complexfemalecharacter: (007)
2022-07-12 08:49 pm
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(no subject)

Nights like this one are actually really nice.

Maeve isn't sure where Rue is, but she and Steve have the flat to themselves, and while they had more than taken advantage of that fact a little earlier in some ways that involved very little clothing, now they're both on the couch in front of the TV. Some movie is on, something unfamiliar to Maeve, but Steve is never offended when she picks up a book and reads instead, which she does now.

Dressed in a comfortably loose pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt she's commandeered from Steve's collection, Maeve is reclined on the couch, her head on Steve's thigh as she reads.

It's fairly domestic, something Maeve never would have imagined she would like. But then, she'd never been with Steve before Darrow.

Classes are done for the semester, she's picked up a few extra shifts at New Leaf, and she gets to spend more time with him for the rest of the summer until classes start up again in September. This is the life Maeve knows she never would have been able to have in Moordale, stuck with her reputation, her lack of income, the judgment of the teachers around her.

She needed to get out and now she has.
complexfemalecharacter: (019 (brunette))
2021-12-20 02:36 pm
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[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.
complexfemalecharacter: (026 (brunette))
2021-05-05 07:29 pm
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(no subject)

Maeve absolutely cannot believe she's doing this.

It's very possible she loves Steve. She knows she likes him very much, obviously enough that she's willing to go camping with him when camping doesn't really seem like something she's going to enjoy that much. In Darrow, though, they can't exactly get away and while Maeve is mostly perfectly fine with that, it seems like Steve wants to have some kind of getaway.

She would never consider herself high maintenance, but there's something about sleeping in a tent she finds a little perilous and she isn't even sure why. And Maeve isn't used to feeling uncertain, so she tries not to let it show as she packs up a bag, trying to work out what she's supposed to bring camping. They might only be going for a night, but they'll be sleeping outside. In a tent.

"Steve?" she calls, looking at her bag. He's in the living room, finishing up their supplies, and she has no idea what the hell she's doing. "What do I bring to sleep in? How cold is it going to be?"
complexfemalecharacter: (006)
2020-12-14 04:03 pm
Entry tags:

[steve - december 18]

It's probably dumb, but Maeve is actually sort of nervous about the party. The last time she went out and got herself a pretty dress and went somewhere like this with a boy, he'd ended up just getting drunk and ignoring her, leaving her feeling like shit, and then her brother's stupid crap had ended up getting her kicked out of school.

She tries telling herself it's different this time. Steve isn't like Jackson, for one, even if she hasn't figured out what the hell she's doing with him yet. And there's no school to get kicked out of, no Sean to fuck things up for her. No Otis to be an idiot at her, no Ola to make her feel even more like garbage.

It's just a party, she's told herself. One that could be a lot of fun if she let it. So she'd gone to her favourite second hand shop and searched until she found the dress, somehow the perfect fit for her and the right price. She has silver shoes and a little silver shawl to go over it, and she's done her hair up, swept back on one side, curled and cascading over her shoulder on the other.

She's even wearing less makeup. Not no makeup, but the black liner isn't quite so heavy and she's taken off some of her jewelry.

All in all, she feels quite pretty. She also can't stop nervously bouncing her knee as she sits on the couch and waits for Steve to arrive.
complexfemalecharacter: (004)
2020-09-18 05:04 pm
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(no subject)

Nothing much changes, at least not at first, and she packs up her things with ease. The volunteers at the Home are nice enough that they make sure she gets to her new place and doesn't have to pay for a cab, and when she's dropped off, the old guy who's brought her -- Marcus, she thinks, she hadn't really bothered learning names -- leans out and asks if she needs help up.

"I've got it," she says, grabbing her bag and then the one box of things she's managed to collect. "Thanks."

He nods, then pauses before pulling away. "If you need any help, duck, you know where to find us."

Maeve is a bit taken aback, mostly by the sincere kindness in his voice, and she chews on her ragged thumbnail while murmuring a thanks, then heads for the door of her new building.

It's not amazing. She can't afford amazing, even with a roommate joining her soon, but it's close to Barton and it's clean and the bedroom she'd picked for hers has huge windows that let in as much natural light as she could ever hope for. Maybe it's not that big house she dreamed she'd have one day, but it's a start.

The boxes with her new furniture arrive just as she realizes she doesn't have any food. Or worse, no tea. She's got a kettle, at least, but nothing to put in the water when it boils, though she's distracted from that problem by the sudden arrival of many, many boxes. All of them containing something she's going to have to put together. The sofa, the stand for a TV, whenever they can afford one. Two bookshelves, a kitchen table and a set of chairs. Her bed. The mattress is propped up against the wall in her room and she figures the frame is probably the best place to start.

"Bloody hell," she mutters, standing in the midst of them all, just as the kettle starts to shriek from the kitchen.
complexfemalecharacter: (006)
2020-06-16 01:19 pm
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(no subject)

School is wrapping up for everyone but Maeve.

She watches as people in the care home talk about their exams, compare notes, cram the night before. The only person she really talks to at the home is Rue and she gets the feeling Rue isn't as worried about exams as most of the other kids are, so Maeve isn't even really able to get a sense of what she has to look forward to next year. It's just life going on around her and she's sitting there watching it.

Eventually, she just has to bail. With her phone in the back pocket of her jean shorts, a bit of cash in her pocket, Maeve heads for the record store. She doesn't have anything to play records on, all her music is on her phone now, but soon she'll be out of the home and soon she can get herself a proper turntable and listen to whatever the hell she wants, so she might as well pick up some music now.

It isn't even until she's through the door that she remembers this is where Steve works. She stops short, catching sight of him as he waves at a coworker, and she realizes he's wrapping up a shift. On his way out. Maybe the perfect opportunity for her to hang out with someone who won't be talking constantly about the exams she's not taking.

"Hi," she says when he's near enough. "Just finishing?"