complexfemalecharacter | [anniversary]

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steve

[anniversary]

Maeve isn't much of a zoo person. She isn't much of a celebrate this milestone person either, but tonight she's putting on a warm, oversized black sweatshirt on under the jacket Steve got her for her birthday, she's putting on thick, thigh high grey socks over her usual black tights, she's wearing a scarf and a pair of mittens, and her usual boots, and she's going out.

It's a light display at the zoo, which she's not really sure she understands the point of besides just being sparkly and pretty, which are also two things Maeve usually isn't about. But the pictures online had looked really nice and it had all seemed kind of romantic without being overly so and that's ideal.

Because it's been a year. An entire year. Neither of them have freaked out, neither of them has pushed the other way, neither has fucked this all up somehow, just by being themselves. Neither of them have said those three little words yet either, but Maeve thinks celebrating their anniversary might actually be a good time to do that.

Unless that's a cliche. She hasn't been able to decide yet.

She's planned to meet Steve downstairs, because she's almost certain both Robin and Rue know it's an anniversary, and there is no way in hell Maeve is giving either of them the opportunity to give her shit about it. So she calls out her goodbyes, then heads down the stairs, knowing Steve will be pulling up out front any minute.

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"You know I'd be forced to punch you and run off if that happened, right?" Maeve asks with her arms around Steve's shoulders, her legs around his waist. It's a little much for being out in public, but it isn't like they're going to start dry humping right here. She thinks, given the anniversary, given what they've just said, they deserve a little leeway.

"Um, there are children here!" someone shouts and without turning, Maeve shouts back, "Don't be a jealous prick!"

Then she grins at Steve and says, "They're probably right. We should probably..." She trails off and gestures a little with one hand against Steve's shoulder. Keep going. Continue on with their exploration of the zoo with its lights.

"You're ruining our romantic moment!" Steve calls out at the woman, because all their clothes are on and they aren't even doing anything. They're both laughing but it trails off as Maeve looks at him. The moment feels like it's crackling with electricity, and his eyes dip to her mouth before he gently lowers her to the ground.

"Yeah," he says dumbly, keeping his hands on her hips as he looks down at her face. Steve feels very torn, because the light show is very cool and he wants to continue with their date, but he also wants to drag her home and get her naked. Or maybe go find a hidden alcove somewhere. Or just drag her down onto these lights and see what colors they could make together. "We probably should."

"Come on," she says, taking him by the hand and pulling him deeper into the zoo. "Keep it PG rated for now, yeah?"

She can see it in his eyes, the fact that he'd much rather just take her home at this point, but she's paid for these tickets and they're going to enjoy the entire thing. Even if she does kind of want to just take off with him, too.

She feels a little bit like she's glowing, her smile an embarrassed little twist that belies her true pleasure.

"How about we make it PG-13 and you give me one flash of your boobs," he jokes, winking as she tugs him along by the hand. He would like to take her home, but they can do that later. Right now, Steve is pretty sure that he would do anything in the world to make her happy, because she's just done the same for him. He feels practically weightless.

Once they round another corner, the sounds of the animals become a little louder. The first exhibit seems to be the monkeys, and the lights are done up to look like the jungle, complete with banana trees.

"Oh, these little guys are great," he says excitedly, tugging Maeve over to look the Capuchin monkeys. Maeve tells him that she loves him and he gets to see monkeys? What a fantastic evening.

"It says here one of them is named Jack and she was donated to the museum by a citizen named Henry Goodsir," Maeve reads off the little information panel in front of the cage. "I wonder which one she is."

Maeve doesn't know anyone by that name, but if she had to take a guess, she would assume the man is from somewhere else, just like she and Steve are. It seems unlikely a random Darrow citizen would have a monkey with them for no particular reason, but to have arrived with one... well, it's still a bit odd, but it does make some bit of sense.

"They're cute," she says, tucking her hand into Steve's again.

"Well, we can try and found out," Steve says as he takes Maeve's hand, hold his other hand up next to his mouth to amplify the sound of his voice. "Jack! Come here, Jack. Come on, come say hi to my girlfriend."

He really hopes this monkey is smart, because now he's going to feel like such a tool if this doesn't work.

There isn't much of a response in the monkey enclosure, and just as Steve is about to be severely disappointed, one of the monkeys jumps over to a branch right at the edge of the enclosure to look at them curiously. "Holy shit, are you Jack?"

The monkey lets out a sound that Steve takes to be affirmative, and he huffs out an awed laugh before looking over at Maeve with a grin. "It's Jack!"

"Shit," Maeve says with a laugh, peering at the money. She chitters and chirps, bouncing around, then she's off again, swinging back into the enclosure. That was pretty cool and she grins up at Steve, her eyebrows lifted in amusement.

"You're the monkey whisperer," she teases him. "That's a talent that's going to take you places."

"I've wrangled preteens," Steve jokes, smiling over at her as the monkey hops off to return to its friends. "Monkeys are a piece of cake. But I am going to add that to my resume for sure."

He squeezes Maeve's hand walks along with her to take in the lights and the animals, and he's in such a good mood that it's a surprise to him when he hears the roar of big cat and flinches a little. At first, he isn't even sure why, but then they round the corner and he watches a jaguar growl and swipe at a large ball, claws catching the light.

If you asked him, Steve probably wouldn't admit to having any sort of lingering trauma from what he went through in Hawkins, but it's more likely that he just doesn't realize it. Claws and growls from something large enough to eviscerate him if given the chance put him on edge, apparently, and it isn't hard to guess why.

Still, he shakes it off quickly and even approaches the enclosure, watching as the jaguar hits the ball and sends it flying across the grass. "This guy would love to make us dinner, I bet."

"Pre-teens probably smell worse," Maeve answers as they meander away from the monkeys, moving through the light displays, the animals in cages. There's something sad about it all, even though she knows, at this point in time, most zoos are about preservation rather than simply putting animals on display. Especially in Darrow, she has to imagine, because any wild animals here can hardly be expected to survive in a climate that's utterly unlike what they're meant to live in.

When Steve flinches, Maeve turns to him, frowning slightly. She squeezes his hand and asks, "Alright?"

"Oh, no. I'm fine," Steve says, just a little embarrassed as he looks over at her. He really is fine; the feeling hasn't lingered. He wonders if it just might always be this way, having small things that will trigger a memory.

"Just-- I wasn't mentally prepared for the claws," he admits, rather than trying to pretend nothing had happened. He turns to look at the big cat, looking large and regal and nothing like one of those monsters, and he lifts their joined hands to press a kiss to Maeve's knuckles. "I was just startled, but I'm good, promise."

"Okay," she says, but she's still looking at him, studying him with big, dark eyes. "Just so you know, you don't have to be good. I mean, it's fine if you are, but if you aren't, that's okay, too."

Maeve has a feeling men don't get told that often enough and Steve in particular probably never heard it from her parents. Not that Maeve really did either. She was constantly told to be strong or be quiet and it's had an effect on her.

She just doesn't want Steve to think he has to be a certain way for her.

"I know," Steve tells her with a warm smile, and then shrugs a bit. "Well, now I know. I didn't before, but I do now."

He slides in behind Maeve and wraps his arms around her, resting his chin on her shoulder as they watch a tiger stretch like a house cat, yawning and revealing enormous teeth.

"But I am," he assures her, nuzzling his cold nose behind her ear. After kissing her neck, he steps away and takes her hand, threading their fingers together as they move through the rest of the big cats. "Are you hungry? I think they're supposed to have food trucks."

The tiger is beautiful, big and strong and sleek, but still somehow just like any other cat. It prowls the cage Maeve feels has to be too small for it, then leaps onto a platform with ease and curls up to sleep.

She nods at Steve's question, wrapping her hand around his, then turns and smiles.

"I could eat," she agrees. All in all, this has been a pretty great night.

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[anniversary]

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