little whine at that, and almost wanted to shove the clock right off the bedside table just so she couldn't check the time.

"I wish you could just... stay," he breathed softly, knowing it was pointless to say so. But God, he wished she could. He wanted to fall asleep curled up against her, and he wanted to wake up in the morning with her warm presence still close to him on the bed.

Sighing in defeat, he nodded slowly. "Yeah... I can manage something. Nothing special, but it'll fill the stomach, at least."

"I do too," she said, her eyes sad. Mary gave him another soft kiss. Until they were married, spending a night together would probably be very difficult.

She reluctantly sat up, stretching as she looked for where her clothes had ended up. Most of it was on the bathroom floor. Mary sat on the edge of the bed and looked back at him. "If you're available tomorrow, I will try to invite you for dinner."

Difficult didn't mean impossible— which, of course, meant Steve was likely going to think far too much about some way for her to spend the night at least once. Not that he couldn't wait until they were married, but... alright, fine. Maybe part of him just couldn't wait.

His hand lingered on her waist as she sat on the edge of the bed, thumb drawing soft circles on her skin. He smiled up at her, then moved to sit up as well, leaning in close to kiss the skin between her shoulder blades, letting his forehead rest there for a moment. "I'd like that very much."

Getting off the bed slowly, he kissed her cheek, then went to the bathroom so he could clean himself up a little before putting on any fresh clothes.

She hated the idea of leaving him, though she knew that she had no choice. There was no way she could spend the whole night out without her grandmother worrying about her. Martha would probably figure out pretty quickly where she was though.

Mary followed him into the bathroom and rested her cheek against his back for a moment. Then she stood on her toes to softly kiss his neck. "Thank you for being so gentle with me."

Steve had showed her that sex could be very loving and pleasurable. As far as she was concerned, today in his bed was the real time that she had lost her virginity.

He turned his head when she tiptoed to be able to kiss his neck, smiling as he finished cleaning himself up and turning around so he was facing her. Hands cupping her face, he leaned in to press a soft chaste kiss on her lips.

"You're the most precious thing in the world to me, Mary," he said, moving his hands down and wrapping his arms around her waist. "I'll never do anything to hurt you. You can be sure of that."

Pulling her closer into a more present embrace, he settled his head against the curve of her neck, closing his eyes and enjoying their closeness for just a few seconds.

Mary closed her eyes and rested her cheek against his head. "How could I not want to be with you, Steve?"

No man had ever loved her like this, and in turn she had never felt so much love for someone else. The idea of giving it up for something trivial like jewels or a big house seemed incredibly silly. She could someday hope to find a Lord that might make her happy, or she could seize the happiness in front of her. Mary knew that she would have to marry soon and wouldn't she rather it be to a man like Steve than to one who brought her no joy at all?

Steve smiled against her hair, pressing his lips to it. His hands smoothed up and down her back. "I hope that's a rhetorical question."

He wasn't just saying those things to sway her to his side, he said them because they were true. Mary was too precious to him, and her happiness was of paramount importance. If she decided that happiness should be by his side, then he would be the luckiest man on Earth, and he would do anything in his power to make sure she didn't regret it for a single moment.

Pulling away reluctantly, he kissed her lips as his hands fell from her sides. "We should get ready." As much as he loved having her here, he didn't want her getting her into trouble with her family because of him.

She reluctantly moved away to find her underwear. "It means that I have been thinking about the reasons for marriage besides it being for mutual benefit." Her engagement to Richard had opened her eyes. Mary wanted a marriage for love, not just for financial security.

Steve smiled over at her, as he made his way out of the bathroom to get himself a fresh change of clothes. "I'm glad to hear it." Even if he knew a woman in her social class likely should worry about other things when it came to marriage, he didn't care. Not if it meant there was any chance that she would marry him.

Digging out a fresh pair of underwear, he put them on, then wiggled into a pair of trousers and shrugged on a shirt. He was only escorting her home in any case, so he didn't bother with dressing up too much.

After putting on her underwater, garter belt and stockings, Mary picked up her corset and set to trying to lace it up.

"I would hate to live my whole life without love," she said, glancing up at him, "and I love you, Steve. To me, that is the long and short of it."

She wasn't ready to tell her family yet, but if Steve was to propose to her, her answer would be yes.

He turned around and looked up at her as she spoke, slowly buttoning up his shirt as he crossed the bedroom and moved back to where she was. "I love you too, Mary. That's all that matters to me." At least so far as the matter of marriage was concerned.

Leaving his shirt partly buttoned up, he reached out to settle his hands on her waist, then moved to the stays of her corset. "Want me to help?" He much preferred taking her clothes off, but he didn't mind this terribly much either. It was just a different kind of intimacy.

Mary nodded, allowing him to pull the strings of her corset tightly. Not enough to choke her, but so that it would stay up. It was always easier to have someone help with this.

"I've heard about a place I wish to visit... Coney Island?" She gave Steve a shy smile.

"Really?" Steve's brow rose in clear surprise. He hadn't often gone to Coney Island himself, but he had to admit it didn't strike him as the sort of place someone from her social circles would enjoy. Then again, he had taken her to a number of places that didn't quite align with people of her social status, and she had always enjoyed herself. Besides, it was a whole new world after the war. Perhaps the sight of a Lady at a fair wouldn't be so strange after all.

He nodded, smiling at her. "Then I'll take you there. Next week, on my day off?" He suggested as he finished tying up her corset.

His surprised startled her for a moment. "Of course. You don't think I like to have fun?"

It occurred to her briefly that maybe the place was inappropriate for a woman like her. She wouldn't feel unsafe there, not with Steve with her.

Mary grinned, glad that he had agreed and that they had something else to look forward to. Once her corset was tied, she went to retrieve her dress and shoes from the bathroom.

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