Defensive as Steve may be, he can tell that Mettaton's question is well-meaning and isn't intended as some kind of judgment, so he doesn't take it the wrong way.

"I'm not that bad," he insists as he crosses his arms tight over his narrow chest. "But if someone's being a bully or talking a bunch of bull, I'm not going to let them get away with it." As if Steve is so fearsome. He absolutely isn't, but that's never stopped him and it won't going forward.

"Anyway, you shouldn't worry about me. Go get some rest, you probably need it." Steve's not the one who recently got shot, here. Some bloody knuckles he can absolutely deal with.