Steve kind of sucks at picking out gifts. It's not that he doesn't want to. His heart's in it, but he's just dumb. He can own that.

Still, he does his best. On Christmas Eve, he leaves a gift for Robin under their dinky little tree, sets aside the rest to be handed out later, and slips his gift for Maeve into his overnight bag. He slips out of his apartment in a red sweater and fitted jeans, black pea coat and dark blue scarf, braving the chill and slick roads to make his way over to Maeve's. He stops on the way to pick up pizza, making sure to get all of Maeve's favorites, and then stops again to get some eggnog and brandy. It isn't really the sexiest meal, but it's all good and comforting, and that's what they both need on Christmas, he thinks.

When he gets to the building, he makes his way up to Maeve's floor and thinks about how if they were living together, they'd already be together. He wouldn't have to pack an overnight bag because his stuff would already be there. They just had their two year anniversary, and Steve knows that Maeve is it for him. He's pretty sure that he'd marry her tomorrow if she'd let him, even if that means that he'll never have kids of his own.

He isn't going to give up that shred of hope that she's given him, but he knows that he'll have to be okay if it never happens. He can't put that expectation on her, can't move forward expecting her to change her mind. Maybe she will, but it's okay if she doesn't.

It isn't time to propose, not for either of them, he's pretty sure, but maybe there's something else they could do, some smaller step to take. Maybe Steve will finally work up the courage to ask.

He makes it to her door almost in autopilot, lost in his thoughts, and he shakes it off before shifting the pizza boxes to one arm so he can knock on the door. "Santa's here to come down your chimney!"

The door across the hall opens and a family exits, dressed in church clothes and all ready for mass, and the mother glares deeply at Steve, who turns to grimace awkwardly at her. "Sorry, Mrs. Foster."

Steve has been moping. Like, pretty hardcore moping. It's kind of pathetic, honestly, but he can't seem to shake himself out of it. He hasn't seen Maeve since their fight, or whatever it was. When he stuck in his foot in his mouth like a dumbass and hurt her unintentionally. He hasn't seen her since he fucked up.

They've texted a little, and had a very brief phone call where Steve attempted to apologize and was probably very bad at it, but that's it. He should probably go see her, but he's too afraid of what will happen if he does.

He's shoved himself into the corner of the couch, wearing a pair of dark blue lounge pants and a white tee, watching some stupid nature documentary when Robin's phone chimes. She very awkwardly gets up and declares that she's suddenly leaving the apartment for no reason, and Steve stares glumly at her while she moves around and grabs her things and pats his head before leaving him alone in their home. Very deliberately.

When the knock at the door comes ten minutes later, Steve isn't exactly surprised. His stomach does seem to bottom out though, sitting there like lead, and he wrinkles his nose and scrubs his hand over his face before getting to his feet.

He's about to get dumped. Somehow he's just sure of it. He made things hard, acted like an idiot, and that means she's going to end things. That's how it goes, and Steve realizes that his lower lip is trembling as he goes over to answer the door. He stops and blows out a breath, swallowing hard and pulling himself together before opening the door.

As expected, Maeve is on the other side. Steve can't help the way that his entire being seems to perk up at the sight of her, only to wither again at the certain fear that he's about to lose her.

"Hey. Come in," he says with a wry smile, stepping aside to make room for her.

This is the first time that Steve has ever had the same girlfriend on Valentine's Day as the year before. He thought that maybe that would freak him out, but it doesn't. He's come to realize that he didn't jump from girl to girl because he was a player. Mostly, he just didn't want to get hurt.

But then he did, and he got over it. He moved on, and he found something better. Someone better. The someone who is over at the jukebox yelling in some dude's face. Steve gives her a smitten look as the guy stomps off, and then turns back to the bar to get them another round.

"There you are!" The high-pitched voice makes Steve pause, and he pastes on a smile as he turns to face the girl who has been following him around all night, despite him repeatedly telling her that he has a girlfriend. Usually, that's enough to make a girl back off, but not this one. She's been sort of relentless, and he's getting a little annoyed. "Finally, I've got you all to myself. Come dance with me!"

"Look, I'm flattered, but I can't," Steve tells her coolly, trying to be polite but not too polite, because apparently she can't take a hint. He lifts the hand holding his dwindling drink and uses it to gesture over his shoulder at Maeve, and then sets the glass down as he gestures for the bartender. "Like I said, I'm with someone."

While Steve is turned to place an order, he misses the woman turn her hand over the top of Steve's drink and pour a purple liquid from a small vial. By the time he turns back, she's smiling up at him again and holding up a drink of her own.

"Okay, okay. I get it," she tells him, shrugging as she holds her own drink up a little. "Here's a good night, I guess."

Steve lifts his glass to mirror her lazy toast and knocks back the rest of the liquor, frowning down at the empty glass before setting it on the bar. There was something sour about it and he smacks his lips, blinking a few times before suddenly feeling warm and calm, even as butterflies swarm in his belly. When he turns to look at the girl, his vision is a little glassy and he blinks a few times, feeling his expression smooth out as the girl puts a hand on his chest.

"Oh, wow," Steve says dreamily, and the young woman might think that the love potion she had bought a few blocks over has done the trick, but it hasn't. Steve is in love alright, but he already was so all he does is love Maeve even harder, even if he's a little too fuzzy to say it in the moment.

It isn't a real big adjustment, living alone. His parents left him alone most of the time anyway, and he got to be pretty self-sufficient. Well, kind of. There was always food, or at least money sitting around for him to order something. That's probably the biggest adjustment. Steve's alone, but now he has to pay his own bills. Then again there is the allowance the city gives him, so maybe he't just become a different kind of latchkey kid.

Anyway, he handles himself pretty well. He washes his dishes and does his laundry, and even goes grocery shopping. He's actually kind of surprised at how well he's handling this whole adult thing, but not completely. He had to do a lot of growing up really fast.

Now he's handled his responsibilities for the day. He went to work and did some shopping, and even paid a few bills online. He's earned the right to relax for the night, so he takes a shower and changes into a pair of boxers before settling on the couch with a beer and a bag of chips to watch some TV.

He's nearly dozing when he hears a knock at the door. It's late enough that he checks his phone and frowns at the time before getting up and wandering over and pulling it open. He sees Robin there and he leans against the doorjamb with his arms crossed over his bare chest.

"Well, well, well. A runaway," Steve says with a smile, but his brows furrow slightly. "Everything okay?"

Steve finally gets a best friend, and it's a seventeen year old girl who has a year of high school left and lives in what is basically an orphanage. It was all fine while it was summer, but now school is starting up and Steve knows he's just going to be bored all day.

At least now there's text messaging. Robin texts him a few times during her first day and Steve wonders how weird it must be for her, starting her senior year at a new school in a weird new city. He could ask her over text, but he's bored and he doesn't have a shift at the record store today, so he does one better.

When the final bell rings for the day, Steve is waiting outside the entrance to Robin's school so he can take her to eat and be a good friend and hear all about her first day of school. He stands there with his hands in the pockets of his denim jacket until he spots Robin, and then he throws his arms up over his head in an attempt to be as obnoxious as possible.

"There she is!" He calls out, grinning as he waves both hands at Robin. "Come here, give us a hug!"