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hey u free i need 2 ask u somthin

[There was a really dumb moment where Bulba stared at his phone and wondered if this was how Vinnie asked people on dates. No. Probably not. But he still thought about it.]

Yeah I'm pretty free. Did you want to meet up or something?

[Ha ha, nope.]

mite b best 2. can u come ovr?

[Didn't actually think so.]

sure. your room?

[He hoped yes cause that's where he was heading and that's where he was gonna be knocking in a few minutes.]

Hello?

ya

[And that's where Vinnie was. He was sitting at his desk when Bulba knocked, and called out to him.]

Hey, come in.

[Bulba let himself in, looking tentatively curious as he did so. What was this about then? He wasn't really sure.]

Hey.

[Let him just shut the door behind him, there. Bulba cocked his head in Vinnie's direction as he wandered in a bit more.]

What's up?

[When Vinnie swivelled around to meet Bulba's face, his own looked undeniably concerned. The first thing he looked for was for any mark of the burns that he had seen the week before. They were hopefully healing up better than last time.

It seemed the circumstances of this personal call were not entirely pleasant.]

I was just worried 'bout something. Your burns better?

[Worried about something... Traces of Bulba's usual content expression became a bit more concerned, his curiosity becoming a bit more cautious. He automatically reached up to trace his fingertips across his jawline. The angry red bites of the burns had faded over the week, but a stubborn pinkness remained that Bulba wasn't sure would leave.

Assuming this was all Vinnie was worried about, Bulba gave an affirmative nod anyway and spoke reassuringly.]

Yeah. They're clearing up for the most part.

That's good.

[Vinnie tried to smile back, though it was small and tentative. There was too much about that fight he didn't know about - at first he thought there wasn't much to know, but... well, he had a bad feeling now. From what Voile said, it sounded like it was a lot uglier than he originally thought. He didn't want to automatically assume the worst, but it felt awkward trying to broach the question to Bulba. The Venusaur glanced at the floor for a second, mulling the words over in his head.]

Look, Voile mentioned she was there, and... [What was he gonna say? Did anything else happen? Are you keeping something from me? Vinnie hesitated.]

[Bulba had started to get a bit of a bad feeling in his stomach when Vinnie still seemed mostly worried. It was more of a pang of guilt than anything else. Guilty that he was still making him worry, that maybe he hadn't done a good enough job to try and assure the older saur that he was fine.]

Oh..

[The moment Voile's name unexpectedly hung in the air, the surprise was enough for him to lose his grip on how he felt. His reaction was more than enough to betray that things were definitely not as fine as Bulba had tried to make them out to be. For a moment Bulba just stared at Vinnie with a dumbfounded look, the rest of him going tense. His eyes widened slightly, the color of his face draining as the mild bad feeling in his stomach turned into a weight that dropped through it.

He should have expected that Voile might have spoken to Vinnie about it, but it was still a shock somehow. How much had they talked about? How much had she said? He suddenly felt a bit sick. Vinnie had been the person he hadn't wanted to face about it. Not at all. He didn't want to talk about this. He really didn't want to talk about this.

Bulba found himself taking a step backwards, as if that small degree of distance was enough to get his feelings back in order so those walls wouldn't crumble, but it was too late for that.]

[When Vinnie glanced up again, he was taken aback - he hadn't expected this level of reaction from Bulba. This wasn't what he wanted. He didn't want to make the other Venusaur feel afraid, feel like he was being accused or judged. Certainly, Vinnie's expression didn't read as such. Why, then?

Was Bulba really keeping something truly bad from him?

Doing his best to sound reassuring, Vinnie began smelling that much sweeter.]

She didn't say much. She didn't want t'go into it. But...

Something did happen, didn't it.

[He wouldn't have been so certain if Bulba hadn't gone so, so pale.]

[He fucked it up. Bulba didn't think it in those words, but that was the fact that he undeniably knew. With each breath of his soothing scent, the feeling got that much heavier. This shouldn't have been something that happened. She hadn't had said much, if he had just kept a tighter hold this wouldn't have had to happen. They wouldn't have had to been there with Vinnie looking so worried and Bulba messing it all up.

He was scared of being the one to have to hurt Vinnie. He hated feeling like he was going to put him in the same position Voile was in. Selfishly, irrationally, he was afraid the same things would happen. That he'd try to reach out to both and put down equal blame and never ask if he was okay. That had hurt far more than Bulba had ever let on, because he knew it wasn't his fault. He hadn't done anything to have what happened happen. He didn't want to rest his petty wants on the other Venusaur. He didn't want things to get worse.

The desperate need for all of his suppressed fears to escape clashed with violently with the desire to keep more ill from happening. The Venusaur kept his mouth shut tight, watching Vinnie with every uncertainty as his ears settled back against his head.

Please don't make me say it.]

[Vinnie's shoulders fell and slowly, dismay began to sink into his features. Why wouldn't Bulba tell him? It felt like last year all over again, caught between his brother and his kin - except this time, Vinnie was completely in the dark. And he hated it. He hated the fear and uncertainty of not knowing even more than he hated the confliction, he realized. And seeing Bulba this way, it was boring a hole into his chest that he didn't know how to fill.

He hung his head and stared at the ground, at a loss. There had been a fight. And, he noted with a wave of disappointment, Marie had started it. He'd managed to make Bulba angry. And then...

Then what? What happened in that space of time? Had it been something Marie did? Or Bulba, in his rage?]

I don't... blame you, Bulba. I know Marie. How he is.

I can take it. Just... please tell me something.

[Because he was already prepared to have his heart broken by his little brother once again.]

[Bulba just wasn't ready to break it.]

I... nnn... He tried to...

[His voice was already wavering and he bit his lip to keep himself from just blurting it all out. Bulba stared at his feet, his hands slowly moving on their own to hold himself as he tried to figure out what to say. He couldn't get away with not saying it. He had already started he just needed to keep going.

Honestly he was almost as ashamed to admit that he had allowed to happen as he was afraid to say it had. He had let the opportunity present itself.

For a few long, drawn-out moments, Bulba stayed silent despite his initial start. When he did speak again, it was very quiet and he couldn't bring himself to raise his head.]

... The scald was so he could get me on the ground... Just remember seeing white, and his hands on my face and...

[Bulba paused, swallowing. He had tried to forget the feeling, but it had kept coming back to him in the evening sometimes. The feeling of-]

There was a lot of water. Too much water going through my throat…

He tried to…

[After body horror week and talking to Voile]

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CALL - 12/25 at around 10:30 am

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