for thequitecontrary

[a_man_out_of_time]

( continued from midnight texting )

He did feel so very American tonight, if nothing else. But Steve supposes it wasn't unexpected, or even inhospitable, just ... different. In fact, Steve's used to feeling different and a little behind, but at least this time, it was because of culture and and not time.

Steve had done his best to be polite, and after awhile, he found that he was quite good at dinner conversation, even if it's not quite something he'd practiced growing up. It helped that his hosts were great at asking questions, and Steve, given his manners, had done a pretty decent job answering them. He even laughed a few times, and he'd gotten the family to laugh as well.

But in the end, Steve smiled and grinned so much during dinner, even if the Crawley's occasionally made jabs at each other, because it was nice to see an entire family interact. He'd lost his father before he was born, and after his mother passed away, Steve hasn't had a family, not like this. When it comes to this, he felt that Mary was lucky in ways that he could barely describe.

After dinner, he follows everyone's lead, unsure of what or where to go until Mary fills him in — they're retiring to the drawing room.