17251/What Happens After.

What Happens After.
Date of Scene:	23 February 2024
Location:	Pezzini House
Synopsis:	Sara talks Joshua down from the darkness that was his childhood
Cast of Characters:	Joshua Foley, Sara Pezzini

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Joshua Foley has posed:
Joshua says nothing the entire trip home. When they get there, though and once the door is closed, he shakes his head. "I don't want to see him for a while. I know he's your brother and I'm not going to stop you, but until he apologizes, he can go fuck himself." comes his comment as he takes off his jacket.

Small blotches of gold are starting to show as he's calming down and regaining control of his powers as he heads into the kitchen. "Your ex-boyfriend was far more cordial than he was,"

Sara Pezzini has posed:
Sliding the door closed, Sara let's the anger in Joshua continue, even as he starts to calm down. "You don't have to see him at all if you don't want to," she states softly, removing her jacket and hanging it up. "You don't know him, he doesn't know... it creates this void in which this sort of thing can happen. He should of backed off, he should have let it go after the first comment, but he didn't and that's a trigger for you."

The Gauntlet is gone, but so long as his skin is black, she can't touch him and she really wants to touch him. "Johnny's a good guy, he gets it, he knows the darker side of this world, Luca doesn't," she searches out a spot of gold on his skin and caresses it. "So no Luca for a while. I might come across him with work, but I won't be inviting him over."

Joshua Foley has posed:
As he continues to calm, and continues to gain control of his powers again, Joshua's skin continues to return to that golden color he is more known for. "The first night, when we were under fire? Fine, extraneous circumstance. Tonight? That was just pure bullying. It's not locker talk. It's not one of the boys. I was never one of the boys."

He finds the lasagne, taking it out to put in the microwave to reheat. He's not waiting on the oven tonight. When he turns to her, his eyes are rimmed red. He's been crying. Because Luca was right. He's thin skinned. He got his panties in a bunch. He's everyting Luca accused him of being.

"I was so excited when I sensed his power, Sara. I can feel mutantions." he explains. "And I felt his. Olivia's a mutant as well, if you figured out what school we met at."

Sara Pezzini has posed:
The more golden his skin becomes, the more places Sara has to caress. Every part of her being wanted to make it better, to take away all the pain and anger, to erase the past that had hurt Joshua so incredibly. She knew she couldn't do that, she knew she couldn't change what was, but by all the gods, she was going to keep trying to change what is and will be.

Following him into the kitchen, she listens to his every word he says. "He doesn't know you, Joshua," she says quietly, caressing a spot on his arm. "He's had a good life, with a big family that loves him, he has no idea the levels of pain that some mutants have gone through. I'm not trying to make excuses for him, because there are none. He did try to treat you like one of the guys without knowing anything about the man you are."

When a spot on his face returns to gold she caresses is, then kisses it lightly. "I know there's a school nearby, other than Happy Harbor, that takes in mutants and teaches them, that's all I know about that however." She kisses him again in a newly golden spot on his face.

"You have every right to be excited about that, to learn that he's like you in what he can do, don't let go of that," she gets a fork from the drawer and offers it to him for his lasagna. "Right now he's an asshole, but... he needs someone like you to help him learn about his powers. So for now we'll both agree he's an asshole, and see what happens down the road."

Joshua Foley has posed:
When Sara starts to caress and soothe, being with the woman he loves is probably the best balm there is. Her little touches and kisses chase the black away, the healthier color returning in it's place. "I thought maybe I could deal." he admits quietly.

"And just accept it. For..." he's quiet for a moment. "For you. I see how much he means to you, Sara. And I didn't want to be a crux on that. So I was just going to swallow it. Take it. Accept it. Because he's your family." And Josh doesn't think he's as close as Luca is.

"If this is what the Academy is going to be like..." he finds himself realizing, imaging a whole class of people like Luca. He's going to need to steel himself.

He accepts the fork and takes a bite. Aunt Ruth to the rescue, as the lasagne helps him calm further, and he cuts off a piece to offer it to Sara to take a bite. "He's not ever going to reach the level that I'm at. But I can help him maximize what he's got."

Sara Pezzini has posed:
Sara slides her arm around Joshua and leans against him, offering physical support to him while he noms on Aunt Ruth's lasagna. Resting her head lightly against his she says softly, "He went too far, that's all."

Her mind plays over the events again, repeating out what was said and how it was said. Yes, Joshua might be being a little thin skinned, she could see that in this situation, but he had reasons for it.

"Some triggers are more difficult to let go than others," she soothes. "I could see it, this one was beyond you, and that's okay. You're allowed to be angry and upset over it. It doesn't change my relationship with Luca, and it doesn't change a damn thing between us."

In between bites she steals a kiss, and licks little of the marinara off his lips. "The academy will be other young men and woman like yourself, just starting out in the field," she explains. "Eventually however, it will become a 'boys' club when you join a house because each and every man and woman in the fire house has to look out for each other. It becomes another family, and honestly the bonds are often stronger than with real family. You just have to take it one day at a time."

Joshua Foley has posed:
"It's only been a few months since the Reavers. I still have nightmares about them, Sara." Joshua admits. "I'm not going to try to influence your relationship with Luca, and if you think I am, you can tell me to leave."

And then she kisses him. A bit lewdly at that. And he returns that kiss, pressing into her for several seconds before he pulls back as she explains things to him. "I get that." he says quietly. "But I want to help. I'm tired of being the unliscenced help in Bushwick. The one that that gets called on for emergencies elsewhere because I know my skill, but I'm not acknowledged for it."

"I want you to be proud of me."

Sara Pezzini has posed:
Taking the lasagna from his hand, Sara sets it on the counter then wraps her arms around him to press her body against him. "Joshua, I /am/ proud of you. You are taking the steps to better yourself, to follow a dream, and not hiding out in fear of being noticed."

She places a few kisses on his neck, a light nibble once to send that little chill up his spine that always accompanies a bite.

"I know you don't want to interfere or change my relationship with Luca, you don't need to worry about that... you need to worry about you, what you feel, and how to help shape the world and people in it to accept who you are." She kisses him again, this time deeply, letting her arms tighten around him. The kiss lingers, building perfectly before she breaks it to whisper, "How about we forget all about tonight, except my singing, and go upstairs now?"

Joshua Foley has posed:
As Sara presses to him and goes on the attack, Joshua lets out a small groan as she nibbles and then bites. The injury is there for a moment before it heals, as it always does. But it has it's intended affect.

She then caps it with a toe-curling kiss, and by the time Sara's done, there is now only one thing on his mind as the golden mutant - fully golden nods his head. "Upstairs." he agrees with her.

"...because there's a whole other song I want you to sing."