Steven had never felt more anxious in his life as he was rolled down the hall, fidgeting anxiously with his sleeves and struggling to keep himself calm. Greg kept mumbling for him to breathe, but the hybrid wasn't having too much luck with that either. The only thing keeping him somewhat sane was glancing into rooms every now and again as they passed; some doors were open, letting him see inside. Some were empty, and some weren't; he saw people in beds, people pacing while another nurse stood by and watched. He did catch a glimpse of someone who looked… oddly familiar, but he didn't get a good enough look before they had passed.
"Alright." Vexy paused at one of the doors, pulling it open and stepping aside to let Greg push the wheelchair through. "Once you shower and get changed into your pajamas, there's an emergency button beside the shower you can press to buzz me so I can bring you back to your room. After that… Greg can stay long enough to help you get settled in and fill out those forms, but it is getting late, so visiting hours are almost over," she added quickly, and Steven only grimaced slightly as he glanced back at her, eyebrows furrowing slightly. He didn't want his father to leave; he thought he'd be okay with it, but, ultimately, the idea of his father leaving him here alone was worse than being here at all. At least he had Greg here with him now; he wasn't going to have anybody soon, and that thought alone was hard to wrap his head around.
"Thanks, uh- Ms. Prime," Greg sighed, pushing Steven into the room, and the hybrid mumbled a quiet 'thanks' under his breath as well. Vexy only offered them a smile as she shut the door behind them, and Steven let himself sink back after a moment, lifting his hands to his face. Greg was silent, surveying the room if his, "well this isn't too bad." was any indication. Steven honestly didn't agree - although, he hadn't gotten a good enough look around yet, but he doubted he'd be too impressed regardless. It took him a while to lower his hands again anyway.
Well, it wasn't awful. Toilet, sink - no mirror, he noted, wrinkling his nose slightly. Probably for the best, glass was sharp. The shower was separated from the rest of the room by only one small wall and a curtain to close it off - seemed easily accessible enough, but he still wasn't looking forward to this. Sure, a shower actually… sounded kind of nice, considering he hadn't actually showered in quite some time now, but the idea of undressing and revealing the scars on his back in front of his father was just anxiety-inducing. He stayed silent, tense and anxious as Greg left his side to walk over to the shower, pulling the curtain open and reaching inside to turn the water on. He already knows. Didn't make it any easier. It doesn't have to be easy. Didn't make him wish that it wasn't. The hybrid shook his head furiously, breathing out sharply and letting his shoulders droop after a moment, fighting back against the thoughts and emotions rising in his chest. Once again, it felt like he was starting to blank out, like he was drifting out completely, being pushed down, like something was trying to suppress him; and once again, he fought back until it stopped, shaking his head again and looking up at his father as Greg turned back to him.
"All set." His father offered a small smile, tilting his head toward the shower. "You ready, kiddo?" Steven didn't respond immediately, rubbing his arm and flicking his gaze past Greg, toward the shower. He watched the water fall for a moment, listening as it hit the floor of the shower, completely lost in his own thoughts for a long time - until his father spoke up again. "Steven?"
"I…" Steven stared at the water for a moment longer before finally turning back to his father, blinking furiously and forcing himself to focus again. For a moment, he hesitated; sure, his father was going to see the scars, but he figured… maybe it might be a little easier on him if he had some kind of warning beforehand. He wasn't entirely sure Greg knew what to expect here. He'd told him he was self-harming, yes, but he hadn't gone as far as to explain the extent of his injuries - mostly because he didn't know how bad they really were, he only knew how much they hurt. And they hurt pretty badly, so they had to look just as bad… especially considering Dr. Powell had taken one look and immediately knew it was completely intentional. "Dad, I, uh…" He flicked his gaze back toward the shower, then looked up at his father again. "My back's… really… really bad. That's where I-" He stopped for a second, breathing in slowly, genuinely wondering why this was suddenly so hard for him to say. "That's where I hurt myself."
Where I got Mom to hurt me, his brain corrected, but Greg didn't need to know all of that.
Greg didn't say anything at first, but the expression on his face made Steven's stomach twist more than he cared to admit. Once again, he was… genuinely taken aback by how hard this suddenly was, and why he eventually had to lower his gaze, unable to look his father in the eye again. Maybe it was just easier talking about it, and not outright showing his father the proof of what he'd done, showing him exactly how fucked up he really was in the head right then. But whatever it was, Steven only knew that this situation was anxiety-inducing, and he hated it. He hated being here, sitting here, in front of Greg, about to show off his scars; it was probably the first time he actually didn't feel proud of what he'd done to himself, or satisfied by his actions. No, right then, there was nothing twisting in his gut but disgust for himself, and what he'd done. That was probably the most alarming thing; the fact that for the first time, he hated himself for it.
For the first time, he hated himself for hurting himself. He hated himself for just about everything else, but this had been the only thing he could rely on himself to actually enjoy. But this? This wasn't anywhere close to being enjoyable. The pain itself was great- amazing- but… but the process? And the aftermath? Steven was almost starting to wonder if it was really worth it.
"Okay," Greg interrupted his thoughts, cautious as he approached. He breathed in, and Steven mimicked the action somewhat absently, breathing in as deeply as he could and bracing himself silently as he lifted his gaze back to the man in front of him. "Okay. Let's see the damage, huh?" There was no humor, no effort to lighten the situation; his father's gaze was direct, intent, serious. Which just served as another stark reminder of how serious this really was. Up until then, he hadn't had a goddamn problem with hurting himself. Aside from not being able to do it while he was injured, and worrying about getting caught - but now it wasn't even about that. Now he wasn't sure he could do it again and be able to feel any of the satisfaction anymore. He felt sick. Nauseous. About ready to vomit right then and there. All because of his own actions.
Finally, he could pinpoint what he was feeling; along with the disgust, a warmer emotion. Burning hot in his stomach, ripping him apart slowly, almost gently. It was shame.
And so he fell silent, feeling his cheeks warm up slightly at the realization. But he said nothing, turning his head downwards, unable to meet his father's gaze - or even look in his direction at all - as he finally lifted his arms to tug his own shirt off. Greg moved forward, hands hovering over him slightly, but he seemed uncertain as to whether or not he should step in to help. Steven honestly tried his hardest to pull the shirt off without assistance, managing to get one arm out, but he couldn't lift his arms any higher than that to be able to pull it off completely without his back hurting. So, he stopped moving with his arms stretched up as much as he could, turning his head toward Greg without quite looking at him, and the man obliged silently.
A shaky inhale reached his ears before the shirt had even been pulled over his head; tears finally brewed in the hybrid's eyes as it briefly covered his face, allowing his already unsteady expression to crumble completely in the split second where his father couldn't see it. He didn't understand why it suddenly hurt so much, why this was making him feel more guilt and shame and sorrow in the span of a minute than he'd been able to feel at all in at least a whole week. Thankfully, his father didn't say anything just yet; the shirt was pulled off completely and cast aside after a moment, and Steven blinked the tears back and forced himself to straighten up.
The silence lasted about twenty seconds; his father sighed, rubbing his arm over his face wordlessly, and slowly moved around to stand in front of him again. Steven finally risked a hesitant glance in his direction; there were tears in his eyes, prickling at the corners, but, admittedly, he wasn't even worried about that anymore. He wasn't worried about what his father thought about the scars, about the fact that Steven had hurt himself and was still thinking about hurting himself. What he was worried about, however, were his own feelings on the subject. The newfound disgust and shame he felt toward the wounds on his back, the anger he felt toward himself for passing the knife to his 'mother' and telling her to carve into him like a Jack-o-Lantern. And, oh, how he hated himself for it. How he wanted to scream at himself, and - ironically - how he wanted to hurt himself even further- for hurting himself. God, he really was fucked up in the head. Funny, even he was just now beginning to realize that completely.
"Come on," Greg urged after a moment, holding his hands out to Steven. "Pants next." And, while it did take him a moment to muster the energy and just the will to move in general, he did finally manage to reach out and take Greg's hands, finally just giving in completely. He let his father pull him up onto his good leg, let his father support him as he was led over to the shower. He let him over, he let him help him strip down and let him sit him on the little chair inside the shower. He was too tired to fight the help at this point - physically and emotionally - and just… didn't even want to anymore. He didn't want to fight. He didn't want to pull away anymore.
"I'm sorry," he managed to whisper after a while, covering his eyes as Greg massaged shampoo into his hair; his father's hands paused briefly, still hovering over the curls. Steven almost laughed, to be honest - it had been a long, long time since he'd needed his father's help with showering of all things, and he felt like a child more than ever, sitting there in front of him like this. Needing his help to bathe. It was stupid - he felt stupid, and weak, and useless, and…
"Don't," Greg's voice was surprisingly steady, firm; Steven managed to peek one eye open at him, blinking rapidly and tilting his head back slightly - trying not to let any of the soap drip into his eyes - as he looked up at his father. "Don't… don't apologize to me for this, Steven." The hybrid didn't respond; he just stared, eventually ducking his head and squeezing his eyes shut again when his father set to work again on his hair. "I- I just- … I don't even know what to say," his father confessed, his voice finally wavering; Steven bit the inside of his cheek, silent. "I don't even know how to feel, I just-" A slight crack, and then a pause; Greg's hands continued to move through his hair, but the movements felt stiff now. "... I just wanna be here for you now."
And, honestly? Steven managed to find a little bit of relief, through sorrow, fear, shame and confusion. Relief, and a strange sense of contentment - or something akin to it, anyway, as close as he could get right then. And he wasn't lying at all when he spoke again, his voice nothing more than a slightly shaky whisper, trembling despite his best efforts. "I want that too."
Greg fell silent after that. But the silence then, if nothing else, was more or less content, the rest of the tension having finally been somewhat drained. Steven spent most of the time idly picking at the plastic Vexy had left behind for them to wrap around his cast so it didn't get wet, but eventually took over in bathing himself after his father had finished helping him with the areas he couldn't reach. Thankfully, it was over quickly enough; Greg helped him dry off and change into the pajamas they had given him - and despite everything, he had to admit they were actually somewhat comfortable (not that he'd admit it out loud). And, by the time Steven was back in the wheelchair, he was actually trying not to laugh, because Greg had ended up accidentally rubbing his eyes while he still had soap on his hands, forgetting to wash them off.
"Your eye's still red, Dad." Steven brushed his hair back as much as he could, trying not to let the still somewhat damp curls stick to his face. "Maybe you should flush it out again."
"Nope, no, I'm fine," Greg chuckled, rubbing his eye - this time with a soap free hand, thankfully - and reached out to ruffle his hair with the other. Steven ducked his head a little, sparing him a slightly irritated glance, mostly because he had just managed to get his hair somewhat decent, and now it was back in his face and sticking to his skin again, and his father only offered an apologetic smile as he stepped back to look the hybrid over carefully. "Well, you do look better."
"Really?" Steven mumbled, smoothing his hair out of his face again. "'Cause I feel like sh- crap."
"'Least you're honest," Greg commented with a sigh, his smile turning somewhat sad for a second as he stared down at the teenager, and Steven only shrugged. As much as being 'honest' had done for him so far - such as getting him stuck in a fucking mental hospital - it was certainly better than trying to pretend that he was fine all the time. Truthfully, he kinda liked being able to be honest, to say what he was really feeling and not have to feel guilty over it. Greg eventually left his side, moving over to press the button Vexy had told them about, while Steven leaned back a little and watched. "Also… I don't… mind if you swear around me, kiddo."
"... no kidding?" Steven rubbed his hand over his face, eventually simply pressing it to the top of his head to hold his hair in place after a moment, since the curls continued to fall. He was almost half convinced this was some kind of trap, but his father seemed genuine enough about it. He was actually kind of surprised - mostly because Greg, while he'd never been a particularly strict father, had always had a policy about cursing. Hell, Steven wasn't even allowed to say 'hate' until he was about twelve years old, and even then, his father continuously reminded him that it was a 'strong word' and not to 'use it too freely'- which, he could understand, but still. So, yes, the idea of Greg actually being okay with him cursing in front of him was pretty surprising.
"You're seventeen," Greg murmured, pressing the button and turning back to him with a slight frown now. "Whether I like it or not, you're… getting older. I mean, is it weird to hear you swear? Yes, yes it is. Very weird. It's something I actually never thought I'd hear in my entire life, but…" The man grimaced, rubbing the back of his neck. "I never actually thought we'd be… here, either, like… like this, so… things are… different. They're changing - you're changing, and I've gotta figure out how to accept that. You're almost an adult, I can't… tell you what to say- now that doesn't mean excessive swearing," he added quickly, eyeing the teenager, and Steven let out a slight snort despite himself. "But… you don't gotta censor yourself around me, that's all." Greg shook his head a little, walking back over to him. "I just want you to be completely honest with me from now on. Even if that means using swear words when you need to, you know?"
After a moment, thinking about that, Steven allowed a brief smile to tug at his lips, mouth tugging upwards at the corners for only a second. Then he shook his head, sighed, and crossed his arms over his chest, eyebrows furrowing slightly. "In that case, yeah, I feel like shit."
"Maybe you'll feel better once you get some much-needed shut-eye," Greg suggested, reaching out to ruffle his hair again, but Steven reacted quicker that time, managing to bat his hand away and lean his head back before his curls could be messed with again. His father pouted slightly, but he gave in and leaned back again after a moment, offering a one-shouldered shrug instead. "And you can see… uh…" For a moment, his father only looked somewhat bewildered, before it shifted into worry, and then confusion again, looking like he was trying to remember something. "Does the… uh… 'pink twin' of yours have a name, or…?"
"We're working on it," Steven replied slowly, making a face. Greg nodded carefully, eyebrows furrowing slightly at that, and the hybrid studied him for a moment. But he fell silent after that, eventually turning his head when the door opened. He couldn't see who had entered until they got close enough for him to catch a glimpse out of the corner of his eye, but he was able to assume it was Vexy, anyway, considering she had already said she would be returning.
"All finished up?" The woman checked, smiling down at Steven again. "You look better!"
"That's what I said," Greg agreed, briefly managing to look proud; Steven rolled his eyes a little, opening his mouth slightly - but he thought better of what he wanted to say, biting his tongue.
"Well," Vexy began cheerfully, "I'll go ahead and take you back to your room then! We've still got about fifteen minutes left on visiting hours, so your dad can stay with you for a little while until then. And if you're hungry… well, dinner was over about an hour ago, but I'm sure nobody would mind if I brought you a snack," she added quickly, turning her attention back to Steven. "We've usually got a pretty strict schedule on food, but since you missed dinner…"
"Oh- uh- no thanks," Steven declined quickly, grimacing slightly. The sandwich earlier had left him oddly disgusted with the idea of eating anything, and he had quickly deduced that he'd rather avoid it for as long as he could. Vexy pursed her lips, but she nodded regardless, moving back over to open the door for them while Greg turned the wheelchair around and pushed him out of the room. The hybrid didn't say anything, bringing his hand up to his face to bite down on his thumb, nibbling at the skin idly as he stared ahead. Fifteen minutes. Fifteen minutes and his dad would be gone, an hour away from him, back in Beach City while Steven remained stuck in a mental hospital with a bunch of crazy people - people who were probably crazier than him. Sure, he was suicidal and had some homicidal tendencies, but… okay, they probably weren't crazier than he was, but it didn't make him feel any better about the situation regardless.
"Oh," Vexy said suddenly as she led them down the hall, briefly turning her head to glance back at them; Steven lifted his head slightly, eyebrows furrowing. "You'll be sharing a room with someone. He's in a one-to-one- which means he's under supervision to ensure he doesn't try to harm himself," she explained, "and you'll also be given one, Steven- if only for the first few days at most," she added, watching his expression shift slightly, "We're hoping maybe putting you two together might be a good experience for you, as well. That, and, I won't lie, it'll be a little easier for us to keep an eye on you if you're in the same room," she added with a wink, chuckling.
Steven was very, very unamused. "So I'm sharing a room with another suicidal maniac?" He finally asked, unable to restrain himself any longer. "That's just- that's just great."
Vexy's voice was gentle as she spoke next, a little softer, "I'm sorry. Maybe after a few days, we'll put you in your own room, but given what Dr. Maheswaran has told us, we all figured it might be best for you to have some company for the first few days here. That way you might not feel so anxious about all of this. And you might actually make some friends here."
"I'm not here to make friends," Steven mumbled. It was the first time he had ever said something like that, but he couldn't even bring himself to be surprised anymore. He wasn't here to make friends; he was here to be supervised so that he didn't try to kill himself, and then he was going to be sent back home, hopefully soon, maybe a little worse than when he came in. But, whatever ended up happening, he was just reminding himself to be prepared for the worst. And not to let his guard down. And keep his temper in check - the last thing he needed was to explode at a bunch of humans - and stars forbid he actually ended up hurting somebody, too.
"Well," Vexy spoke lightly, pausing and opening the door to one of the rooms. "Here we are."
Thankfully, the room was empty - well, in the sense that there wasn't anybody else inside. There were two beds; one neatly made, and one that was actually kind of a mess, with the blanket crumpled up and the pillows out of order. Steven made a face despite himself, but he didn't say anything. Well, at least he knew his roommate didn't care about keeping the room clean - but, then again, Steven honestly didn't care either, so they were on the same boat there, anyway. "So is my roommate invisible or something?" He mumbled as Greg pushed the wheelchair into the room, unable to keep himself from snickering slightly when he heard his father chuckle.
"No," Vexy laughed, equally amused, as she leaned against the doorway, shaking her head. "He's probably just changing into his pajamas now. He's typically a little late with the routines. Oh, I still have those papers, Mr. Universe," she added, checking the watch on her wrist. "I'll bring them to you before you have to leave. You can fill them out and bring them back tomorrow - visiting hours are one-thirty PM to two-thirty PM tomorrow, since it's Sunday. Unfortunately, you won't be allowed in here," she added, gesturing toward the room. "Visitors usually aren't allowed inside the patient's rooms, but since it's late and you've only got a few minutes left, there's no point in taking you all the way back to the common area." She chuckled a little.
"Thank you," Greg told her with a sigh, moving over to help Steven when the hybrid started trying to push himself up onto the bed. He was definitely sick of being in the wheelchair, and, once again, complied without protest, allowing his father to help him up and immediately sinking down as much as he could once he was actually settled in the bed, covering his face silently.
"Of course," Vexy responded warmly. "I'll be back in a bit. Leave the door open." Steven didn't move his arms from his face, but he did relax slightly when he heard her footsteps fading away.
"A roommate," he groaned, not even caring, at this point, that he both looked and sounded as dramatic as he felt right then. He ignored the clenching of his chest, the twisting in his gut, ignored each and every reminder and thought of who he could possibly remind himself of right then, and forced himself to continue, "she- they're- I- they're putting me with a roommate, Dad. Not only do I have to exist around these people for a few days, I have to bunk with one." He sighed through his teeth and finally moved his arms from his face, crossing them over his chest instead, and flicked his gaze over to his father with a scowl. "Tell me, how is this supposed to make me not want to kill myself? Because I'm telling you, if that's the point, it's already failed."
"Steven," Greg scolded, but he didn't really sound too upset, just somewhat bewildered. Steven heaved out a sigh and watched as he pushed the wheelchair into place beside the bed, where Steven could get to it if he needed to without it actually being in the way. "Come on, kiddo. It's not gonna be that bad. Maybe it's like, uh- Ms. Prime said, and you'll make a friend."
"Well, like I said, I'm not here to make friends," Steven retorted, narrowing his eyes slightly. "I don't even want to be here- … not that I've never been able to make a friend somewhere I didn't want to be either," he muttered after a moment. "... wouldn't call the Diamonds 'friends', though."
"I don't blame you," Greg mumbled, a slightly sour expression crossing his face; honestly, it was somewhat amusing to see him visibly detest someone like he seemed to detest the Diamonds, amusing and comforting on so many different levels that it almost wasn't hilarious to see Greg despise anybody at all. He'd only ever really seen his father mildly angry with Marty, and even then, the man had seemed to make an effort not to express as much hatred for the man as he must have really felt. And, of course, there was the subject of Greg's parents - but, honestly? He seemed to hold just as much disdain for the Diamonds as he had for them, oddly enough. The man sighed, sitting down on the edge of the bed. "But… this isn't Homeworld. You're not with the Diamonds, or the gems-" Another sour expression, a little more surprising now, "this will actually be good for you," he added, and Steven snorted out a laugh despite himself, startled.
"Ouch, Dad. Tell 'em how you really feel." If there was anything more satisfying than seeing Greg express this much disdain for the Diamonds, it was seeing him express this much disdain for the gems, too. "While I don't doubt that this'll be better than living with the gems, though - and the Diamonds, that just goes without saying," he added, sighing. Despite whatever he might think, now or later, he knew being on Homeworld would be worse than this. At least here he was still on Earth, and not surrounded by gems he detested and feared. "But, 'good' for me? Eh…"
"Hopefully this will be good for you," Greg corrected himself. Steven puffed his cheeks out and shrugged. "And while you're here, I'm gonna work on getting a house for the two of us."
Steven hummed, flicking his gaze toward the ceiling - then blinked, startled, when what his father had just said actually registered. He turned his gaze back to Greg, genuinely caught off guard by that, unable to even speak for a good few seconds before he managed to muster up the strength. "What?" He pushed his arms back, positioning them beside him carefully in order to push himself up as much as he could, but he gave up on that quickly enough. "A house?"
"Well, we can't live in the van." Greg reached out, hands hovering, and Steven only stared. "I need to be able to take care of you, and I'm certainly not sending you back to the gems. So, yeah, I figured… maybe it's time to actually bunker down and get a house." He clasped one hand over Steven's shoulder, helping the teenager pull himself up into a sitting position, and Steven breathed in slowly when he finally managed to sit up completely - honestly, the pain wasn't even his biggest concern. He was still trying to wrap his head around the house thing. "Whattya think, huh?"
"I think it's about time," Steven blurted out, eyes widening slightly. "You're really serious about this, aren't you?" This- this was a big deal, his father actually willing to give up his 'freedom' and chain himself down to an actual house. He was still having trouble believing it. "You- a house-"
"Us a house, Steven," Greg reminded him, a slight smile tugging at his lips for a second, but it vanished into a serious expression quickly enough. "And, yes, I'm serious about this."
"Us a house," Steven echoed, narrowing his eyes slightly as he thought about that. It had been a long time since he'd actually lived with his father - he moved in with the gems when he was… what? Eight? Somewhere around that age, anyway. Since then, it had been, pretty much, just sleepovers in the van every so often when the gems were off on missions - though, as he got older, Steven ended up just staying at the house so that he could wait for them to come back. And he'd certainly never lived in a house with his father, unless you count the time Greg had faked a leg injury to stay with them, but even that hadn't really lasted that long, either. For a moment, he felt an almost… childlike excitement, an emotion he honestly thought he had long outgrown, and one he certainly didn't think he'd ever feel again now. But… wow. A house.
And, hell, if it meant getting away from the gems? He would take it. It was actually kind of funny, how not that long ago at all, Steven would have blanched at the idea of going to stay with his father, detested the very thought and completely, utterly disagree with it completely. But now, maybe they still had some things to work out, and Steven still wasn't entirely sure he'd be able to see his father the way he used to - but even so, he was really starting to get used to his whole 'serious Greg' thing. The man was starting to earn some of his respect back, though maybe in a different way. And, besides that, he really did want to stay with his father anyway; he wasn't going to admit it, not even to himself, but having him there- really there- was kind of nice.
"Yeah, buddy." Greg offered him a small, sad smile, and looked like he was about to say more, but Vexy appeared in the doorway before he had the chance to start speaking again. Steven glanced up, narrowing his eyes slightly, while Greg paused and turned his head. "Oh, hi…"
"Hi." Vexy offered a slightly apologetic smile, and Steven's heart nearly stopped beating. "I'm sorry, but visiting hours are over." She walked over, holding the papers out to Greg again, and his father took them reluctantly with a grimace. "You can come back tomorrow anytime, though. Two adult visitors are allowed, per patient," she added, glancing down at Steven. "So if you have anyone else you'd like him to bring, that'll be fine until we set up a system for you." Steven didn't respond immediately, still struggling to process the fact that his father was leaving now; he was about to be completely and utterly alone here, and he wasn't ready for it by any means. Still, he managed to distract himself with the visitor's thing; he definitely didn't want the gems there, Connie wasn't an adult (was she even allowed to visit? He'd have to ask, after he found a way to speak to her), there was Lapis and Peridot and… once again, Jasper was an option.
After a moment, thinking carefully, he looked up at his father. "Jasper?" He suggested, ignoring the surprised look that was thrown his way. He shrugged, "she's… cool. Besides, she can't just stay with the gems all the time, she'd either self-destruct or end up destroying them, and since she stopped me from doing so earlier, I'm not going to let her have the satisfaction…"
"Jasper might be a little, uh…" Greg hesitated. "Much for these people, don't you think?"
Steven arched an eyebrow at that. "Oh, I'll keep her in line." He wasn't entirely sure he'd be able to, but on the off chance she did decide to come, maybe he'd be able to distract her.
"Oh, boy," his father mumbled, pushing himself up and shaking his head. "Yeah, if you say so, kiddo." He glanced down at the papers for a moment, frowning, then flicked his gaze up to Steven, then Vexy. It was clear; he didn't want to go any more than Steven wanted to stay. The hybrid faltered again, watching his father for a moment - then, finally, forced himself to pull himself together somewhat, just enough to reach his arms up slightly toward the man; Greg blinked, surprised, but accepted the invitation quickly once he realized what Steven wanted, immediately moving forward to wrap his arms around the hybrid in a careful hug. "Bye, kiddo," he whispered, pressing his mouth to Steven's head. Steven closed his eyes, breathing in.
"Bye, Dad." Greg started to pull away, but Steven held on for a moment longer, briefly tightening his grip, and his father leaned back into the embrace quickly, seeming surprised but definitely not complaining. The hybrid fell silent for a while, simply pressing his face into his father's shoulder; it was the first time being hugged or held had actually felt somewhat good to him since all this had started, and it was the first time he'd wished the contact didn't have to end so soon. The teenager swallowed, exhaling, and finally pulled back a little bit to look at him. "... love you."
Greg's expression softened at that, tears pricking at the corners of his eyes - Steven arched an eyebrow slightly, but he didn't comment, because he'd be lying if he said he wasn't tearing up a little himself - but the man offered a smile, warm and somewhat relieved. "I love you too, Steven." He reached out, and Steven grimaced, fully prepared for a hair-ruffle (and, honestly, just giving in to let his father do it anyway), but Greg merely rested his hand on his head briefly, only offering a slight, gentle rub before he pulled away again, careful not to mess his hair up. "I'll be back tomorrow," he promised, stepping back, and Steven offered a somewhat hesitant nod.
He fell silent, then, just watching as Greg and Vexy exchanged goodbyes, and his father spared one last glance back at him before reluctantly exiting the room, leaving Steven with the nurse. The hybrid only stared at the doorway for a moment, fighting back a rush of nausea at the realization that he really was completely alone, surrounded by nothing but strangers in here.
"So," Vexy began, gentle and slow, but Steven couldn't keep himself from flinching in surprise as he flicked his gaze back over to the human, jaw tensing slightly. "I know you've just gotten comfortable, but there's a few last things to do before lights out. It's just a little routine we put all the new patients through," she added, and Steven furrowed his eyebrows slightly, listening. "I understand you're injured, and we have a process of documenting things like scars, or tattoos."
"I don't have any tattoos," Steven sighed, and frowned. Greg seeing his back as bad enough- now this stranger wanted to see his scars, too? "And the only scars I've got are on my back."
Vexy nodded slightly, understanding. "Still, we like to have an official process," she told him, and Steven twisted his mouth, not replying for a moment. "It's called a body map, and it only takes a few minutes. I just have to check you over, and mark your scars down on these." She held up another sheet of paper briefly, with a picture of a body; Steven eyed it, frowning. "That's all."
"I…" Steven clenched his teeth, and grimaced. "... okay."
Thankfully, the process really wasn't that long; he did need help stripping out of his shirt and pants, and eventually had to stand up and use the bed to hold himself up so that Vexy could check him over thoroughly. The nurse was mostly silent as she marked the papers off, but he still didn't miss the sympathetic glances she threw his way every now and again after she had seen the condition his back was in. Honestly, a part of him wanted to know just how bad it was - but then, at the same time, the rest of him didn't. He already felt disgusted enough by it as it was, and he didn't think seeing his own injuries was going to make that any easier on him. He was surprised when she didn't comment on his gem - not that he was going to complain about that regardless.
Regardless, once it was over, he was able to put his pants back on and climb back into bed to wrestle the pajama shirt back on. Vexy was helping him tug it over his head when the door was pushed open a little further; Steven yanked on the shirt quickly, definitely not keen on his injuries being seen by anybody else, and the nurse let go to let him as she turned to see who had entered. "Oh, welcome back! We were just finishing up in here," she informed them, and Steven reluctantly lifted his gaze to look. There were two people; one had frozen in the doorway, and the other had ventured a little further into the room. The man that had entered paused, offering Steven a curious look and a smile, but by the time Steven had completely registered the other person, he wasn't paying attention to either of the nurses anymore. "Steven, this is-"
"Kevin?" Steven uttered, unable to keep himself from interrupting.
Vexy paused, exchanging a glance with the other nurse, while the man in the doorway just stared at Steven, looking more surprised than anything. He definitely looked different, not at all like he had the last time the hybrid had seen him; his hair was cut shorter, and he seemed to be sporting the beginnings of a mustache. But other than that, there was absolutely no doubt in Steven's mind; this was Kevin, he'd know the guy anywhere. The guy he'd detested, so goddamn much, for the longest time. Of course, after their last interaction, he couldn't say he hated Kevin anymore - but they hadn't exactly parted as friends, regardless. Steven wasn't even entirely sure that the guy knew what a 'friend' was, if he was being completely honest…
"Steven," Kevin finally mumbled, eyes flickering at the realization as he studied the hybrid carefully, and Steven opened his mouth slightly, genuinely at a loss for words. The man finally inched a little further into the room, somewhat reluctantly, to walk over to the other bed - speaking of the other bed, the condition of it actually made a hell of a lot more sense now - but he seemed to be having trouble keeping his eyes from lingering on Steven, and vice versa.
"You two know each other, huh?" Vexy piped up after a moment, while the other nurse leaned back against the wall, crossing his arms over his chest and offering the two a curious look.
"You could say that," Steven replied, still staring at Kevin. "Why are you here?" He finally addressed him, and Kevin paused, sitting back on the bed and eyeing him carefully.
"Why are you here?"
"I tried to kill myself," Steven responded bluntly, genuinely somewhat tired of having to explain that - and he certainly wasn't about to go into detail about the car crash, not with Kevin. He watched the man's eyebrows shoot up in surprise, a startled expression replacing the (admittedly, forced) look of indifference that had previously been written across his face, and he shot a quick glance toward Vexy and the other nurse before rooting his gaze back to Steven. The hybrid arched an eyebrow at him, slowly lowering himself back to lay down again, wincing. "And now I'm being supervised to make sure I don't try it again. Hooray."
"Hey, same," Kevin huffed out a laugh, jerking his chin toward the other nurse, and Steven reluctantly flicked his gaze over to him and narrowed his eyes. "That's my stalker, right there." The nurse in question actually stuck his tongue out at Kevin in response, while Steven couldn't keep back a snort - not because of the nurse, but because of Kevin's choice of words there.
"Yeah, I'm sure he's obsessed with you," the hybrid mocked, and he was somewhat surprised when he actually got a laugh out of Kevin from that, not really expecting him to find that funny. Honestly, he wasn't sure how to feel about this; on one hand, it was Kevin, and while he might not completely hate the guy's guts, he certainly didn't like him. He had flirted with Stevonnie - a lot - and he was just, in general, a complete asshole as far as people went. Steven had fought gems that wanted to kill him, and even most of them hadn't been as insufferable as Kevin. But, then, at the same time - even with everything that Kevin had done, the fact that he had actually tried to kill himself stuck out right then, and as much as he disliked the guy, he certainly hadn't wished him dead. And he wouldn't wish what he was feeling now on Kevin, either, so…
Yeah, the hybrid was very, very torn right then.
"So who's on watch duty?" The other nurse - Kevin's 'stalker' - suddenly questioned, turning his head toward Vexy, and the woman offered a slight snort in response and shook her head.
"Both of us, right now. It's called a one-on-one, not a one-on-two. You can go once they fall asleep," she replied simply. "Besides, I have to take these to the office, so I'll be right back." She turned, offering Steven and Kevin a small smile, then grinned over at Steven. "But, hey, what'd I tell you? You've made a friend already."
"He's not my friend." Steven wasted no time in correcting her - and neither did Kevin, who added his own mumbled protests to the mix as he pressed his face into his pillow with a groan. Vexy paused at that, then glanced back at the other nurse, exchanging another quick glance with him before she turned and slipped out of the room; Steven watched her go, furrowing his eyebrows slightly, then flicked his gaze toward the other nurse before leaning his head back. "Why are we still being watched, anyway? I thought it was bedtime or whatever."
"Yeah, they watch us sleep, dude," Kevin muttered into the pillow.
"Oh." Steven fell silent for a second, eyeing the nurse now. "That's creepy." At this, he offered a mildly indignant look, but it dissolved into amusement quickly enough; he then proceeded to stick his tongue out at Steven, and the hybrid didn't know whether to laugh or try to attack. Honestly, he was considering doing a little bit of both. "I'm not gonna kill myself in my sleep." The hybrid heaved out a sigh, crossing his arms over his face. "But whatever, it's not like I've never had anybody watch me sleep before. Not that it's not a little creeper, but… yeah…"
The nurse huffed out a laugh. "It's just a safety precaution," he informed the teenager. "You're Steven, right? My name's Aaron, it's nice to meet you. I'm apparently Kevin's stalker now."
"Don't worry, you excel at your job," Kevin huffed. Steven lifted his arm slightly to glance over at them, watching as Kevin ended up turning over so that he could stretch out on his back instead. Aaron just looked amused, shaking his head slightly at the two, while Kevin covered his face with his hands and groaned again. "Now can you guys shut up? I'm trying to get to sleep here." Steven snorted a little bit at that, but he happily obliged in falling silent, not wanting to talk anyways. Aaron, on the other hand, mumbled something under his breath before going quiet. Honestly, Steven wasn't sure he'd be able to sleep with someone watching him while he tried to get to sleep, but even then, he wasn't even that tired, considering he'd had a nap anyway.
Still, he let his eyes slip shut regardless, sighing as he covered his face with his arms again. First he got himself stuck in a mental hospital, and then, somehow, he ended up stuck in the same room as Kevin - and he was still conflicted over that. This just kept getting weirder.
He just couldn't wait to get the hell out of there.