The Liberation of the Bubble Boy [open]

[craaazyisland]

You could spot a redheaded kid running through the hallways of Stacy this morning, occasionally yelling things like "WOOHOO!" and "YEAH FINALLY!"

Once the initial jubilation was over, Steve was quick to celebrate his newfound freedom. He went to the mess hall and ate a meal entirely consisting of real, non-slop food. He walked through every hallway he knew just because he could. He said hi to most people he ran into (who cared if they were untrustworthy and likely to stab him in the back later, they weren't science and medical staff!) He went to his room and flopped down on the bed, grateful to be anywhere that wasn't a 6x6 cell sectioned off by a bubble. He changed into some of the normal clothes he'd bought on shore leave, all too pleased to trash the ripped T-shirt he'd been covering up his injuries in.

And then he made his way to the obs deck, where he flopped down on one of the meaty couches and stared out into the Bleed, because it was endless and interesting to look at after spending three weeks staring at the same walls, the same ceiling and the same floor.

His upper right side was still a bit sore from the surgery, and there were still long bandages wrapped around his forearms, but he couldn't be bothered to care if anyone would ask him about them. He was free. Free.

It was even enough to make him stop thinking about things.

Comments

[ghost-bait.livejournal.com]

Miku sat at the end of his meat couch and didn't say a word. She'd spent her day post-Steve release chasing him down, and had always been just a few minutes behind. She was never much of a runner on her best days, this just gently cemented it.

Her hand patted his shin, as if assuring herself he was really there, and she sighed.

[craaazyisland]

He sat up slightly and then a wide, goofy smile spread across his face. "Hey, Miku!" Before she knew it he was on his feet and throwing his arms around her.

She could chalk the lack of awkward up to his utter thrill at being out of that bubble at last.

[ghost-bait.livejournal.com]

She squeaked in surprise, as she was suddenly surrounded by Steve. She did note that being out of the bubble made him quite a bit more affectionate (while she carefully shelved a bit of embarrassment for the both of them at being so public about their affection, here on the obs deck where anyone could walk by and see).

Still, she couldn't help but throw her arms around him in reply, and only squeezed a little bit. "Hello, Steve!" Miku's voice was muffled in his chest.

[craaazyisland]

"Hi."

It seemed to have just hit him how very physical they were being in the middle of a public area. He slowly released her to about arm's length, his face and hair color matching big-time.

"I'm out!" he said. Though obviously she knew too. "Finally!"

[ghost-bait.livejournal.com]

Miku put her hands over his and smiled up at him, "I'm glad!" The reddening of her cheeks wasn't as terrible as it could've been, thank goodness. "I didn't mean for you to jump up like that, I was just happy to not have a bubble sitting between us."

Like some kind of ridiculous (super-effective) chaperon.

[craaazyisland]

"No, it's fine. I was just sitting here," he assured her. Boy, it was easy to forget how nice it was to hug your girlfriend when you spent three weeks unable to hug anyone at all.

"It feels so good to be out of there, you have no idea. I've been running around like a nut all day," he admitted a bit sheepishly. "I'm just SO glad."

[ghost-bait.livejournal.com]

Miku laughed, "I know! I've been trying to chase you down all day." She closed the gap between them and hugged him again. It did feel nice. Miku pulled away and looked up at him, and pushed some hair out of his face.

"I feel a lot less anxious now."

[craaazyisland]

"I didn't want to make you worry." He reached down and took a hold of her hand, still smiling awkwardly. "But you don't have to worry anymore. I'll be fine now."

Something suddenly hit him. "Oh yeah, I have to give you your present still, remember?"

[ghost-bait.livejournal.com]

"Oh! Oh, that's right!" She still had his, too. Well, at least whatever had been in her room had gone away, and she could get it without worrying about any weird feelings or notions. "I have yours, too. Do you want to go get them and meet back here? Or somewhere else?"

[restoresbalance.livejournal.com]

Luke couldn't miss the sudden burst of joy, and when he found its source his face broke out into the biggest Skywalker Grin possible, on maximum bright and shiny setting.

"Steve! They let you out!"

[craaazyisland]

"Yeah!" Luke was probably shocked when Steve ran straight up to him and threw his arms around him.

It was a few seconds before he got shy and pulled away. "Hi," he said awkwardly.

[restoresbalance.livejournal.com]

Luke was shocked, yeah, but not enough to keep from hugging Steve up completely without shame. He was glad to see his young friend happy again.

"Been running laps around Stacy to work off all that pent-up energy?"

[craaazyisland]

"Yeah, actually," he laughed, and stared at the nearest wall for a second until his blush wore off. "Just getting around to places I haven't been able to go for three weeks. Even saying hi to people."

[restoresbalance.livejournal.com]

"That's good." Luke grinned. "I'm glad to see you're out of there and back to normal." He didn't pay any mind to the bandages still on the other's arms. Seeing Steve out, about, and grinning was all Luke needed; after a lifetime of conflict, that much was enough to qualify for a good day in Luke's book.

"Talked to the doctors yet about training?"

[craaazyisland]

"Yeah..." Steve looked a little awkwardly up at Luke. "I mentioned it to Dr. Sera when he was checking me out for release. He said if I end up back in medical because I was messing around, he's going to launch me out an airlock."

Then he smiled again. "But you said it wouldn't get that bad, right?"

[restoresbalance.livejournal.com]

"No, I'll be sure to keep an eye on you. Both eyes, even. And the Force." Luke grinned. "I really want to see you get more confidence in yourself, Steve. And training you up more might help toward that."

He eyed the teenager speculatively. "If you think you're up to it..."

[craaazyisland]

"Yeah, well... I think being good at anything besides being a liability will probably be good for me," Steve admitted with a little shrug. "I want to be stronger, no matter what it takes."

[flunkingspanish.livejournal.com]

"Steve!"

The meat couch jiggled as Paco vaulted over the back of it, coming in for a landing that barely missed crushing Steve's legs. "They finally cut you loose! Or did you escape on your own? If you escaped, I definitely never saw you and I didn't even slightly point you toward good hiding places."

He was joking, of course. If Steve had escaped, he wouldn't have been hanging out in the Obs Deck.

[craaazyisland]

Man, Paco was fast. Steve had barely even registered his presence before stuttering out a "Uh- I- hey, Paco."

Then his brain caught up with the rest of him as he sat up and scooted over to give Paco some room. "They cut me loose. Trust me, if there was a way to break out of that stupid bubble, I would've done it weeks ago."

[flunkingspanish.livejournal.com]

"I bet," Paco agreed. "The Medbay's got a lot to offer, but entertainment's not on that list. How's your freedom been treating you so far? Seen your girlfriend, gotten actual food-food?"

[craaazyisland]

"Check and check." Steve looked very satisfied about both. "I actually went for a jog just because I could move more than six feet in any direction. I never thought I'd be so happy to use the tubes."

[flunkingspanish.livejournal.com]

"Talk about cruel and unusual punishment," Paco said with a wince. "What were you in there for so long for anyway? I heard something bad went down, did Stacy have to reattach your limbs or something?"

He started poking Steve's arms and legs, as if he was trying to determine if they were metal replacements like his right arm or flesh and blood like normal.

[craaazyisland]

Paco might have noticed Steve getting a tad pale, then suddenly reaching over and grasping the top of the bandage wrapped around his prodded arm-- making sure it wasn't going to fall down.

"That stupid bitch GLaDOS attacked me," he said after a suspiciously long pause. No point in lying about that. Everybody knew that. "And she ended up dumping some weird chemicals on me. I had a bad reaction."

Wasn't a half-bad lie, considering.

[flunkingspanish.livejournal.com]

Paco pulled his hands back when Steve grabbed his bandages, offering an apologetic half-smile. "Sorry dude. I won't poke anymore. Glad you're all right; it must have been one hell of a bad reaction for them to lock you up."

He sighed. "I wish there was something we could do about GLaDOS. She is really an unbelievable pain in the backside."

[craaazyisland]

Steve kind of just shrugged his shoulders at Paco's apology. "I guess they were afraid it was gonna spread or something." Technically true!

And he was obviously in agreement with Paco on the second point. "Yeah, Jesus. What the hell is she even good for? You know, for a ship that's supposed to be protecting and taking care of us, Stacy sure can't control an awful lot of dangerous shit."