inbox;

[capforthat]

VOICE; VIDEO; TEXT; E-MAIL

"Hi! This is the CereVice of Bulma Briefs. I'm busy right now, but if you leave a message I'll get back to you soon.

Unless you're Vegeta. If you're Vegeta, you can just forget it. I'm still mad!"

[beep.]

Comments

[capforthat]

[She stands still, arms folded tightly and jaw set, armoring herself against the concern that threatens to temper her anger. This close to, he really does look horrible, and it has little to do with his cuts and bruises. It's that absent look on his face, like he's a thousand miles away. Still, she isn't surprised. He isn't a man that wears his heart on his sleeve; no doubt the events of the week are weighing on him just as heavily as they are on her.

If only she knew how much deeper it goes.

The brief meeting of eyes leaves her unsettled, but no less in the dark, and she shakes her head before heading down the hall with a bitter sigh. If this is how the morning is going to go, she'd almost rather just go back to bed. Not that she'd be able to sleep.

First aid kit in hand, she settles onto the couch beside Vegeta. Without so much as a glance at him, she opens the kit and starts sorting through the contents. Bulma uncaps a small bottle and presses a cotton ball--probably synthetic, certainly not cotton as Earth knows it--over the mouth.]

Geez, what happened to your shoulder? [She doesn't warn him that it might sting when she starts cleaning away what little dried blood remains--he can deal.] Those idiots. What part of 'don't be a hero' was so hard to understand?

[She doesn't expect an answer, and she doesn't wait for one.] So, you're over your little psychotic break, right?

[Or does she need to get to work synthesizing a bucketload of tranquilizer.]

[bigbingoattack]

[Vegeta sat stiffly beside his wife as she worked, his only movement the constant clenching and unclenching of his jaw, as if the man was losing some internal battle against himself, the slow sting at his shoulder the furthest thing from his mind.

Bulma's first question was easily brushed aside, the answer simple enough for the self-proclaimed genius to arrive to herself. The second, however, gave the Saiyan pause.

After the last few harrowing days, Vegeta was not completely sure he knew what real even meant anymore. There had been the loss of his most significant memories that had him regressing back to the man he'd been under Frieza's control, the discovery of their son's prone body tangled within Cerealia's strange lights, and the last three days spent under CERES thoughtful care.

So no, from where he sat now, Vegeta did not feel that this psychotic break was anywhere near over, even if his urge to blast Cerealia's citizens to bits had thankfully subsided. But since being reunited with his wife, even if he knew he'd never hear the end of this, the Saiyan couldn't deny that he felt at least a little more grounded than earlier that week. Bulma had always been the man's anchor when his confidence felt shaken, in those instances where his alienness just felt all too pronounced.

But that would take far too many words to explain, words that Vegeta did not currently have to share.

He stared ahead, blankly blinking at the wall across from where they sat.]

...Yes.

[capforthat]

[Her eyes lift briefly from her work at his shoulder, taking in his profile, the thousand yard stare leveled at the wall. It's obvious that he isn't in the mood to talk. That's fine. She doesn't need him to. She just needs him to hear her.]

Well, good, it better stay that way! I was worried sick, you idiot! [With that outburst she throws the bloodied cotton ball into the lid of the kit with enough vehemence to make it bounce. She sniffs and reaches for a sterile pad, ripping at the packaging.] Why didn't you say anything!? If I'd known I could've done something about it! [Just what, exactly, she doesn't know, but she would have thought of something. She's a genius, for crying out loud!

...and anything would've been better than watching, unable to talk Vegeta down, while the hero-types of Cerealia took their shots at him.]

It's not like I can just wish you back if something happens, you know!

[bigbingoattack]

[The silence stretches on.

Her husband's quiet likely isn't too big of a surprise for Bulma, not when he hasn't even dared to interrupt her tirade so far, the man simply allowing his wife to get whatever she has to say out into the open. To get this conversation over and done with.

Vegeta just wanted to wash his hands of the memories of the last few days completely.

Still, even with his unending silence, his eyes dart to the side to catch Bulma's gaze while she rants and raves, just to show that he does hear, even if he can't find the words to answer.]