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It had been a fairly uneventful night as far as Karen was concerned.
Her husband would most likely be back soon, bruised and battered after another day of failure, but that wasn't anything new. The rest of the night really depended on how out of sorts he was from it all. She wished he'd choose literally any other hobby, specifically one that wouldn't damn near constantly have him teetering on the edge.
He really was an odd one, she thought absentmindedly.
She huffed and went back to her book.
It wasn't long before the doors swung open with a battered and defeated Plankton in tow. Right on schedule. She tried to subtly scan him with her eyes before approaching. Mostly to see if he had any pressing injuries that needed to be tended to but instead her eyes snagged on his face.
Now Karen was no stranger to her husband's sullen mood. His less than ideal mental health was quite frankly a staple of their failing marriage. But she had to admit that her heartstrings were tugged by the sight of his sunken eyes and downtrodden expression.
She stood up from her seat and made her way over to him as casually as she could, slinking into place. She hovered over him as he half-heartedly made his way around their kitchen.
"Didn't go as planned huh?"
He nodded faintly but otherwise kept his mouth sealed. She frowned placing a hand over his.
"Are you hurt?"
"No."
He was lying. She wasn't stupid. She could see the limp in his walk and the way he winced when he tried to reach above his head.
"I'm not stupid Sheldon." She murmured, whilst gently rubbing circles into his hand.
He grimaced initially before slowly and gently beginning to unbutton his jacket. Surprised, Karen leaned down slightly in order to help him in his efforts. As she assisted him in shrugging the jacket off his shoulders she couldn't help but wonder why he was being so easy. She wasn't complaining by any means but she couldn't deny the fact that it was uncharacteristically compliant. Before he could begin to do it himself she grasped the bottom of his turtleneck and began peeling it away from his clammy sweat soaked skin. She tried to ignore the way he winced.
His arms and torso were a minefield of scar tissue. That wasn't anything new of course, he'd been steadily collecting them for years, but the sight never got any less disconcerting. And God knows how many are self-inflicted. There at least wasn't anything new. The only injuries of note were faint bruising across his concernedly prominent ribs. Along with a few spots where the skin had been broken. She stared on for a few moments taking in the sight.
She'd always known her husband's antics were near cartoonish in their villainy but she often forgot just how absurdly violent the retaliation could be.
Never let it be said that crab wasn't downright machiavellian at times.
She chewed her bottom lip nervously, placing her hand next to a burn mark which spanned his entire left shoulder.
"Where'd you get this one?"
He sat up a bit straighter as though surprised to hear her voice.
"Hm?"
"The burn on your shoulder." She clarified.
He turned his neck slightly before letting out a simple "oh"
"Machine malfunction." He stated simply. "I turned my back on the thing while repairing it and it just-" he leaned back slightly, making an 'explosion' gesture with his hands.
"Right.. sorry I... I don't remember that at all when did that-"
Plankton shrugged before cutting her off "Eh, with the amount of issues I cause it's got to be hard to keep track."
Karen frowned
"Plus-" he added "I mostly likely didn't tell you. Just, took care of it myself."
Karen's expression darkened at that thought, thinking about him delirious and injured and hiding it so efficiently. She nearly said something on the topic but decided that it was a can of worms best kept for a different day.
She kept quiet instead, moving over to the bruising from today.
"What was it that happened earlier?"
"Got kicked around a bit nothin' new." he hummed softly.
"I'm surprised he's allowed to get away with that amount of violence, doesn't it raise any eyebrows?" she responded, gesturing for him to remain still while she went to get the bandages and such.
"Nah, what happens in a back alley stays in a back alley. Plus I'm technically the one trespassing. As long as he doesn't downright kill me he's well within his rights." He paused momentarily "Well actually that might classify as self defense…"
Karen scoffed, returning with her supplies.
"Well whatever the case I wish you'd stop getting yourself pummeled to a pulp every other day."
He rolled his eyes "Easier said than done"
"I actually highly doubt that. Most people are great at avoiding getting beaten up by restaurant owners."
"Oh whatever, must you criticize my every move?"
Karen let out a hum of confirmation causing him to groan.
She smiled to herself as she set the supplies down by him. "Okay, you can pout later for now let's get you cleaned up hm?"
He nodded in resignation.