thequitecontrary | The Party

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steve trevor

The Party

When Mary, her grandmother, and her uncle were invited to a party hosted by one of 5th Avenue's elite, she knew that she didn't want to bring anyone other than Steve as her guest. Truthfully, she didn't need a guest at all, and if her grandmother had any say, Mary would go alone and talk to the many wealthy single men that would be at this party. Martha had just about accepted that Steve would be a mainstay in their lives now, as it was obvious that Mary was in love with him. Her expressed opinion of Steve was that she liked him, though he was entirely unsuitable for someone of Mary's social stature and wealth. However, she also knew about love, and forbidding Mary to see him would do the exact opposite of what she intended. So, Mary was allowed to bring him.

Steve cleaned up very nicely, which came as no surprise to Mary when he showed up at the house before going over to the party. They alighted from the car and followed Martha and Harold into a huge mansion. Most of the party was taking place in the vast ballroom, where they was enough room for dancing, drinks and conversation.

Mary walked with her hand on Steve's arm, though she didn't stay attached to him for the entire night. When he went off to get them some drinks, she was approached by another man who seemed determined to make conversation with her, and Mary was at least polite about it, chatting with him while she waited for Steve to return.

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"I love you," she said quietly. "I wish we could be married right away, but I know we must do it properly." They had a few hurdles to cross, the first one being her grandmother that night. That one would be relatively easy compared to the rest of her family back in England.

"I suppose we need to clean ourselves up to look presentable for Martha" She still hated the idea of moving, though at least her eyes turned towards the ceiling. "Not that she won't know what we've been doing anyway. She likes you, Steve... I just don't know how far we can push her." Martha tended to be a modern woman, much more so than Violet, but she was still a member of the upper class where conservatism tended to run rampant.

"I'm going to write a letter to Mama as well, letting her know that you will be coming back with me... and that we should start planning a wedding soon." Mary smiled at him.

"We can be a little patient, I'm sure." Besides, he had to admit that the fact that he got to be with her like this often did relieve a lot of the tension. Something he was sure worked for her as well. They'd have to be a lot more careful once they got to England, granted, but still.

He leaned in closer as she looked up to the ceiling, kissing slowly down her neck. He probably wasn't helping much, he knew, but he just couldn't stop himself. "Then maybe it's best that we stop pushing."

He loved Mary immensely, and he'd hate to ruin any chance at a happy life just because they couldn't help themselves or keep their hands off each other. Smiling happily at the mention of wedding preparations, he nodded at her. "I'd like to help with that, too. However I can."

She sighed deeply. "I don't want to stop now that we've been together. I... don't even think I could." It was a bit embarrassing to admit how much she enjoyed sex with him, even if he probably didn't think so.

Mary took her hand in his, reveling in all of his kisses. "We must simply be careful, especially when we are at Downton. I would love any wedding planning help you wish to offer though. Most men don't seem to care much about those details." At least Richard hadn't.

"No... I don't think I'd be able to stop now, either," he admitted, glad that she felt the same way. They'd just have to pick their moments better, is all. They couldn't very well go wherever they pleased or find their way back into his bed without anyone batting an eye.

"I can't wait for the day we marry," he said with a smile, pulling back to look at her. "I want it to be perfect, too."

The way he looked at her made her grin. It was as if she was the only woman on the planet. "It will be, because you are the groom."

Mary gave him one more kiss and then reluctantly sat up so that she could start to locate her clothing. "I don't think I'm going to be able to convincingly fix my hair. I can try to tell grandmother that I was dancing." She kind of doubted that Martha would believe it.

She may as well be the only woman on the planet. She was the one he loved most, which really was all that mattered at the moment.

His fingertips ghosted up her back as she sat up, weaving his fingers through her loose hair. "Mm... and I think she might see right through it anyway." They'd probably still be a little warm and flushed underneath the skin even when they made it back to her grandmother's place. Granted, they couldn't very well tell her the truth, but still.

Getting up, he moved close to her, leaning in to kiss her shoulder before he got himself some clean clothes. "I can help you, if you want. With braiding your hair, or something like it."

Mary located her underwear and pulled it on before starting on her corset. She had a few of the lower eyehooks in when Steve made his last comment. "You know how to braid hair?" She asked, surprised. That was not a skill that she would have expected Steve to have. Mary had great difficulty braiding her own hair. Anna always had to do it.

"Sure," he raised an eyebrow and smiled at her, amused by her surprise. "I mean, it's not going to look like it did at the party, but I can do a decent job. If you can put it up afterwards, then I'm sure we can make you look all proper again."

"I've never known a man who knew how to braid," she replied. Mary sat down on the edge of his bed and shook her hair out, long tendrils falling down her back. "Will you do it now?" The idea of having his hands in her hair really appealed to her, so long as she managed to not get carried away again.

"I don't have a lot of practice with actual hair, admittedly," he tipped his head a little, buttoning up his trousers before taking a seat on the bed behind her. "But I can manage. You can judge my skills when I'm done, if you want."

He lifted his hands up to her hair, fingers sifting through the length of it and combing it slowly before parting it into three even strands. Slowly he started weaving them together, taking his time to make sure he made it both tidy, secure and comfortable for Mary to wear.

"What did you braid other than hair?" Mary asked. Rope, maybe? That seemed at least feasible in the army.

She sighed and relaxed when she felt his fingers brushing through her hair. Mary had never known this to be a particularly intimate activity, but then the only person who had ever braided her hair was Anna. He was gentle, his fingers not tangling or tugging at her hair. It made her want to leave his cosy flat even less.

"Ropes, mostly. Fabrics, sometimes," he shrugged as he kept working her hair. "Came in handy every so often."

Not just during the war, either, but he didn't mention that. He didn't like talking about the war, not even now. He focused on braiding her hair until the very end of it, then he brushed it over her shoulder and down her front, so she could tie it herself. He took the chance to lean in and press a lingering kiss to her neck.

Mary didn't like to think of the war either, but it did remind her to ask Steve about his role in it. Perhaps now that the war was over and they were engaged to be married he would trust her enough to tell her. That was a topic for another night though.

She tied off her hair with the bit of ribbon that she had, smiling when he kissed the back of her neck. Every touch he spared her was always so gentle and loving. "Let's see how you did then," she said, getting up to go look in the mirror. "Oh, quite well. Look at that. You're out to take Anna's job," she teased.

He got up from the bed too, fetching himself a shirt and shrugging it on, buttoning up as he glanced at Mary. "Told you I could manage," he winked at her, adding jokingly. "And good. I do get horribly jealous and would rather have you all to myself."

With the shirt on and tucked in, he got to his socks and shoes next, then put on his suspenders. He knew Mary would take a little longer getting ready until she was presentable, though, so he offered. "Anything else I can help with?"

She laughed and grinned back at him. "You want to dress me every morning and undress me every night?" Knowing Steve, he probably did. Anna would still be best at that job though, and Mary didn't see that changing.

After getting the eye hooks of her corset done, she turned back to him. "Will you help me tighten my corset?" she asked. A corset that laced in the back needed usually required assistance. Really all he needed to do was pull the laces tight and then tie them together across her back, but she would help him if he couldn't figure it out.

He gave her a knowing smile, eyes roaming down her figure before going back up. "Well, I want to undress you every night," he teased. "Not so sure about getting you dressed every morning." For all he cared, she could just stay in their room completely naked the whole day. In fact he hoped some of their honeymoon days would be spent exactly that way.

Nodding at her request, he moved closer, grabbing the laces and studying them for a while to make sure how they worked. It involved bit of tugging and pulling but at least he managed to figure it out before getting too frustrated. Slowly he started tightening her corset, until it was fitting snuggly around her torso. "Is it alright like this?"

Her pulse quickened at his words, and it would have raced if she had known his thoughts. The idea of spending an entire day making love to him was very appealing. The night of their wedding would be very busy.

"Yes," Mary said, when he'd gotten her corset good enough. "That will do." She slipped her gown back up her legs and placed her arms into the sleeves. "I need you to fasten the zipper and buttons in the back, please." Mary gazed at the dress in the mirror where she stood before it. It was a beautiful Edwardian piece with a high waistline and flowing silk. Her sapphire necklace still shimmered at her throat, staying on through all of their activities.

The night and, quite possibly, the days that would follow. Steve was looking forward to it immensely, more so than he ever thought he would for most of his life. He felt truly blessed that he got to experience these sorts of feelings now.

He took less time fastening her dress than he did tightening her corset, tucking on the fabric here and there until it was perfectly in place. His hands ran across the fine fabric, though he didn't think its beauty could possibly compare to Mary's. "All done," he said, waiting to see if there would be any more steps to her getting ready.

Steve was back in his tux and the two of them looked mostly presentable. Her hair was a foregone conclusion, but at least they had tried to fix it. His braid was lovely, regardless. Mary kept her gloves off so that she could show her grandmother the ring. She had a feeling that Martha would be waiting up for them, even though it was a bit late.

"All done," she replied, then sighed. Mary hated the idea of leaving his flat. "Are you ready to go face my grandmother?"

[ooc: Is that a thing you'd like to play out or should we wrap and move on to another thing? I've got about two more ideas that I'd like to do with them before they get on the boat back to England. We might be able to combine them into one.]

At least their clothes weren't too terribly wrinkled, and with a single brush of his fingers through his own hair, he looked about as presentable as he had back at the party. He took a deep breath of his own, smiling and offering Mary a sure nod. "As ready as I'll ever be."

Reaching out to take her hand in his, he led her out of the room and towards the door of the flat. He was nervous beyond words, but he certainly wasn't going to back down now.

[ ooc: nah we can handwave the announcement! and feel free to throw all the ideas at me. I'm about to go to sleep though, so if I disappear that's why. PS: I'm really enjoying them very much ♥ ]

[ooc: I love them so much. ♥ And with them being from the same time period we didn't have to AU them much, which is awesome.

I want him to take her to Coney Island and I want them to go up in his plane, which we could possibly do together.... or if you'd rather do one or the other, that's fine too. If that's the case, I'm leaning towards the plane. I'm getting antsy to get them back to England lol. She's also going to ask about his time in the war and Steve can answer that however he sees fit to.]

[ Coney Island and plane ride afterwards works for me! They could start the day early and just stroll around and have fun all day. I also look forward to them talking about the war. You can fit that into the next thread or wait for the one after that, I'm cool with whatever!
I can write us a starter by the way, it's just that I'll only be able to do it tomorrow. ]

[I'll let you do the starter, and it's fine if you do it tomorrow! ♥]

[ Here it is— please let me know if I should change anything! ]

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The Party

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