A/N: SPECIAL CHAPTER!
Preparing to leave was probably the worst part.
As excited as he was to go home with Greg and Aster, there was still a part of him that couldn't shake the anxiety, and the disappointment. Once it really set in that he would be leaving, abandoning the friends he'd made and been with for the past week, and the entire schedule and everything the mental facility came with - the stability that it came with - he grew more and more nervous. Wondering if maybe he would revert back to his old ways once he stepped foot out of the hospital, if all this progress he'd made would be for nothing. Aster continued to reassure him that his problems wouldn't just go away when he left the place that had been helping him deal with them recently, and that he would personally ensure that he still got the proper attention and care that he needed (and that Greg, certainly, would), but he couldn't help but feel anxious. Still, he knew there was nothing he could do about that - so he buried himself in games with his friends, binge-watched as much of Balance during free time after Greg and Bismuth left as he could, and flipped through a few books in his bed after dinner while they waited for lights out.
Bedtime came, and he spent his time with Aster as per usual. His brother had retreated back to their gem after Greg had left, admitting that he did enjoy meeting his friends, and he was growing fond of Bismuth. He didn't mention anything about Greg until Steven brought him up, but even then, he seemed hesitant to touch on the subject. And when the hybrid tried to press, Aster gently reminded him that he didn't need help dealing with his relationship with their father - he'd deal with everything in his own time, Steven just needed to worry about himself right then.
As much as Steven wanted to help, he knew his brother was right. So he let the subject drop, despite his growing frustration. Maybe he could bring it up tomorrow - he was still having trouble with the 'not his problem to fix' thing, but there was something between Aster and Greg. Something that he'd missed before, but now it was starting to worry him - just a little bit.
The next morning seemed to go by painfully slow, but at the same time, he milked it for all it was worth. Peedee greeted him with a smile in the morning, giving him his medicine and ushering him off to the shower. This time, Steven managed to stretch a little bit to reach his back without it causing too much pain; he would have shapeshifted, but using his powers took an awful lot out of him recently, and he didn't feel like extending his arms and exhausting himself for the rest of the day. He could just ask for help if he needed it - but he didn't, not this morning, which pleased him. His back certainly felt better, and it was much easier to turn and twist now. He even noticed that the ever-present ache in his leg was gone - even the numbness had vanished. A good sign, for sure, but Steven wasn't going to take advantage of the lack of pain just yet.
"Last day," Kevin commented as the hybrid came out of the shower, carefully easing himself into his wheelchair. The man got up, walking over to help him before Peedee had the chance to move; Steven huffed out a laugh, reaching out to grab onto Kevin's arms as the man turned him to sit in the wheelchair gently, offering a grateful smile. "How's it feel to be a free man?"
"Terrifying," Steven admitted. "Fucking terrifying."
"Well, you'll probably be happier to know you can skip morning group," Peedee piped up, and Steven raised his eyebrows slightly at that, tilting his head to peer around Kevin with a curious look. "But they want to do a checkup on you after breakfast today, check out your leg and your back before you can go- just routine, checking out your injuries. Your dad's coming by at ten to pick you up- so you should have a little time in between to say goodbye to everyone else too." A small, understanding smile tugged at his lips when Steven frowned, and the hybrid hissed out a sigh through his teeth as he looked back up at Kevin, eyebrows furrowing together faintly. But he tugged his lips upwards after a moment, into a crooked, dry kind of smile at the man.
"'Least I don't gotta sit through Landen's lecture today," he mumbled. "Give him hell for me."
"Oh, don't I always?" Kevin snickered, stepping back so that Steven could start rolling himself out of the room. The hybrid let out a quiet hum, pushing himself out, and they both fell into step with him - Peedee on one side and Kevin on the other - and it, admittedly, took Steven a second to realize someone was missing. He screeched to a halt, and the other two barely managed to avoid bumping into other patients and nurses, shuffling closer to him in surprise and simultaneously avoiding the now somewhat cross-looking crowd. "What the hell, Steven-?"
"Where's Aaron?" Steven flicked his gaze around, twisting his head slightly to look behind them with a puzzled expression on his face. "Kevin, how did you not notice your stalker is missing?"
"Beecause he told me he wasn't gonna be here yesterday," Kevin informed him, grabbing the wheelchair to start pushing Steven along himself when the people behind them started grumbling, and the hybrid barely managed to yank his hands away from the wheels on time. "We had a talk and I had to answer a few questions, but he said I'd be taken off of one-to-one for now. Hell, I'd have probably been discharged if I hadn't asked to stay-" Steven paused at this, only for a second, and looked up at him; the man merely shrugged, letting out a sigh. "Hey, between here and my house, I'd rather be here. But apparently I've made enough progress to where I don't need to be kept under twenty-four hour surveillance, so no more stalkers."
"Damn, Kev." Steven couldn't help but grin, just a little, as he looked ahead. "Congrats."
"Yeah, well." Kevin fell silent for a moment, then heaved out another sigh. His voice was quieter when he spoke next, somewhat reluctant, and the hybrid understood why. "If either of you tell him this, I swear to god I'll rip your tongue out, but I think I'm actually gonna miss the creep."
"I'm so telling him that," Peedee muttered.
"Say goodbye to your fucking tongue, Fryman."
"Maybe a violent outburst'll get you put back under surveillance," Steven commented, cracking a grin at their banter. "I think that's kinda sweet, though. I'm sure he'll miss you, too, y'know."
"Oh, definitely," Peedee cut in, throwing a grin toward Kevin. "I mean, you can only watch someone while they sleep for so long before you develop an emotional attachment to them." At this, Kevin actually took a half-hearted swing at the other man, and Peedee leaned away with a laugh, taking a few steps away from them but still staying beside the wheelchair. "I'm kidding! Lots of the nurses tend to get attached to their patients during one-to-ones. Take Vexy for example, she gets attached to literally everyone. Aaron's probably crying his eyes out right now, but I'm sure he's happy that you're showing improvement," Peedee added, and Steven grinned.
"I know I am," he declared, glancing up at Kevin, and the man ducked his head, looking away. But he was grinning - Steven could see that, just before he turned his head away. "Really."
"Alright, I get it," Kevin groaned.
"Nice to see you in touch with your emotional side," Steven commented idly, earning a light smack on the back of the head. He offered a theatrical wince, despite the blow not really hurting at all - if anything, it drew a quiet laugh from his lips, one he tried in vain to smother. "Oh, ow."
"Okay, now, don't do that," Peedee warned, but he was grinning. "You're technically not supposed to even be touching his wheelchair, much less touching him, much less hitting-"
"Okay Mom," Kevin interrupted, and turned his attention back to Steven before the other man had a proper chance to register what he'd just said. "But listen, for real now, Steven, you better come visit. Because if you leave me here with Parker and Will as a form of entertainment without even stopping by once a day to shut them the fuck up, you better pray I never find out where you live because I will murder you when I finally decide I wanna get the hell outta dodge."
"Parker and Will aren't that bad," Steven huffed. "Besides, I will come visit. I already promised Parker that he'd get to meet Connie, so maybe we can both stop in." He paused, glancing up at Kevin, half-expecting some kind of reaction - but the man only relaxed, seeming content with that, and Steven allowed the tension to drain from his own shoulders after a moment, as well. He looked ahead, somewhat relieved to see the doors to the cafeteria in sight, and even happier when he was rolled inside. Kevin eventually passed him back over to Peedee so that he could get his own food, grabbing two coffee cups to fill them up while Steven selected a salad. And they made their way over to their usual table with Parker and Will; the former was currently scooping his eggs onto Will's plate while the man's attention was fixed on them, waving. "Good morning," Steven greeted, eyeing Parker as Peedee pushed him into place at the table. Parker glanced up, beamed, and went back to what he was doing, silent and stealthy as ever.
Kevin sat down beside Steven, offering him one of the coffees and sliding the other to Will. That was their new arrangement - Kevin would get a coffee and give it to Will in the mornings since the other man 'couldn't function' on one cup of coffee every day, and Will gave him his snacks for the rest of the week. The hybrid hid a smile, taking a sip of his own coffee with a hum.
"Morning," Will greeted happily, taking the coffee and turning back to his food. Parker managed to pull back on time, turning back to his tray and poking at his sausage with a fork, and Will, while he did study the eggs on his plate, seemed to dismiss it for now, picking up a pudding cup on the edge of his tray and sliding it over to Kevin, who accepted it with a cheerful grin. Peedee sank down into his usual seat, eyes fixed on them, but the smile on his face made it clear he wasn't about to rat anybody out anytime soon. Neither of them bothered to be subtle with him around. "Okay, so I don't think we're gonna be able to finish Balance before you have to leave," Will began, turning his attention to Steven. "So you have to promise me you're gonna finish it-"
"I will," Steven replied solemnly, putting his coffee down to press his hand to his chest. "I, Steven Quartz Cutie Pie DeMayo Diamond Universe, solemnly swear to finish the Balance series."
"Good boy," Parker cooed at him, and Steven halfheartedly tossed the wrapper to Kevin's plastic spork at him. The boy leaned back with a grin, though the wrapper didn't actually land anywhere near him - if anything, it was a little closer to Kevin than it had been before. The hybrid just ended up sticking his tongue out at Parker before he turned back to his food, taking another sip of coffee and ripping through the wrapper of his own spork to start on the salad. "Either way, we're gonna interrogate you when you come to visit- you are gonna visit, right? Because if you don't, Stevie, I swear to god I'm gonna-"
"I already got the lecture from Kevin," Steven interrupted, cracking a grin in Parker's direction despite himself. Honestly, he was a little surprised by how well they were all taking it - even threatening to destroy him if he didn't come visit, which he already planned on doing anyway, wasn't as bad as what he'd been expecting. Which honestly made him wonder what he had been expecting in the first place, and why the hell it wasn't this. "Trust me, I'll come visit."
"You better," Will agreed through a mouthful of eggs, washing it down with his coffee with a somewhat disgusted expression. Steven studied him for a moment, flicking his gaze toward Parker; the boy was still subtly picking apart his sausage, seemingly trying to make it seem like there wasn't as much there as it really was. Watching for a moment, the hybrid just huffed out a chuckle and ducked his head to shovel a spork-ful of salad into his mouth, studying the bowl in front of him for a moment and debating on whether to try to eat over half of it again, or to save himself the trouble of throwing up and just push through half of it. After a few bites, he decided not to push himself - he didn't want to sour the day's mood by making himself puke again. Despite the knowledge of him leaving looming over their heads, everyone seemed happy. Steven, himself, wasn't exactly too down in the dumps either, not with the knowledge that he'd also be seeing them again. This wasn't 'goodbye', just 'see you guys later'. That's all.
He finished half of his salad and carried on a brief conversation with the others, nothing too special happening until they had to depart for morning group. "Time for a doctor visit," the hybrid muttered, pushing himself back while Will grabbed his tray and coffee cup for him. "See you guys in… art therapy." He glanced at Peedee, pausing. "I'll still have time for art therapy, right?"
"It depends on how long your appointment takes and how soon your dad gets here," Peedee admitted, pulling him out and turning the wheelchair toward the door. "But you should, yeah."
"Have fun!" Parker called, and the other two joined in sarcastically.
Steven flipped them off over his shoulder, but he was grinning regardless as Peedee rolled him out of the cafeteria, turning down the hall to head to the familiar hospital-like room that Steven often went to before his sessions with Maria. He rolled his shoulders back, breathing in through his teeth and leaning his head back with a sigh. His gem hummed, a quiet, whirring vibration, before it settled again; he could feel Aster there, feel his presence as if he were right there beside him, reassuring and calm. It was enough to bring a smile to his face, if only for a split second. "So…" He began, tilting his head back to look up at Peedee. "What're they checking?"
"Well, the doctors here are probably just gonna wanna check your back," Peedee replied thoughtfully, eyebrows furrowing faintly. He glanced down at Steven after a moment, as the hybrid twisted his mouth into a contemplative frown. "Anything specific you want checked?"
"My leg, maybe…" Steven trailed off. "But this isn't a hospital, so-"
"Actually, we can do x-rays here, too," Peedee cut him off, a slight grin tugging at his lips, and Steven blinked. "Apparently a while ago they decided it'd be nice to have an actual hospital department here in case the patients got injured, so that they wouldn't have to take them out of the facility. So they sectioned off a part of the facility to act as a medical unit- which includes x-rays and stuff like that. I mean, obviously nothing big like CT scans or anything, but we make do with what we have. It's rare for a patient actually needing to go to the hospital," he added. Steven relaxed slightly, eyebrows furrowing.
"So they can check my leg." That sounded pretty good, actually - the fact that it wasn't hurting him anymore made him want to see if it was still broken. It wasn't numb, either, which led him to believe that the base of his spine was getting better too; and if it was, then it basically confirmed his suspicions. That he was healing himself. Which could mean one of two things; Aster being free kickstarted his healing abilities, or, considering it was linked to psychology and whether he felt like he deserved it, or wanted it to heal, that he really was recovering, better than he'd hoped, mentally. It was probably the former, of course, but it didn't keep him from wondering. The hybrid leaned his head back, breathing out a shaky sigh of relief, and squeezed his eyes shut. After this, he was going home. Home to his dad. Jasper. Bismuth. Lapis. Peridot. Connie.
… Connie.
The hybrid blinked his eyes open. "I need to make a phone call."
"You'll be able to after your appointment-"
"No, no," Steven insisted, pushing himself to sit up a little more. "Connie, she doesn't know I'm being discharged today. I gotta call her and tell her." At this, Peedee paused and slowed down for a second, as if he was considering letting the hybrid make the phone call; but, after a moment, he continued pushing him on down the now-empty hall, much to his dismay.
"I'll call her while you're getting checked," his friend suggested, and Steven managed to relax, if only a little bit. Yeah, that kind of sucked - he'd been kind of excited for Connie to come visit. But at the same time, this also meant he'd be able to see her more often than he would in the facility. She'd be able to come by. That was a little more reassuring - but he couldn't help but feel somewhat guilty, and he wasn't sure why. A part of his mind supplied the almost absurd possibility that she might think he was trying to avoid seeing her, but he shook the thought off. He hadn't expected to get discharged when he'd called her and made plans for her to visit. Even Peedee hadn't known; it wasn't anybody's fault, it had just happened. The hybrid swallowed, breathing in through his nose and sinking back again with a sigh, as the guilt faded slightly.
The first part of the checkup was easy enough. They weighed him, checked his height, then had him strip briefly so they could check him over for any injuries. Halfway through, Vexy came in; she immediately hugged him, and the hybrid huffed out a laugh as he hugged her back.
"I'm gonna miss you so much," the nurse whined as she pulled away.
Steven cracked a grin, shifting when one of the doctors told him to and straightening up a little so they could properly check the scars on his back. Vexy was a nice distraction from that; talking to her made it easier to ignore the shame curling in his gut, the guilt that often accompanied the idea of anybody looking at his scars, so he gladly pinned his focus on her. "Well, I'm coming back to visit the guys," he told her. "I'd be happy to stop and say hi to you too."
"You'd better," Vexy replied warmly, and Steven grinned as she hugged him again, only to pull back quickly when the doctor protested. "Sorry, I'm sorry-" She giggled, and the hybrid allowed her to rest her hand on his head, gingerly, careful not to mess up the curls - which he greatly appreciated. "I'm just emotional," she sighed to him, rubbing her other hand over her face. But she was smiling when she dropped it again, and Steven couldn't help but crack a grin, too. Yeah, he'd definitely grown fond of Vexy. She did remind him of what he used to be - friendly, kind, trusting, helpful. And she was genuine. Steven liked her - he liked her a lot, actually. "So." Vexy breathed in, pulling up a stool to sit in front of him. "Are you gonna miss this place?"
Steven furrowed his eyebrows at that, but the smile didn't fade. He was sure she already knew his answer - but he didn't respond right away, letting a thoughtful expression cross his face. "Like I said, I'm coming back to visit," he finally replied. "But… yeah, I think I'll miss it a little." The confession wasn't a hard one to make - it wasn't really something he was ashamed of. Maybe a little embarrassed by how adamant he had been in the beginning, about not wanting to come - but he was glad, nonetheless, to have this experience regardless. It hadn't been at all what he thought it would, he'd made new friends, he'd learned a lot, and most importantly, he'd realized exactly what he really wanted - which wasn't to die, no, it was just to get some relief. And he'd learned that maybe he can still do that. Maybe he can still get better. There was a chance - a small one, if nothing else, but it was still a chance, and he was going to take it.
"Your back looks good," the doctor declared, before Vexy could respond; Steven turned his head slightly, somewhat relieved by that. "The scars are healing up about as well as we could hope. They've scabbed over- should start fading in another few weeks." He stepped around the table the hybrid was sitting on, handing him his shirt and turning slightly toward one of the nurses. "Now let's go ahead and get that cast off so we can get your x-rays done, hm?"
"You're getting your leg checked already?" Vexy sounded somewhat surprised; Steven paused, pulling his shirt over his head carefully and sliding his arms into the sleeves. It still didn't hurt too much to move - aside from a slight tingle where the scars were, but that pain was tolerable.
"I wanna see if it's healing," he admitted after a second. "It doesn't hurt anymore."
Vexy offered him a curious look, somewhat quizzical, but Steven only needed to gesture to his gem for her to understand. She opened her mouth, forming a faint 'o' shape, before her lips curled upwards into a grin; the nurse stood, ruffling his hair lightly before retreating so that the doctor could take her place on the stool, scooting a little closer and holding up a small electrical saw; Steven recognized it with ease - one of the tools they'd used for construction on Little Homeworld. Of course, it looked a little different; smaller, for sure, with a different handle. But the blade was the same, and he found himself staring at it as the doctor switched it off. And he seemed to notice Steven's shoulders tense, just slightly, because he held it up for him to see. "This is just what we use to cut through the cast so we can take it off easier," he explained, and Steven nodded faintly, staring at the blade. "It'll be very precise, very quick. Don't you worry."
He wasn't worried. He just didn't like being that close to a blade; he didn't like seeing the light glinting off of the silver; he didn't like watching it slice through the cast when the doctor began the process of cutting it off; he didn't like having it close to his skin, imagining it piercing through him, imagining the blood that would ooze out, and the pain, and… no, he didn't like it. He didn't like it because, while it did bring a rather relieving sense of nausea, it also made his heart race.
Steven squeezed his eyes shut until it was over.
He only looked again when the cast had finally been removed; the actual cutting part was quick enough, but actually getting it off took a little more time. Once it was off, though, the doctor stood and left the room briefly to grab something else, and Steven turned his attention to his foot, curiously tilting it up a little bit and lifting his leg as much as he could to study it completely. He hadn't gotten to see it after the crash - the cast had already been on it when he woke up.
Curiously enough, it didn't look much different from his other one. Didn't feel much different, either. That was comforting, too - he was expecting bruises, or swelling, but it looked alright. Vexy came over briefly to check it, herself, mumbling a quiet, "wow, looks pretty good to me," under her breath as Steven managed to pull his leg up onto the table, wincing slightly. It still hurt - but less of a 'broken' kind of hurt and more of a 'sore' kind of hurt. He kept it where it was after that, until the doctor returned, wheeling in some kind of machine that vaguely resembled an x-ray machine - just a little bit smaller. He stared, as the doctor ushered the other nurses and Vexy out of the room, flipping the main lights off and only leaving one of them on.
"So, this is a portable x-ray machine," the doctor began, rolling the machine over to him. "Basically it saves you the trouble of having to go back and forth from one room to another. I'm just gonna have to ask you to lay down on your back and stretch your legs out."
Steven did as requested without complaint, listening to the machine as it hummed and whirred as the pictures were snapped. He did have to turn his leg slightly at a few different angles - wasn't anything too difficult, he managed to do everything as requested and by the end of it, he wasn't even in that much pain. But the ache in his legs was strong enough to keep him laying down for the time being, even as the doctor turned the lights back on and let the nurses and Vexy come back inside, rolling the machine back out after informing Steven that he'd be right back after he looked the x-rays over thoroughly. The hybrid didn't respond, reaching out to take Vexy's hand when it was offered to him and letting her pull him into a sitting position with a sigh. "They might have to put another cast on," she warned him. "If it's still broken."
"I know." Steven closed his eyes, nodding. If it was still broken. But at this point, comparing the pain he was in now to the pain he was in when he'd woken up in the hospital, he knew something had to be different. Maybe it was still broken, but it couldn't possibly be as bad as it had been then. He knew it certainly didn't feel as bad as it did then. And that had to be good.
Vexy kept him company for a while, talking about random things while they waited for the doctor to come back. And, eventually, the subject ended up focused on Aster; "Wish I'd been there," Vexy commented, shaking her head with a smile. "Aaron told me he was very polite."
Steven fell silent for a moment, twisting his mouth thoughtfully. "Maybe you can still meet him," he finally suggested, tentatively. His gem hummed slightly in agreement, a faint glow pulsing through the hybrid's shirt, and he couldn't help but crack a grin; Vexy seemed to notice, glancing down briefly with a curious look on her face. "I mean, I know it's my last day and all, but it certainly wouldn't hurt, right? At least for a few minutes?" He added, looking up at the nurse. "He's not gonna cause trouble or anything. He tends to kinda stick to me like glue anyway."
"Asking me to bend the rules, huh, Steven? Look at you." Vexy cracked a grin, while Steven's gem hummed again. "Well," she finally whispered, "I certainly won't tell anybody if you don't."
Aster's appearance was the same process as before - but it didn't take as long, this time, since his brother seemed to be getting the hang of projecting himself from the gem now. He materialized beside Steven, sitting on the edge of the table with his legs hanging over the side - and, while his initial reaction was to focus his attention on Steven, the hybrid quickly redirected him to Vexy; who, to her credit, didn't look startled or surprised, just excited and amazed. "Aster, Ms. Prime- Ms. Prime, Aster," Steven introduced, as Aster extended his hand for a handshake.
"You can call me Vexy," Vexy assured, sticking her tongue out at Steven briefly before flashing another warm smile at Aster, whose lips twitched in response. "It's a pleasure to meet you."
"The pleasure's all mine. Thank you for taking care of Steven," Aster added, pulling his hand back and settling both of them in his lap, fingers curled. "He's very fond of you." At this, Steven lightly nudged his shoulder against his pink brother's, though he didn't really care - he was fond of Vexy, and that was something he wasn't scared to admit. She had been good to him.
Once again, they carried a simple conversation; Vexy ended up telling them all about her own two brothers. Her older brother, Vincent, and her younger brother, Chaka. Apparently she didn't see them as much anymore - her older brother stayed with their father, traveling for some kind of business, and her younger brother apparently wasn't old enough to be on his own either. Vexy had moved out years ago, cutting ties with whatever business they had going and finding her calling here, in the mental facility, helping the patients. Admittedly, the story was fascinating; Steven found himself smiling by the end of it. She really wanted to help people - not in the same way he did, or the way Maria did, but a different kind of help. And she was genuine. Excited. Even through the worry that dared to engulf him, the desperate need to question why, he managed to feel happy for her. And with that, he even managed to feel happy for Maria. Maybe it would always be difficult coming to terms with it, but it wasn't his job to come to terms with it. They were happy doing what they did. He hadn't been. Not really. Not for a long, long time.
All of the nurses ended up taking somewhat of a fascination in Aster - and it was amusing to see his brother being the center of attention. He didn't seem uncomfortable with it; maybe a little overwhelmed, at first, with all the people, but he could see his brother steadily relaxing as the conversation went on. They liked him because he was calm, civilized, polite, gentle. He gave off a certain kind of peaceful vibe, the same kind that caused Steven to relax around him so easily. He eventually found himself sinking sideways against his brother, and Aster wrapped an arm around his shoulders to steady him as he continued talking, as if they'd always been like this.
Admittedly, he had almost fallen asleep by the time the doctor returned. "So I compared your-" He stopped - and Steven blinked his eyes open at once, alarmed. Aster even seemed to tense slightly beside him, but otherwise, he didn't move an inch, simply curled his fingers lightly into Steven's shirt and narrowed his eyes toward the doctor, somewhat defensively. Vexy, however, offered both of the boys a reassuring, somewhat chiding look - in Aster's direction, at least - before she spun around on the stool to face the doctor, smiling as brightly as ever again.
"This is Aster," she informed him. "Steven's brother."
"Ah- hello," the doctor greeted, still looking somewhat put-off by the pink gem's sudden reappearance. He wasn't the only one that was perturbed, though; to Steven's surprise, when the doctor stepped forward to offer his brother a handshake, Aster simply narrowed his eyes further and didn't move until the man had pulled away again, with an awkward smile. "Right. Steven," he began, turning his attention back to the hybrid, who only allowed his gaze to linger on his brother for a few seconds longer before he turned away again. "I compared your x-rays today with the ones that they took at the general hospital, and… everything looks fine. Leg and spine. I can't explain it, but the fractures have healed for the most part. There's still a noticeable crack in the bones, but it's nothing too serious. You shouldn't be needing another cast."
Beside him, he could practically feel the tension drain from his brother in an instant, and the hybrid, himself, couldn't help but crack a huge grin. Fine. He was fine. He was healed. "Does that mean I can walk?" He shot a glance toward the wheelchair, narrowing his eyes faintly at it.
"I'd recommend trying to, yes. You'll still likely be sore, but we'll keep you on your medication for another week to help you deal with that," the doctor replied, crossing his arms over his chest. "That doesn't mean you should start going jogging or playing sports anytime soon, though. If you're still sore, you should give your leg time to properly heal up before you try any major physical activity-" At that point, Steven was hardly bothering to listen, already pushing himself up to slide off of the table. Aster shuffled forward to help him down, jumping to his feet himself and shooting the doctor a sharp look when he stepped forward, halting the man in his tracks.
"Careful," Aster warned, turning back to Steven as the hybrid finally managed to get on his feet, breathing in shakily as he pressed his right foot to the floor. Sure enough, he was definitely still sore; the ache was enough to make him recoil, if only briefly, before he forced his foot down again, pressing it to the floor and shifting some of his weight onto it. And he could hardly mask his relief when his leg didn't immediately buckle beneath him, holding himself up cautiously.
"Do you still want the wheelchair?" Vexy asked as she stood up, brushing herself off.
"Nope." Steven huffed out a laugh, pressing his foot against the ground a little harder and finally daring to take a slight step forward, wincing slightly as he did. Aster stepped with him, keeping one arm around him, but letting Steven support himself for the most part. "So am I good? I can go?" He finally asked, looking up at the doctor, who was simply watching him carefully now.
"Yes, you can, but just remember not to overexert yourself."
"Got it." Steven stepped toward the door, still careful and slow, more or less just worried about keeping his balance than anything. Aster followed along beside him, clearly having no intentions of leaving anytime soon, and Vexy followed after them as they made their way through the doorway, calling a quick goodbye to the doctor and shutting the door behind them with a laugh.
"Well, look at you," she exclaimed, making her way to Steven's other side as the hybrid kept walking, finally relaxing a little more as he grew more comfortable with walking again. Aster finally pulled back a little, but he curled his hand around the hybrid's arm gently as they walked along. Steven still had a bit of a limp, still trying not to put too much pressure on his leg yet - instinct, for the most part, he knew - but it was getting easier to walk regardless, and the pain itself was steadily ebbing away as they walked down the hall, the stiffness in his muscles fading. "I'm sure the guys are gonna flip out when they see you walking. Your dad's gonna be happy."
"Definitely," Steven agreed, pausing to wrap his arm around Aster, and his brother stopped to let him get adjusted and only started walking again when Steven did. "You're not leaving, are you?" He asked his brother after a moment - but he was grinning, anyway. They both knew Steven didn't mind - if anything, he was more than happy to have his brother at his side, 'bending the rules' or not. And Vexy only grinned, clearly not minding, herself, so he figured it was okay. Just for today. Just for his last day at the facility - a day he wanted to spend with everyone.
It had been a long time - a really, really long time since he had ached to be around people like this. And he was cherishing every god damn second of this feeling, knowing how rare it was. Steven was a social butterfly, for certain. Recently, of course, hadn't been a good example of that - but he was happy to make up for it now.
"No, I am not, Steven," Aster mumbled, and his lips twitched, tugging upwards, when Steven squeezed his shoulders, pulling his brother a little closer to him with a laugh.