10978/Dad's Old Truck... Robbie Can Fix It

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Dad's Old Truck... Robbie Can Fix It
Date of Scene: 30 April 2022
Location: Canelo's Auto and Body Shop
Synopsis: Sara takes her dad's old Chevy truck over to the shop Robbie works at for some much needed TLC, then sticks around to talk a little about what happened with Johnny, and Sara's mood at the celebration party.
Cast of Characters: Robbie Reyes, Sara Pezzini




Robbie Reyes has posed:
It's raining in Brooklyn today. Cats and dogs, and maybe a few elephants given the incessant noise coming from the roof of Canelo's.

There's a lone vehicle in the bay, some souped up hatchback that needs a new alternator. Robbie, as the mechanic on shift at the moment, is taking a break beneath the overhang of the garage roof. He's seated with his back to the building wall, one arm draped over a bent knee, and a cigarette dangling between two fingers as he observes the comings and goings of people on the street.

Sara Pezzini has posed:
There was something to be said for having contacts all over New York, and Sara had in fact called in a favor from one to ensure that Robbie was actually at the shop. The trip from the house to the shop in her father's old truck was another matter entirely, the thing spit black smoke from the tail pipe, did not like second gear at all, and the steering screamed if you had to turn too far to the left. So as she approached the shop, Robbie could hear the back fire, hear the scream of the manual steering, and in the driveway, see the black smoke. Officer Pezzini Senior had not taken very good care of his truck.

Climbing out, she kicks the door shut because that was the only way to get it shut and looked around. Today was a wet day, so she was dressed in a pair of jeans and a black t-shirt beneath a waterproof hoodie. The hood was up, but the rain could still reach her hair and face, not that she really cared.

Robbie Reyes has posed:
Hard to miss the sound of that rattletrap pulling up, really. Robbie's in no hurry to get up, but he does look over at the backfire, and raise a brow slightly as the truck approaches. *That* thing is gonna need a lot of work. Oh, and look who it is.

He takes one more drag off his cigarette, drops it to the ground and stomps on it with the heel of his shoe. Then climbs to his feet and moseys on over. Doesn't much seem to care that he's being pelted by rain, his dark hair plastered to his head. "Hey there," he greets with a flickered smile, hands shoved into the pockets of his grease-stained coveralls. He taps the front tire with the toe of his shoe. "This thing yours?"

Sara Pezzini has posed:
One more kick to the door, because it wasn't quite closed, and Sara looks toward Robbie as he appears. The rain to her is a welcome thing, a reminder that life goes on, and it will bring spring growth which she is looking forward to. Winter was long, and hard, and extremely painful. She'd nearly died, so she was ready for it to be completely over.

"It was my dad's actually," she replies with a laugh. "Once he got into motorcycle this poor thing just sat there. He'd start it regularly, drive it around the block, then park it again."

Blue eyes look the young man over, as if the marks from the fight with Johnny would still be visible to the naked eye. She knew they wouldn't, but Witchblade would be able to sense the damage done all the same. If Robbie wasn't completely healed, she'd know.

"Realize it's going to take a lot of work," she then adds offering a smile. "But I don't really trust anyone else with it."

Robbie Reyes has posed:
He didn't, of course, actually think it belonged to her. "He still around?" the mechanic wonders, meeting those blue eyes for a beat or two before his rove back to the parked truck. He runs his hand over the paint as he rounds from the driver's side to the front. "Looks like you got a busted fuel injector or fuel pressure regulator. Could.." He pauses to pop the hood. "Could just be your air filter, but I wouldn't bet on it."

Witchblade might be able to pick out a few injuries on the young man: a healing stab wound to his chest, a nasty cut to his cheek that's all but vanished, and his left hand.. well, it seems to have been entirely severed not too long ago. And regenerated, clearly.

"Got some sentimental value, huh?" he murmurs as he pokes around under the hood while being pelted by rain.

Sara Pezzini has posed:
A soft smile flickers across Sara's face for just a moment, then fades. "No, he was killed by other cops four years ago," she answers, moving casually a step closer to Robbie. She's not trying to sneak up on him, she's just stepping closer as he looks the engine over. She knows a little about car and truck engines, but not enough.

"Totally sentimental," she then says, shoving aside the anger and grief one more time. "It's the truck he and my mom brought me home from the hospital in."

In her head an argument is taking place, which means the red stone on the bracelet flickers and swirls in a way that looks like red smoke. Witchblade wants to heal the wounds Johnny and Zarathos made, he wants to undo it because he knows the whole thing pissed Sara off in a way he hasn't felt before, but she's pretty sure that it wouldn't be a good idea, at least not this time. Robbie didn't know her that well, and certainly didn't trust her.

Robbie Reyes has posed:
He keeps his focus on the engine for the time being, though she certainly knows him well enough by now to spot the slight tension in his lanky frame when she draws closer. It isn't *her*, strictly speaking; keeping the demon inside him contained and under control takes a conscious effort.

"Yeah, see right here?" He grasps one of the short, cylindrical pieces connecting the fuel line to the combustion chamber. "Gonna have to replace this. And this part here's rusted right out.. and you're gonna need a new control arm bushing, maybe two, from the sound of it when you came in here. Gotta take a look under there before I can say for sure."

He pushes upright, digging a rag out of his coveralls pocket to wipe the grease off his hands. Then sends her a long look, tinged with something unreadable. "Lo siento," he murmurs. His brows furrow slightly. "You got something else on your mind?"

Sara Pezzini has posed:
Looking over the engine while listening to the list of things, Sara almost smirks. Her father really should have taken better care of it. "Driver's door needs work too," she adds casually, before stepping back to give him back his space.

Shoving her hands into the pockets of the hoodie, partly to block Witchblade's eye and partly because her hands were getting cold, she offers a slight shrug. "I've got a lot of things on my mind, Robbie," she replies, eyes once again looking him over. The 'sizing him up' aspect wasn't there at all, she was merely looking.

"I heard you had a visit from Jonathan Sims," she then states, giving him an indication of what was on her mind without outright saying it. She had no idea if this was a safe place to talk about Rider on Rider action.

Robbie Reyes has posed:
His hooded gaze remains on Sara even as she steps back. "Yeah, I can imagine," he replies in a low voice when she mentions having 'a lot of things' on her mind. He glances to her hand as it disappears into her hoodie pocket, then back to her face. Might be another question he wants to ask, but he lets it go for the time being.

Instead, he turns away for a moment to slam the hood shut. "Yeah, stopped by the other night to talk." He rakes his fingers through his wet hair, then hitches his chin toward the garage proper. "You wanna get out of this rain?"

Sara Pezzini has posed:
Blue eyes shift toward the garage for a moment, then Sara nods. It wasn't like he could do anything to her really, and she was pretty sure he didn't want to. Eli on the other hand, well she was ready to introduce him to Witchblade if the need should arise. "Might not be a bad idea."

Following him toward the garage, she offers the keys to the truck along the way. "He's a good man," she says of Jon. "Been through hell, literally, and Du'at, and came back. We owe more to him then most realize."

Robbie Reyes has posed:
There's no ill intent from the young man, that much she's likely able to pick up on. Eli is always another matter; the demon isn't, of course, like those that inhabit the other two Ghost Riders. This one is sadistic and bloodthirsty, and their pact is a tenuous one.

"I kind of got that impression," he explains over his shoulder as he starts walking. "About the being through hell, I mean. I can usually see it in a person, you know?" One corner of his mouth crooks into a slight, dimpled smile before it disappears again.

As to the man himself: "He seems all right. There a problem?" He takes a lean against the wall once he's ducked beneath the overhang. Rain continues to ping off the roof, and water drips from his nose and chin and soaked hair as he watches her.

Sara Pezzini has posed:
Once inside, Sara shakes some of the water off herself and flips the hood back. Some how, her hair manages to look good even when wet, not that she's trying to look good. Despite being waterproof, the hoodie wasn't meant for standing out in the rain, so there are parts that are soaked through, and she doesn't seem to care.

"I know all about the Penance Stare, Robbie," she states, shaking water off her hands before pulling the sleeve down over the bracelet. "There's no problem, at least not one you need to worry yourself about. I was just surprised to hear that you actually thought Jon would send Johnny after you."

Glancing around, she finds a good spot on the wall to lean against. It was easier to keep the sleeve in place over the bracelet with her arms across over her chest, so that's what she does. "After everything you did to help the JLD, you really think any of us would do that?"

Robbie Reyes has posed:
Well, of all people, Sara's probably fairly well acquainted with his abilities.. and those of his brethren. Robbie studies her in silence again for a few long seconds, his expression remaining that mingling of thoughtful and dour.

Finally, he gives a slight shrug of broad shoulders, tonguetip licking a drop of rainwater off his lower lip. "Got no idea. So you here to chew me out, or what? Promise I left your boyfriend in one piece. This time." Cocky son of a bitch. He's not smiling, though, so he might actually be serious.

Sara Pezzini has posed:
Sara's eyes narrow slightly for a moment, but only one brief moment before she takes a deep breath in to shove Witchblade back in the box, so to speak.

"Why would I chew you out?" She asks bluntly, a firmness to her tone. "You didn't do anything wrong, he did, and just do you know, you both kicked each other around, and likely that's how it would be a second time... but there won't be a second time."

Stepping away from the wall she drops her hands back to her side as she approaches him, her eyes looking to his. "You see, JLD members are all part of the same team. You weren't an official member when he came looking for you," she keeps her voice even, keeping the anger over Johnny's stupidity just barely out her tone. "But you are now, and JLD members to /not/ fight each other. We can spar, practice, perhaps do a little damage in the process, but that petty crap he pulled will not be tolerated again."

Stopping just inside arm's reach, she finally offers him a smile, tight though it might be. "Jon will be talking to him about it, and I'm telling you now that you can defend yourself, but no revenge. Deal?"

Robbie Reyes has posed:
The narrowing of Sara's eyes is met with only a slight smile from the Ghost Rider. Blink, and she might miss it. "You tell me," he replies quietly, holding her gaze with his usual unflinching intensity.

"And seems to me he ain't much more of a team player than I am." He sniffs to clear the trickle of water from his nose, and dabs it with the sleeve of his coveralls. "But I got no interest in revenge. Can't promise he won't get hurt, he comes 'round here again, though. You and me both know it ain't me who's got a problem with him." Her smile's not returned, but nor is he retreating as she draws nearer.

Sara Pezzini has posed:
Now a somewhat dark smile plays over Sara's lips, but her eyes stay firmly locked with his.

"If he comes around here again, kick his ass in every direction possible," she states with that anger flaring through, but she's letting it this time. "And when he comes home from that ass kicking... I'll kick his ass again, perhaps even twice. We cannot have JLD members fighting with each other. Our enemy is out there," she points toward the world, the sky really. "Not each other."

A breath pulled in, the anger pulled back slightly, "I'm telling you /and/ Eli, just like Jon will be telling Johnny and Zarathos... we are a team, it might take time for the both of you and the both of them to get it through your heads, but that's what we are. We have to start working as a team, acting as a team, or they win." Another jerked hand toward out there, her right hand to the bracelet becomes clearly visible.

Robbie Reyes has posed:
Hard to say if it's him, or if it's Eli watching her the way he is when she smiles at him like that. Like he wants to take it apart, take *her* apart, to understand it better.

"Then he better not come around here again," the mechanic surmises, his voice low and steady like always. "The Rider wants blood. I get to choose who dies. Usually." He runs his tonguetip along a canine as he studies her, utterly unruffled in the face of the almost visceral emotion coming off her.

"Anyway, I already said I won't go after him. I can usually keep the Rider distracted." He lifts his chin to gesture toward the city at large. "Anything else you want from me?"

Sara Pezzini has posed:
Another slight head tilt as Sara watches his face. Witchblade still whispers in her head, an attempt on his part to keep her from losing her shit over Johnny's stupidity and just stab him later, like while in the shower together. He's not helpful sometimes.

"I doubt either of you could actually kill one another," she comments, not moving back just yet. She's not entirely in his space, but she is close enough he can see the lines on her forehead, and the tiny dimple at the corners of her mouth that are there even if she's not smiling. "But he shouldn't come back. If he does..." a slow, deep breath. "... then he deals with the fight, losing his membership in the JLD, and likely me."

Now she takes a small step back, keeping the rest of the emotions connected to what she just said locked up. "The truth is Robbie, I don't really /want/ anything... except the truck fixed. You have to choose for yourself how you and Eli will handle the rules," she takes another step back, making sure to give him back his space. "Honestly, I believe in you more than I do Johnny, that you will keep your cool, and Eli in check, unless Johnny comes back. What's that say about my boyfriend? Yeah, he's an idiot."

She sighs softly, then reaches up to run her finger through her hair and push it back off her face. "Now it's your turn. You get to ask questions, and get answers, anything at all you want to know."

Robbie Reyes has posed:
Close enough for her to see that liberal sprinkling of freckles on his nose and cheeks, and the fact that his right eye is green. Still, he doesn't try to back away; even at the point where they're practically touching. Just that latent, almost predatory tension about him. He's a hunter and a killer, no matter how harmless he looks at times.

"Got no idea if we can or not," he confesses. "Never met someone else.. like me." He watches her back off again, his expression still unreadable. "You got your own voice in your head. Wondering what it was telling you a minute ago. I saw your face." Someone from the office proper shoves the door open and barks his name, and he calls back over his shoulder in rapid Spanish without looking away from Sara.

Sara Pezzini has posed:
His demeanor, a hunter, doesn't seem to effect or bother Sara. The fact that even the slightest hint of danger causes Witchblade to armor her body, destroying her clothing in the process, seems to allow for a broader sense of safety then most. That aside, his question makes her grin. She doesn't give away that she knows Spanish, just lets him deal with what he needs to deal with.

"Which time?" She asks with a slight chuckle. "When he wanted to heal your wounds? When he wanted to meet Eli and end him, no not end him, just meet him? He talks in my head all the time, he's a part of me, connected to my soul, but he /loves/ to ramble." That last comment seems to stir something with Witchblade because she rolls her eyes and adds, "Yes, yes, your advice is usually quite sound... until it's not."

Giving her head a quick shake, as if that would shut the god on her wrist up, the grin goes a little broader. "You have to be specific as to which moment you were interested in knowing about."

Robbie Reyes has posed:
It's just shop talk, really. Letting his boss know where he left some customer's file. His attention's back on Sara, and Canelo's already banged the door shut to go hunt for that file folder.

"Guess you answered my question," he tells her with a chuckle. "Ain't nothing to heal, though." He holds up his arm, and pulls back the sleeve of his coveralls to show her the fading scar where an angelic sword sliced his hand clean off. "Hand's about good as new. And it wasn't your boyfriend who did that to me, anyhow." He shoves it back into his pocket, gaze traveling back to the bracelet around her wrist.

"And ending Eli.. well, he can get in line." At this, the young mechanic actually grins, dimples and all.

Sara Pezzini has posed:
Finding a spot to lean against once more, Sara looks over Robbie's hand as he holds it up. "He can see that you aren't fully healed, close, but not there yet. Add to that that I care about you, and his instinct is effected in a way that he wants to heal you," she explains, then shrugs slightly. "Part of him learning this world, in the here and now."

She glances toward her own wrist a moment before looking back at him with another grin. "He's what, fifth in line? Nah, probably more like fiftieth, right?" She reaches with her left hand to turn the bracelet a little, a nervous habit or perhaps something of a comforting motion. "What else would you like to know about him?"

Robbie Reyes has posed:
That she cares about him.. might just throw him off his game slightly. Robbie studies her curiously for a few seconds, then swallows and looks away. The rain's letting up outside, at least, and the late afternoon sun's struggling from behind a wash of grey clouds. He nods finally, but doesn't say anything more on the subject.

"Nah," he murmurs. "Don't have any other questions for him. Just one for you." His gaze flits back to her face. "You doin' all right? I was gonna come talk to you. After that.. party. Got caught up in some other things." Like getting his hand lobbed off by an angel. "You just seemed.." He trails off into silence.

Sara Pezzini has posed:
Sara had always been one to shoot straight, admit a truth bluntly and let the chips fall where the did. If she cared about someone, she told them, usually followed by a warning to stay away from her cause they'd likely become targets from her enemies. Robbie of course didn't need that warning, she was actually amused over the idea of one of her enemies trying to get to her through Robbie. It would be like trying to avoid a snake pit by jumping to a bee hive.

"It was a bad night," she admits plainly with another shrug. "I have two boyfriends. Deadpool and Johnny, and both disappeared off the face of the planet for two weeks."

The true emotions, love, emotion pain, they were difficult to conceal. She could keep them off her face, but not out of her eyes. "I've talked to both since, neither got punched..." she smirks slightly at that, because really she had wanted to punch them and Witchblade wanted to stab Wade a couple times knowing he'd heal. "How real you want the answer beyond that?"

Robbie Reyes has posed:
Reyes is generally pretty straightforward as well. He has little to gain from deception and game playing, after all. "Yeah, I figured that much," he replies when she tells him it was a *bad night*. The reason for it makes his brows stitch together slightly, but there's no surprise at hearing she's in some sort of poly relationship. She'd implied as much the first time they met, after all.

"Glad they came back," he tells her sincerely. Her question gets a shrug of one shoulder, dark eyes on blue. "As real as you wanna be with me."

Sara Pezzini has posed:
"Normally I don't get close to people," Sara states bluntly, looking out toward the world for a moment. "I lost two NYPD partners because of the enemies Witchblade has. I lost my mother, and as I said, my father. I have issues, sever issues, with people just disappearing. I don't know if it's abandonment so much as I hate being alone, and yet I started forcing that on myself to protect others."

He asked for real, he was getting real... the deep, soul wrenching real. Trust was required, and she trusted him... maybe not Eli, but it was what it was.

"The people in the JLD, those who join up to help fight against the things that shouldn't happen in this reality," she looks back toward him. "Those that can protect themselves against his enemies... they are the first people in three years that I've been able to call friends and not fear them getting hurt. I mean yes, they'll get hurt, but they can handle themselves." Except Cael, but she wasn't going to say that right now. "Anyway, when they both disappeared at the same time, I nearly went back to drinking, which is why I refused to drink at the party. I can easily climb into a bottle, found that out the hard way, and I don't want to walk that path again."

Robbie Reyes has posed:
He certainly did ask for real. And to his credit, he doesn't shy away from the answer he gets. He'd probably be lying if he claimed not to understand where she's coming from.. or how she got there.

"Gabe and me lost our parents in a house fire," he confides, voice gone a little thick and husky. "Didn't have any other family, since uncle Eli.." Well, they both know what happened to *him*. "I promised myself I wouldn't let anyone get close enough to hurt my brother again. I'd kill them first." There's a little twitch of his upper lip, like he's going to bare his teeth.

Then he continues after a moment with a sigh, "Well, anyway. I got your back."

Sara Pezzini has posed:
Sara watches his face as he speaks, picking up the cues as they pass and understanding them. She had been an only child, and admittedly lost her father long after her mother, but it was /how/ she lost her father that burned inside her. Witchblade had put an end to those who had killed her father, but the fact that they existed at all, in the NYPD, ate at her soul.

"Thanks for that," she says softly, shifting her weight slightly. "I got your back as well. We are after all, on the same team." A smile plays at the corner of her lips. "Team 'kick the ass of everything out there' of course."

Robbie Reyes has posed:
He makes an amused little huff at that, and studies her in return for a few moments more, before pushing off the wall he'd been leaning against. "I should get back to work." He thumbs toward the car he'd been working on replacing the alternator in. "Got nothing to worry about with me and Johnny, unless he comes here looking for trouble again." Robbie steps past her, going to grab the wrench he left on the counter at the back. "Should have the truck ready for you by the end of the day tomorrow."

Sara Pezzini has posed:
Once more Sara steps in closer to Robbie, but this time it is to offer her hand to shake. "Take your time on the truck Robbie," she says with a smile. "Next step after you get done is a new paint job, but I want it purring as much as an old beat up truck like that can."

Whether he shakes her hand or not, she doesn't linger in that moment and heads for the door as well. "He shouldn't be back," she states as she reaches door, but she pauses there. "And thank you... for being /way/ more reasonable than he is."

Robbie Reyes has posed:
More reasonable.. maybe. But they're cut from the same cloth, those two. And there's only so much one can expect from a person whose soul is in the grasp of a demon.

He pauses, turns, and after some hesitation accepts her hand. Not many people would try, knowing what he's capable of. But Sara's not most people, on account of Witchblade. "De nada," he murmurs, giving her hand a squeeze before releasing it. "Te vere mas tarde." Then he ambles off with the wrench, sending her a backwards glance before he disappears around the other side of the garage.