pretty damn good babysitter

Steve knows that not telling Maeve that he's starting classes at the community college is a calculated risk, but he had his reasons, and he thinks that those reasons were worth it, even if she does end up being mad at him. Maybe she won't, maybe she'll understand. He thinks she will, but he also just assumes that he's gonna screw something up.

He hadn't wanted to overwhelm himself right off the bat, and he still has his job at Phoenix to consider, so he signed up for two classes. Now that he's gone to them both and hasn't decided that he's going to quit in shame, he decides that it's time to tell the girl that he's been keeping it from.

On the way to Maeve's place, he stops to get her favorite cookie from a bakery she likes, and then makes another stop to get her coffee. It's not unusual for Steve to bring her treats, which he usually does just because he wants to make her smile, but this time he definitely wants to butter her up a bit.

Thankfully she's home alone, which Steve knows because her roommate was sucking face on the couch with his roommate when he left. Sometimes he thinks that he should bring up the idea of Steve and Rue just switching, but now it feels a little too soon after the Baby Incident.

Once he's outside her door, he takes a deep breath and tilts his head back for a minute, staring at the ceiling like he's saying a silent prayer, and then rolls his shoulders before reaching out to knock on the door.

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.