Well, Steven didn't get to sleep that night.

He ended up just laying there, gazing at the ceiling, lost in thought. Wondering what would happen tomorrow, when he had to meet his therapist - wondering how he'd be able to contact Connie, if he could even do that here. He might just have to get Greg to explain everything to her, but that didn't seem like such a bad idea. He did try to get to sleep a few times, but he found himself cracking his eyes open every so often anyway, sparing uncertain glances toward Aaron, and then Vexy, when she returned and the male nurse slipped out of the room. The lights were off, but his eyes had adjusted just enough to make out Vexy's figure, sitting in a chair on the other side of the room with a clipboard in her lap. Sometimes, he'd spare glances toward Kevin to see if he was having trouble sleeping too, and always ended up surprised to see that his roommate was fast asleep, completely unbothered by being watched while he was sleeping.

And then, when he got tired enough to sleep, that was when the pain set in; the medicine must have worn off, because after a few hours, he found his leg and back aching. Seemed to be making up for lost time, and it only got worse and worse as the seconds passed; still, he didn't move, for fear of putting himself through any more pain than was necessary, thinking it best to just lay there until morning came. He could deal with it for now, right? He was supposed to be taking more medicine, and he wasn't sure when, but it couldn't be that long. He could stick it out until morning. He didn't exactly have a choice, either; he wasn't going to push himself up right then to take the pills regardless, not until the pain started to ebb away again. Not happening. That, and he wasn't sure whether he was supposed to be asleep or not right then either.

So he stayed completely still, even keeping his breathing as stifled as possible. Sometime in the middle of the night, he found his mind slipping; those emotions rose back up, the feeling of blanking out, being shoved down and out of control. This time, albeit somewhat reluctantly, he allowed himself to be pushed down a little bit, mostly just to figure out what, exactly, was happening here, and why this was happening. He felt like he'd been sent reeling; the room spun around him sharply, sending him spiraling briefly before it stopped abruptly enough to make him jolt and stiffen; the pain caused him to suck in a shaky breath between his teeth, but he squeezed his eyes shut and went still again, hoping Vexy hadn't noticed. She didn't say anything, but he heard her shift and move over briefly to check on him, only relaxing when she finally ended up retreating back to her chair. He made sure to keep his eyes shut after that.

He settled again eventually, and the emotions returned. An odd sense of calmness, wholeness. For a moment, it was like he wasn't even there; he had vanished, gone, and someone else was in his place. But it was still him - part of him, kind of, barely, but it was him. And suddenly, he understood why it felt so familiar. He had felt this before - not just by himself, but every time he fused with Connie, or one of the gems. Where he briefly settled back to watch everything else through someone else's eyes. This new presence felt familiar; he watched as they slowly readjusted, eyes cracking open briefly to take another quick look around the room. He felt their curiosity, their confusion, and then an odd sense of excitement - excitement that, finally, felt like it had some kind of connection to his brother - and then he realized exactly what this was.

They were fusing again.

Regardless, even so, the presence retreated once they seemed… somewhat content with their evaluation, another quick look around seeming to satisfy their curiosity for the time being. And then he was Steven again, back in bed with his eyes wide open as he stared at the ceiling. He wasn't sure what to think; he hadn't felt like that in a while. He hadn't been like that in a while. They hadn't been like that in a while. But now he was starting to understand the fusion thing a bit more. His brother had told him he'd always been content 'sitting' and letting Steven have control, which likely meant even before he'd been locked away, his pink twin had let him have the reins over the fusion for the most part. Connie did that sometimes, too, letting Steven take over for a little- since her being full human meant she got tired faster than he did when fused.

But now, though, his brother was breaking the chains. He was taking some control back. And Steven found that his earlier panic over being pushed down was replaced by something akin to excitement - this meant he was actually, really breaking free. And he had to be careful now not to do anything to shove him down further. This 'new' presence was starting to intrigue him.

After all, they hadn't ever really been a 'new' fusion, had they? They'd always been fused. But now, after being 'separated', with Steven not only in control, but the only one to begin with… now it felt new, and different. He hadn't felt like that in a long time. Being a fusion was an experience - if nothing else, Garnet was right about that - and when it wasn't just him, when it was somebody with him, he didn't feel so… alone. If nothing else, it also made him feel a little better about the whole mental hospital situation; maybe he didn't need to slip into dreamland to reach his pink twin. It'd certainly be useful to avoid ending up in a nightmare, too, so, bonus.

He found himself wishing he could roll over; his back was starting to ache, but he didn't want to risk putting himself in more pain by attempting to shift into a more comfortable position, especially when he didn't know for a fact that it would even be comfortable. He spared another quick glance in Kevin's direction; the man was curled up on his stomach with his arms shoved under his pillow, his face half pressed into it and his mouth open as he slept. Now that looked comfortable, and he found himself somewhat envying his new roommate despite himself. Regardless, he returned his gaze to the ceiling and waited, resigned to his fate.

The hours ticked by, each one leaving him more exhausted than the last. He slipped every so often, managing to get a brief second of sleep in, but it was never enough to find himself back in the place where he met his twin. The pain in his leg didn't allow him to get too far with sleeping; a sharp throb would bring him out of his doze, or a complete rush of pure agony that lasted at least three whole minutes before it faded and numbed again. He was definitely relieved to see sunlight streaming in through the window, finally, cracking past the curtains; he turned his head to watch the light, stifling a yawn and finally lifting his arms up slightly to rub at his face.

He startled when Vexy spoke, wincing slightly. "You didn't sleep, hm?"

He wasn't sure whether to feel guilty or embarrassed; he settled on the latter. His cheeks flushed hot - not with pinkness, thankfully, he still made sure to double check by crossing his eyes to look down at his face briefly - as he turned his head back toward Vexy. Now with the little bit of light in the room, he could see her a little easier; she had one leg crossed over the other, marking something down in her clipboard with one hand and taking a sip from a mug with the other. Steven eyed it for a moment, wondering if she had coffee, and if he was allowed to have any himself. "No," he finally replied, honestly, making sure to keep his voice quiet (because god forbid he wake Kevin up yet). "Tried to, but…" Another yawn. "Leg hurts." He pushed his arms up under him, ready to sit up, only to relax again after a moment, frowning. Right, sitting up wasn't a good idea, even though Vexy already knew he was awake.

A sympathetic look crossed the nurse's face as she offered him a small smile. "I'm sorry. We're starting you on your meds routine today since you had two pills yesterday afternoon, and we're trying to get you on a morning/night routine, so you'll have a dose in about an hour and before you go to bed." After a moment, she added, "we could also put you on sleeping medicine if y-"

"No, no," Steven interrupted quickly, rubbing his face again. He was already relying on medicine to make sure he wasn't in pain all the time, he didn't want to have to take more medicine just to help him get to sleep. It was a simple enough thing, completely within his own control, right? He should be able to do it without popping a few pills. "I don't need sleeping medicine or whatever," he sighed, pressing his hand against his face for a moment. "Sleeping is easy… usually…" Once again, he directed his attention to the mug in her hands, as she took another sip from it. "Is that coffee?" He finally asked, rubbing his eyes and lifting his other hand to point at the cup.

Vexy's lips twitched slightly, tilting the mug toward him. "Yes, it is." Before he could open his mouth to speak again, she continued, already knowing what she wanted, "and yes, patients are permitted one cup of coffee in the morning. But I will tell you now, it doesn't taste very good."

"Then why are you drinking it?" Steven furrowed his eyebrows, dropping his hand to his chest after a moment and giving up on trying to rub the itch out of his eye. He'd get it later.

Vexy's eyes sparkled as she replied, "because it's caffeinated and I need to stay awake."

"Good point." Steven found himself suppressing a chuckle. He didn't want to admit it, but he actually kind of liked this woman; she was friendly, if nothing else. Nicer than Steven would have expected - but, then, he hadn't been completely sure what to expect anyway. He was still a little confused by how she could seem so cheerful for someone who had to work in the crazy house, but not only did she not seem to mind it, she also seemed to somewhat enjoy it too. She was patient, and gentle, and while Steven wasn't entirely comfortable with her, he did like her. At the very least, he wasn't completely irritated by her, like he found himself irritated by most people.

Thankfully, it wasn't too long until Vexy suddenly heaved herself up out of the chair. By then, the light sprinkling throughout the room had brightened a little. Vexy made her way over to pull the curtains open, and Steven watched, sparing a quick glance out at the sky. His eyebrows furrowed faintly, studying bars over the windows, but he didn't say anything. It was earlier than he had thought it was; the sun was still just coming up, the sky barely starting to lose the pinkish orange tint that was spread over the clouds. He had to admit, it was actually a nice sight.

"Rise and shine," Vexy sang, turning away from the window. Her words were accompanied by a quiet groan from the man in the other bed, who had turned his body slightly to face away from them now, curled up toward the wall with his face pushed into his pillow completely now. "It's time to get up, Kevin," the nurse told him, amused. "You have to take your medicine and get ready for breakfast, come on. If you're late, you'll miss pancakes." Steven glanced after her, watching as she made her way back to the other side of the room where she had been sitting, then spared a quick glance back toward Kevin; the other male was silent, but he had turned his head faintly at the mention of pancakes, seemingly debating on whether or not to get up. The hybrid raised an eyebrow silently, turning back to Vexy when she placed a bundle of clothes on his bed; instead of white, now, they were a pale-ish blue. Not quite hospital gowns, but something resembling them, at least. He picked them up to inspect them (mostly just to make sure these would cover his butt) as Vexy headed back over to Kevin's bed. "C'mon, Kev."

"Don't call me that," Kevin grumbled, finally heaving himself up slightly into a sitting position and snatching the clothes away before she had even properly handed them out to him. Steven glanced over, watching silently as the man swung his legs over the side of the bed and pushed himself up with a growl - and he'd be lying if he said he wasn't stifling a snicker the entire time Kevin stomped his way over to a curtain - what Steven realized was another shower area, like the in the bathroom. "Stupid shitty ass hospital morning routine I swear to god I hate it here…"

"Glad to see he hasn't changed," Steven mused, watching the curtain close behind Kevin. After a moment, the hybrid breathed in slowly and finally managed to pull his arms back to heave himself up into a sitting position, cringing and biting his tongue all the while to keep himself from screaming out a stream of swear words. It took everything he had not to revert into Gem Glyph, too - mostly because he didn't want to have to explain the concept of an alien language to the nurse right then. Sure, he had the gem to prove he wasn't messing around, and that he wasn't crazy, but he was still a mental patient regardless, and he didn't want to give them any more of a reason to think that he was insane. Either way, it took a lot of straining for him to finally be able to sit up, and even then, he still couldn't keep back a grunt as he finally did. "Medicine?"

"I've got it right here," Vexy told him, retreating back to her chair. She picked up a bottle of water, and a small cup like the ones Priyanka had given him at the hospital; she handed both of them over to him and grabbed another bottle and cup, walking over and putting them on the stand beside Kevin's bed. "I'll be swapping out with another nurse this afternoon, so they'll be handling your medicine tonight," she added, picking the clipboard back up.

Steven didn't say anything, pulling two pills out of the cup carefully. It took him a moment to remember how Priyanka had shown him to take them, taking a sip of water and keeping it in his mouth and pushing one of the pills in to swallow. Regardless, he did eventually get both of them down, and ended up downing half of the water afterwards; he was a little more thirsty than he had originally thought. He screwed the cap back on the water and dropped the bottle beside him on the bed, pulling the clothes toward him again and studying them intently for a moment. He had struggled yesterday to change into the pajamas he'd been given, needing his father's help - and then Vexy's - to be able to get dressed. The medicine wasn't going to take effect immediately, he knew that, but he still needed to change regardless, before Kevin came back.

So he swallowed his pride and breathed in slowly, looking up at Vexy. He didn't exactly want her to see his scars, but he also didn't want to take long enough for Kevin to. "Can- uh- can you help me?" He couldn't keep himself from cringing in time, knowing that asking for help shouldn't be so difficult, but Vexy only offered a soft smile as she made her way over to him with a nod.

"Of course."

With Vexy's assistance - which he accepted a bit more begrudgingly after she ended up ruffling his hair - he managed to get changed, fortunately, before Kevin had stepped out of the shower. His leg was still aching, but the pain had dulled considerably since he had taken the medicine, so he wasn't about to complain; at that point, he'd take just about anything over what it had been before. He glanced over as Kevin made his way over to his bed, immediately directing his attention toward taking the medicine that Vexy had left on the table for him; he couldn't help but wonder what he was taking medicine for, despite himself. He didn't seem to be injured. But it wasn't his place to ask, and he wasn't about to willingly engage in any conversation with Kevin. Either way, after Kevin had taken his medicine, Vexy waited a few minutes before checking their temperature and blood pressure; she had Kevin hooked to the blood pressure monitor while she checked Steven's temperature, and he frowned around the thermometer as he watched Kevin pick at the blood pressure sleeve to relieve some of the pressure, but he didn't say anything. Hell, he knew personally how horrible it was, so he'd cut him some slack this time. And, when it was his turn, he ended up doing the same thing; Kevin caught his gaze while Vexy held the thermometer in his mouth, and a slight smirk tugged at the man's lips, but he stayed silent.

It was over soon enough anyway; Vexy marked down their results and put the blood pressure monitor away, arching an eyebrow toward the two of them briefly - and Steven forced an innocent smile - but before the nurse could open her mouth to speak, another voice chimed in. "Gooood morning!" The voice made him flinch, turning his head sharply to look toward the doorway, as Aaron poked his head in with a grin, waving at Vexy, and then Steven and Kevin. "Who's ready for breakfast? We've got pancakes and eggs this morning, and it's good."

"Good food? In this hospital?" Kevin huffed as he turned his head toward the nurse, narrowing his eyes slightly in response. "Blasphemy. What are we really having, hot mush or cold mush?"

Okay, that was good. Steven, surprisingly, found himself stifling a snicker.

"No mush," Aaron told him with a grin, stepping in and leaning against the doorway. "But I could put your pancakes and eggs through a blender if you really want me to." At this, Kevin offered a snort and shrugged at him, downing the rest of his water. Steven watched him silently for a moment, honestly still struggling to figure out what, exactly, his deal was here, and why the hell he seemed… different? Hell, he almost seemed kind of at ease here, like this was his natural habitat. Even at parties, he'd seemed tense, almost afraid to make one wrong move; now he was almost… defeated? Steven wasn't really sure how to explain it, or how to feel about it.

Regardless, he still said nothing, simply pushed himself forward to slide off of the bed. He watched Kevin's gaze flick toward him out of the corner of his eye, but the man was silent as Steven eased himself onto his good foot, keeping the other one lifted as much as he could and twisting to sit down in the wheelchair. Vexy walked over to help him, holding him up under one arm and easing him down into the chair carefully. "Well, let's go get breakfast. And coffee," she added, throwing a grin in Steven's direction, and the hybrid let out a quiet huff of agreement.

"You're gonna give the… what, eleven? Eleven year old coffee?" Kevin piped up, finishing off the rest of his water with a frown. Steven finally met his gaze as he flicked his eyes up to stare at the man, narrowing his eyes slightly - and he couldn't keep back a rush of satisfaction when he watched Kevin's expression shift, indifference once again morphing into an expression of mild surprise. As much as he disliked Kevin, his attitude toward the man had been strictly angry outbursts and half-hearted insults. Or he had simply tried to act like he usually did toward other people, like during Kevin's party; he had tried then to be somewhat civil with the man. Now, though, he wasn't even really angry with him; irritated, yes, but not angry. With that in mind, however, he wasn't about to take Kevin's shit - that was the last thing he needed right then.

"Seventeen, Kevin. I'm seventeen."

Kevin replied without pause, his tone flat, "I know."

Steven blinked, somewhat taken aback by that response; he wasn't sure what he'd been expecting then. Surprise? Maybe a half-assed snarky comment? But Kevin didn't say anything, tossing the bottle into the trash along with the cup before simply turning away and slipping out of the room, followed closely by Aaron, who, after a swift glance in Vexy's direction, went after him.

He didn't say anything, though, falling silent as Vexy rolled him out of the room, following the other two. They fell into step (well, 'roll', in Steven's case) with a few other patients and nurses on their way down the hall, and Steven couldn't help but tense slightly as he looked around. Most of them looked calm for the most part, if not somewhat grouchy and tired as they stumbled down the hallway. Others wore volatile expressions as they were led along, and a few of the nurses had to move forward to break up a fight at one point as one of the patients elbowed another in the side to get by. Needless to say, Steven would be staying away from them.

He flicked his gaze up, reluctantly, as they finally entered a room; for a moment, he was somewhat taken aback by how… large it was. And how many people were inside. Not even counting the ones that had been following them along down the hall, there had to be at least fifteen people already seated and eating, picking at their food and pushing pancakes and eggs around their plates. A few people had their head in their arms, only gripping a cup of coffee beside them and swatting at the patients sitting with them as they tried to get them to sit up. The hybrid was actually startled by how quiet it was, despite how many people were inside. He remembered gem meetings, the hustle and bustle of Homeworld as they piled gem after gem into the throne room. It had only really been quiet during the ball, but that hadn't lasted long…

Steven felt his stomach twist, and this time it had nothing to do with the nausea that came with the thought of eating; this time it was purely due to the number of the people in the room, people he didn't know and didn't even want to be around to begin with. Strangers. He was literally in a place full of strangers, with only one familiar face in the crowd - and it wasn't exactly a face he had been dying to see anytime soon either. The hybrid breathed in slowly and swallowed, feeling his heart stutter and thud against his chest as Vexy rolled his chair forward again. "If you don't wanna go through line, you can sit with Kevin and Aaron and I'll get your food for you," she told him quietly, leaning down a little bit so he could hear, despite the room being dead silent. Regardless, he nodded without hesitation; even sitting with Kevin at this point would be better than putting himself through more needless interaction with anybody else, and having to deal with getting his own food, no less. He'd take Kevin over this anyday; at least he knew Kevin.

Speak of the devil; Kevin was already seated at the end of one table, with Aaron nearby; the nurse was more or less focused on his own clipboard, chewing on the end of his pen as he stared down at it through narrowed eyes, but he looked up when Vexy and Steven approached. He pushed himself up, and Steven briefly glanced away to look toward Kevin again; the man had looked up, studying him intently for a few seconds, before simply turning back to his food. Vexy pushed Steven into place at the table just across from him, while Aaron stacked the chair that had previously been there on top of another empty one before settling back down again.

"Anything specific?" Vexy prompted, leaning against the table briefly. "Just pancakes? Just eggs? Both?" Steven only shook his head a little, crossing his arms over the table hesitantly.

"As long as there's coffee, I don't care," he mumbled, but he did add after a second, "actually, just eggs." He knew exactly how filling pancakes could be, and he wasn't about to risk throwing up right then. He'd eat a few spoonfuls of eggs if he had to, but he wasn't going further than that; just thinking about it was making him feel sick. And if the food really was as bad as Kevin was proclaiming- wait, why was he taking Kevin's word for anything anyway? God knows the man could find a way to nitpick anything that wasn't 'absolutely perfect'... man, he really needed to get his head back in the game. The hybrid rested his chin on one hand, watching Vexy as she turned and headed off, then heaved out a sigh and rooted his gaze back to the table silently.

"So, how's your leg, kiddo?" Aaron broke the silence after a moment, and Steven reluctantly flicked his gaze over to him, arching an eyebrow. The nurse had turned back to his clipboard, clicking his pen slightly as he studied the paper again, but he lifted his gaze after a moment.

It took Steven a while to muster up the energy to reply, lifting his hand to prop his chin up with. "Fine," he mumbled, curling his knuckles against his mouth. He wanted to throw up again almost immediately after he had spoken, disgusted with himself for his instinctive reply, and made a point of correcting it instantly, "I mean, it still hurts," he added hastily, glancing down at the cast and narrowing his eyes slightly. "But not as bad. Guess the medicine really does work. Wasn't expecting it to since- okay, yeah, I'm done talking," he muttered, covering his mouth with a sigh.

"Glad to see you haven't changed," Kevin remarked, and his tone implied he had heard Steven's words back in the room - which the hybrid wasn't too surprised about, considering that the only thing separating them had been a curtain. Still, it didn't stop him from sparing his new roommate a slightly mocking glance in response, offering a roll of his eyes, and Kevin snorted.

"Be nice, Kevin," Aaron chuckled, clicking his pen again.

"Yeah. Be nice, Kevin," Steven chimed in, and Kevin arched an eyebrow at him, making a show of rolling his eyes after a moment. The hybrid couldn't keep back a scoff, bordering somewhat between irritation and indifference at this point. But even so, he still found himself urging to know what was up with him, irritation once again marred by curiosity. As much as he told himself he didn't need to know, and he didn't care about what was up with Kevin, no less, the rapid swings in behavior was enough to spark his curiosity; but he pushed it down regardless. He wasn't going to be here long enough to figure it out, and Kevin, of all people, was absolutely none of his business, so he might as well go ahead and forget about him completely anyway.

"You be nice, too, Steven," Aaron told him with a grin, pointing the pen in his direction briefly, and Steven didn't have time to reply before a tray of food was set down in front of him; he pulled his arms back at once, leaning away slightly and looking down. There was a plate of eggs and a cup of coffee resting on the tray, along with a few packets of sugar and a small plastic cup of what appeared to be milk, and a plastic fork that had yet to be removed from its packaging.

Naturally, he went for the coffee first; he grabbed the cup - noting that it was a plastic cup and not a glass mug like Vexy had, go figure - and the milk, dumping every bit of what was inside into the coffee and grabbing a packet of sugar. He didn't drink coffee often; maybe once every few months when he really needed it, especially since he started running Little Homeschool. Granted, his need for the caffeine had died down considerably after he'd quit, but now, more than ever, was definitely a good time to have some. He dumped one packet of sugar in, and then another, and then went for a third. "Do you want some coffee with that sugar, Steven?"

The hybrid glanced up at Kevin and arched an eyebrow, lifting the cup up to take a sip. Well, it wasn't good, but it wasn't the worst coffee he'd ever had. "Whatever, Kevin. I like it sweet."

"I don't know how you drink that stuff," Kevin admitted, pushing a forkful of eggs into his mouth and making a face as he chewed. "It's too bitter for me." The man swallowed, licking his lips. Steven decided against making a remark about Kevin being just as bitter, instead choosing to take another sip of his coffee to ensure that he didn't let anything slip. He didn't want to start a fight with Kevin or anything. The hybrid sighed, swallowing a mouthful, and pursed his lips.

"Well, I don't exactly drink it black," he finally replied, putting the cup down and frowning down at the eggs for a moment. "Why do you think I add so much sugar? I can't stand it otherwise." Kevin didn't reply, but he did grunt slightly in acknowledgement as he ate another forkful of the eggs, and Steven reluctantly picked up his own fork to begin unwrapping it with a frown. A few bites and that was it - given Kevin's reaction to the food, he was starting to believe that it probably really wasn't that good. And it didn't smell too great either, so that was great…

He picked at the food with a frown, genuinely wondering if he might be able to get away with not eating. Were there like, rules? They couldn't exactly force him to eat, could they? Or maybe there was a way they could do that. Hell, they were keeping him trapped here, and with his broken leg he wasn't exactly in any shape to run away. Sure, he could fight, but he still didn't want to end up with any human's blood on his hands. They were weaker than he was, even in this state - or at least, he figured at much. He didn't think the strength of his powers relied on his physical condition; he had almost taken Garnet down easily enough with a broken leg. If need be he could fight his way through a couple of humans, but he wasn't sure what good it would do in the long run, considering 'fighting' was pretty much at least a quarter of his problems anyway.

Steven poked the food again, swirling some of the eggs around the plate with the fork and contemplating on whether or not he could figure out how to get rid of it without actually eating, but before he could think too hard about his master plan, Kevin ended up leaning over the table to whisper to him, causing the hybrid to flick his gaze up quickly, somewhat startled. "If it helps, I tend to swallow it down without chewing." The man wrinkled his nose. "Helps with the taste."

"That's not exactly the problem," Steven told him without bothering to lower his voice, since it wasn't exactly anything that needed to be kept on the 'DL' regardless. "But thanks, I guess."

Kevin eyed him, sinking back into his chair after a moment, and stared at him.

"What?" The hybrid heaved out a sigh and finally stabbed through some of the eggs with the fork, lifting it up to his mouth. The smell made him grimace, hesitating with the fork at his lips, but he ultimately ended up giving in and shoving the forkful into his mouth. Despite himself, he found himself taking Kevin's advice and swallowing as fast as possible, ignoring the way it kind of hurt on the way down; it was worth it, considering that, yes, they tasted fucking awful.

"I can't figure it out," Kevin replied simply, eventually leaning back to lift another forkful of eggs up, and Steven glanced up at him. "I don't know. You're just- you're… different. It's weird."

Steven narrowed his eyes slightly at that, returning to poking at the food with his fork instead of actually taking another bite. The taste was still lingering; he wanted to give it time to settle before he pushed more unwanted, disgusting food in. "Well, it's been a few years," he finally responded, stabbing a few more eggs and frowning down at them in disgust. "People change. You've changed," he added - and, despite himself, his tone had shifted into a slightly accusatory one as he pointed the eggs in Kevin's direction. It was less of a 'trying to make a point' tone and more of a 'yes, how dare you change, Kevin, that's not allowed' kind of thing. Regardless, Kevin's eyebrows shot up at that, lowering the forkful of eggs he'd been about to eat.

"Hey, I'm still an asshole," the man retorted, crossing one arm over the table and pointing back at him, while Steven arched an eyebrow. "You're an asshole, which you didn't used to be before. So I think it's safe to say that you're the one that's changed the most between the two of us." His own tone was accusing, but Steven couldn't help but laugh a little at it despite himself.

"Don't worry, Kevin, I'm not trying to take your throne or anything. Nice to know I'm an asshole, though," the hybrid added, finally shoving the eggs into his mouth and swallowing them down with a sip of coffee this time. Thankfully, it somewhat helped in disguising the taste, if nothing else. "I actually wasn't aware of that before. That's another thing to add to the list, I guess." It was Kevin's turn to laugh at that as he took another bite of his eggs, shaking his head slightly. "Guess I'm now Steven Quartz Cutie Pie DeMayo Diamond Asshole Universe now."

"Christ," Kevin muttered as he swallowed. "That's a lot of middle names."

Steven shrugged. "I don't legally exist, so I guess they're not legally my middle names anyway."

"What?"

"What?" Steven offered a half-hearted, innocent smile and pushed another forkful of eggs into his mouth, using another sip of coffee to swallow them down with. "Either way," he began again once he had swallowed, "my point is that yeah, so I'm an asshole or whatever now, big deal. You're different, too. I don't know exactly how or why or whatever, but you've definitely changed. Everything's changing these days," he added, somewhat bitterly, making no attempt to stifle it.

"S'life," Kevin responded faintly, and narrowed his eyes. "So if you don't legally exist, how the hell did you get in here?" At this, Steven paused, frowned, and shrugged. Actually, he had no idea how any of that worked. He'd have to figure out how to ask Priyanka or Greg - although he doubted that Greg knew anything about it anyway, honestly. Regardless, it didn't matter; he was here, and he wasn't going to be getting out for a few days, and clearly, somehow, legally existing must not have been a requirement. So, it was honestly just whatever at this point. He didn't exactly need to know how any of this shit worked, and if he was being honest? He didn't exactly care. "Weird," Kevin mumbled, taking another bite and squinting at him. "Very weird."

Steven snorted and shrugged, taking another bite. Okay, so he was a little more hungry than he'd originally thought - it didn't stop his stomach from hurting, though, his body registering the fact that he'd eaten far too much before he had. It wasn't until the nausea crept in that he finally put the fork down and leaned back, somewhat surprised to note that he had barely even eaten half of the eggs - he felt full, completely, like he'd just eaten an entire box of pizza. And, of course, he wasn't stupid; he knew it was from not eating the past few days, but it still left him reeling. He managed to down the rest of his coffee before he finally had to stop, knowing that if he pushed himself any further, he was going to throw up, and he couldn't handle that now. So, he ended up sliding the tray away from him, crossing his arms over the table and putting his head in his hands to wait until breakfast was over and to see if he could go back to his room.

Thankfully, after a few minutes, Vexy pushed herself up and walked over to grab his tray for him, resting a hand on his head - and being careful not to mess his hair up again, considering the glare that she'd been given earlier - and leaning down to murmur in his ear. "Community group is next, and then you'll be seeing your therapist at around nine. I'll be there in a bit- Aaron, can you take Steven with you?" She added, a little louder, as Aaron stood up; the nurse saluted in response, and Vexy patted Steven's head briefly before pulling away and walking off.

Steven watched her go, frowning, then flicked his gaze over to Aaron. Kevin had wandered a few steps away, stacking his own tray on a few others before making his way back to Aaron, who only relaxed and retreated over to Steven when the man had finally reached them again. Man, he really was being watched like a hawk. "Community group we go," Aaron hummed, pulling the wheelchair out and pushing it off; Steven clasped his hands together and leaned back sharply, staring ahead silently, while Kevin fell into step with Aaron after a second.

"What's community group?" Steven finally asked, rubbing his hand over his face. The word 'community' really got his nerves twisted, wondering if he'd have to interact with anyone else.

"It's… basically kind of group therapy," Aaron explained, biting the inside of his cheek. "We all get together and discuss the rules, talk about things, tell why you're here- just basic stuff like that. It helps the attendants and nurses and other patients get to know you all a little better, and helps you get familiar with us, too." Steven only sighed, breathing in slowly and letting it out in a huff as he shook his head. Didn't sound too fun. Was he going to have to explain the car crash again? Since apparently everyone in the hospital now had to know that he tried to kill himself? Hell, might as well take the extra step and explain it all in detail, too, since they were all getting familiar with one another… the hybrid rubbed his hand over his face again, sitting back silently. "Don't worry," Aaron told him with a small smile, glancing down. "It's really not that bad."

"Maybe not for you," Kevin grunted. "You don't have to explain why you're suicidal. It's not easy."

The fact that Steven actually agreed with Kevin was starting to get concerning.

… still didn't change the fact that he was right.