0304

[witticaster]

Finish this later. Done. Though it's pretty shit.

Ascots, it turned out, were harder to tie than Kay had realized.

She stared hard at herself in the closet mirror and tried to visualize Julius getting dressed in the morning. She'd watched him often enough, after all, and each time, he'd made it look like the easiest thing in the world: a few twists here, something almost like a knot there, and he was done. The deftness with which he tied his neck cloth was clearly a matter of long practice, though, because she couldn't get the damned thing to do more than lie twisted around her neck.

The rest of her getup looked nice enough, at least. Julius' trousers were a bit long on her, and his vest was a bit tight in the chest, but with the shirt tucked in, she thought it all looked very nice. A bit Katharine Hepburnish, even.

But getting the ascot--for that, she was simply going to have to have Julius show her.

Feeling a bit sheepish, she slipped out of their bedroom and into the living room. Julius was still at the typewriter, mouthing the words as he punched them out, so entirely lost in their story that he didn't hear her footsteps until she'd sidled around behind him and leaned over his shoulder, arms draped over his chest. Looking up from his page, he turned his head back to peck her on the lips. "Hello dea--what are you wearing?"

Kay grinned and stepped back, so he could have a good look at her. "Teach me how to tie an ascot?"

"I--well, er." He cleared his throat and turned around in his chair, assessing her current wardrobe. "If you want, I will, but..."

"But?" Kay repeated, feeling another smile come at the sight of his expression, something intense and a little confused. She pulled her own chair out and sat backwards in it, resting her arm on the back of the chair. "Should I have put on black instead of tan?"

"No, you look very nice in camel," Julius answered immediately. "But if you were bored, you might have told me."

"Nonsense--I'm not going to interrupt you when you know where the story's going."

"Not for too much longer, I don't," he replied, a little smile tugging at his lips. "One look at you, and every thought has gone out of my head."

She raised an eyebrow. "I'm not sure if that's a compliment or not."

"Oh--it is," Julius said quickly. "I simply wasn't expecting to find you in one of my suits this afternoon. You've, ah, rather surprised me."

"So long as it's a good surprise," Kay said, and slid the ascot from where it still lay around her neck, holding it out to him.

He took it and stood, offering his hand to her, kissing her cheek when she was standing next to him. "You'll have to work a bit harder if you're aiming for unpleasant. I think we'll have to do this before the mirror, if I'm to look like anything but a rank amateur. I've never had to tie anyone else's day cravat before."

When they were before the closet mirror once more, Julius slipped behind Kay. His body aligned with hers, his cheek pressed to her own, until they drew in breath as one, and slowly his hands slid forward from either side of her, skimming the fabric of the vest until they reached her neckline in a strange embrace. Edging his head out of the way just long enough to lay the ascot around her neck, he gave her a little smile in the mirror.

"This end," he began, fingers sliding down one of the cloth's tails, "should hang a bit further down than this one, just as with a tie."

"I'll remember that if I ever see you in one," she joked, smiling back at his reflection.

He rolled his eyes. "I'll leave ties to the likes of Herb Rossoff. Now, you lay the long end over the short end--bring it around behind--and around again..."

Kay kept her eyes on his hands, even if her attention was wandering somewhat, drifting towards Julius' warmth as he enveloped her; in her defense, she thought, his hands still moved quickly as he tied the ascot into its customary knot, the muscle memory of wearing one for years overtaking his desire to show her how to put one on.

And then, soon enough, he had finished, and only a moment after straightening it so the knot didn't show, he'd pulled it free once more: it was no longer keeping her collar neatly shut but laying limply atop her chest. "Now it's your turn," he told her, crossing his arms over her middle in a loose embrace. "Go ahead, tie it."

She tried, with all the clumsiness of a teenage boy with his first suit, trying to recall every detail that Julius' deft hands had made look stunningly simple. Where she faltered, he gave her hints until she recalled correctly, but he didn't raise his hands back to assist.

It didn't look so crisp when she finally pulled the long tail forward, but Julius looked as proud as if she'd tied it without any difficulty and kissed her jaw. "Do that every day for fifteen years and you'll be a true master of the skill."

"I think I'll stick with girdles and hose. Those seem simple in comparison," she said dryly, turning in his arms to face him. "How do I look?"

His gaze raked down her body once more, the strangest expression on his face. With a faint smile, he answered, "Far more bewitching than I'd ever imagined a woman in one of my suits might look."

"Really?" she asked, tilting her head up to kiss him.

Julius nodded, his smile growing broader. "As long as you don't try to talk me into any of your dresses, I think it's rather nice."

"As though I'd let you." Kay laughed, sliding her hands down his sides, over his waist until they rested at his hips. "Your shoulders are too broad--you'd stretch them out."

"Oh, good," he said, breathing a fake sigh of relief. "I'm safe from the indignity of trying to walk in heels."

"You sure are," she agreed. "Now, is it my turn on the typewriter, or do you have a bit more to go?"

"Your turn, though if you fancied a break from writing..." Julius' voice trailed off, his glance going to their bed.

Kay followed his gaze, her breath going suddenly slack in her chest. "How about in an hour or so? We were nearly done with that draft, might as well finish the thing."

"Perfect," he said, letting his arms fall from her, his eyes twinkling. "I need time to dig out the camera, anyway."

"Only if I get to pose with your cigarette holder," Kay told him, and headed out to the typewriter.