Elastic Hearts

Relaxing Resolutions

~~ Two Weeks Later ~~

Steven's P.O.V

Sighing, I look up at the building in front of me and then back down at the little slip of paper in my hand. Yep, it's the right place. Shoving the slip into my jacket pocket, I walk up and open the glass door, entering in some sort of lobby area with small business outlets on both sides and a staircase coming down the dead center. My aim is past this though, so I walk to the exact opposite side and down the hallway until a door on the left wall makes me stop. Sure enough, it has her name on the plaque. That's all I need to know to go inside.

The room I step into has a waiting area sort of vibe that you'd see at a hospital, only with fewer people around and not having the fear, dread, or uncertainty of someone close to you possibly dying. It actually has a very relaxed feel to it, soft jazz playing in the background as an assortment of different kinds of chairs are cluttered together along one wall and the wall opposite it. There are a few people waiting as well, a mom with two kids, an older man, and a kid who looks to be a few years younger than me. Since my appointment doesn't start for another few minutes, I sit down next to the mom with two kids. They glance at me briefly before going back to their own thing, giving me a chance to rest my chin on my fists.

I never would've seen myself coming here at any point in my life. Nor would I have seen anything that's come to pass in the last month or two. Even though in my heart I feel like I handled things the best I could, I don't know, some part of me always thinks I can do better. It's my innermost drive of always wanting to fix problems, whether they exist or not, but it also tells that I'm someone who can never truly be satisfied about whatever's around him. I didn't realize this about myself sooner but thanks to all the quiet and peaceful days of the past week and a half, I've had plenty of time to self reflect on everything's that happened. Spinel really wanted to help but Pearl and Garnet insisted that I have that time to myself. I really wanted to include my girlfriend in on this but it's like I said before. Sometimes, people just have to handle things on their own.

"Steven Universe?" A voice calls out.

Looking up from my deep thoughts, I see Dr. Nayumi standing just outside her office door, gazing over at me with a smile. She's a lady that looks to be in her mid-twenties to early thirties with lightly tanned skin, long black hair, and dressed in corduroy pants, a white shirt with a light tan jacket, and a multicolored scarf around her neck. Returning the smile as best I can, I stand up and walk over. She nicely moves to the side to let me in and enters behind me, shutting the door behind her.

"Hello, Steven. My name is Isabella Nayumi and I'm gonna be your therapist" Dr. Nayumi chirps happily, a youthful warmness in both her tone and facial expression.

I reach out and shake her hand, liking her already.

"Nice to meet you. Thank you for seeing me" I reply.

"Of course. It's always fun working with kids like you, even though by the looks of it you're on your way out of that whole department" She jokes, "Please, have a seat anywhere you like and we can begin".

Nodding, I look around and see just the setting I've found myself in. Complimenting a desk in the corner of one wall are some shelves on the opposite and adjacent walls, which are painted bright blue, that have multiple different children's toys on them. By that alone, you'd think she works with younger kids most of the time but the part that seals the deal is the drawings she has pinned up on the wall that have the crude style of a small child. Settling on the small couch placed parallel along the wall, Dr. Nayumi sits down in her chair by her desk, legs crossed over one another, and looks at me patiently with a clipboard on her lap.