9815/All Things Heal In Time

All Things Heal In Time
Date of Scene:	24 January 2022
Location:	Pezzini House - Brooklyn, NY
Synopsis:	No description
Cast of Characters:	Sara Pezzini, Johnny Blaze

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Sara Pezzini has posed:
The house looked older, like one that has been built ages ago but kept up over the years for families. A fresh layer of snow had recently fallen, painting it all white. For steps lead up to the the empty front porch, but the mail box clearly states in block letters: Pezzini.

A driveway leads back to a garage tucked way back, beside it a gate to a fenced in back yard. There is little else of note about the house, save the lights are on.

Johnny Blaze has posed:
One text later.

Johnny didn't ask questions. He rarely did, but especially not now. The sound of a motorcycle hung in the air, one that could be just written off as a passer by on the open road. Though a fresh layer of snow had fallen, and Johnny was wearing some of the new digs that Sara had gotten for him as a gift.

Including the new biker leathers.

He keeps his attention ahead, and as always, he's missing a helmet. His eyes look upon the old house, the homestead that looks abandoned. But the mailbox catches his attention.

'Pezzini'.

He frowns, and he dismounts his bike, parking it near a corner so it's out of sight and out of mind. He approaches the door, takes a deep breath, and he knocks on the front door.

Sara Pezzini has posed:
He can hear the movement inside first, then the door opens to Sara standing there in a short flannel bathrobe with a glass of something in her hand, his nose would tell him whiskey. One brow lifts at seeing him standing there, she hadn't even told Wade about this place and she was certain Cael wouldn't, so that left just one person who could know.

"Alis?" she asks with a half smirk, but there's no real humor in her tone, her eyes dark and tired. "Come on in."

She steps out of the way to let him into the living room that looks much like it got trapped in the late eighties, though most of the furniture is covered by plastic sheets. The fire place has a fire going to warm the room, there are a couple of really gawdy lamps turned on by the couch, and a blanket spread out on the floor by the fire.

"There's coffee in the kitchen," she gestures toward an archway through which a dining table could be seen, five chairs set up to it. "There's also whiskey, a lot of it."

Johnny Blaze has posed:
At least she doesn't seem mad.

But Johnny told her. He loves her. If she ran into any trouble, he'd be there. Even if they weren't presently an 'item', his eyes remained fixed on hers. He wasn't going to run from her, and he wasn't going to let her suffer alone. "Hey." He greets her. Though the question on who would dare tell Johnny her exact location? Johnny smirks.

"Alis."

He says with no small measure of finality, thouh his attention rests firmly on her, he couldn't help but smile. "Thanks.' and he steps inside, and don't even get him started on how great she looks in that bathrobe. Flannel is a good style on her. Though he nods. "I'll probably take the whiskey." He informs, before he turns to look at her. "You doing okay?"

Sara Pezzini has posed:
Walking over to the blanket Sara just plunks down on it and pulls the bottle of whiskey from under the couch to offer to him. Her hair is a mess, clean, but not brushed. There is a wet towel hanging over the end of the couch nearest the fire sot it could dry, but other wise the place looks like it hasn't been touched in years.

"Figured it was her," she offers quietly. "She told Cael too, she was here yesterday."

Looking up at him, she gestures to the spot on the blanket beside herself. "Not really," she replies bluntly. "I'm trying to sift through a lot of shit in my head and... " she breaths out, taking another drink from her glass. "Attempting to drink away some of it right now, but also trying to deal... I needed..." she gestures to the room.

"My dad's house, well, mine now," she snorts. "Home, something solid, something real... I feel..." Another breath, another drink. "I remembered that week I lost... and what happened."

Johnny Blaze has posed:
She plops down onto the blanket and Johnny walks over to her, taking a spot next to her as she's in full 'recoil' mode. Trying to understand everything that's happening, trying to sort everything into it's proper categories. It's a scary business, to be honest, to face yourself in the mirror at the end of the day, for better or for worse. Johnny hums a little bit, thinking to himself.

Wondering.

"Hope you and Cael had a good talk." He tells her wit ha small smile, though he takes a deep breath. "Hm." He nods.

"I feel that. You uh, you want to talk about it? I got a good ear." He takes out the cork with his teeth and drops it into his open hand, sipping out of the whiskey bottle directly. What kind of a pair were they? Though he nods softly.

"What happened?"

Sara Pezzini has posed:
Turning her head slightly to look at him, the expression on Sara's face is almost utterly blank. "I do, and I don't," she admits. "I told Jon, I had to tell someone and if I was going to lose a friend I could handle it if it was him. That sounds cold, I know, it felt cold, but... what happened."

A shudder runs through her and her eyes go back to the fire, the way the flames danced upwards, little embers drifting away from the logs, it was mesmerizing. "I'm... terrified by what happened and what it means, I'm horrified, and lost, more so then I was when I got Witchblade." She slowly turns her head to look back at him. "You want the quick version?"

Johnny Blaze has posed:
Johnny reaches towards her, a hand moving a bit of hair out of her eyes as he looks at her. He wanted a better glance. A better view of her. "Tell me the whole story." He tells her wantingly, pleadingly. He understands that Jon probably doesn't rank too high on her close friend-o-meter, but Jon is there. He listened to her.

Johnny would not let the opportunity pass for him not to do the same. He looks at her, he smiles. He's kind, his eyes are sweet and friendly, as if she's the only one in them. "Terror and fear walk hand in hand, Sara." He tells her then.

"Tell me what happened."

Sara Pezzini has posed:
Finishing off the whiskey that remained in her glass, Sara has to take a moment or five to consider that. Could she repeat it? She had told Jon the whole thing, every detail, hoping that saying it would make it easier but it had only really made it solid and real in her head. Maybe repeating it would help, maybe it would destroy her. Johnny she loved, he had a right to know, so she would repeat it.

"I had been working a missing persons case, a set of twins, Mindy and Matthew Roberts. Cute kids, missing for two weeks, presumed dead of course." Reaching for the bottle she pours more into her glass then hands it back to Johnny, alcohol helped numb part of it, but she wasn't drinking to drunk... just on the edge. "I got a tip, knew it was real because there were details that hadn't been in the news, so I thought I had them, and alive too."

Closing her eyes, she actually leans against him, needing that contact. "Man had seen them taken down an ally in Queens, alive. So I answered the call, no back up, why would Witchblade need back up?" She snorts. "I was stupid. It was the first Thule trap, and worse... it worked."

Johnny Blaze has posed:
While Johnny isn't going to be downing the whole damn thing anytime soon, he picked at his whiskey with a bit of a frown as she began her tale of woe. Though when Sara had finished drinking her glass, Johnny leans over, offering to fill it up the rest of the way.

Free refills for what he's hearing.

Shit always gets real when kids are involved. Thule traps even. "Go on." Johnny tells her, extending his arm to move around her protectively as she leans against him.

Sara Pezzini has posed:
"Ritual circle, under the carpet where it couldn't be seen. Red smoke whipped up around me and I breathed it in before I could stop myself, even before Witchblade could react, and that had to be fast Johnny, I mean /really/ fast to get past him." Sara's hands started shaking, so she used both to hold the glass, maybe a second telling was too much. Deep in her soul she knew she would have to finish the second time, and a third and probably a forth time as well, so she continued.

"An inferno like heat tore through me, into my head and that was it, no more me. I was trapped inside myself, able to see and hear and smell everything out there, but it wasn't me. I fought for control, railed against the nothingness and my body just stood there."

Using both hands she takes a large drink from her glass. "Ava von Strucker stepped out, laughing her ass off... she's the leader of the Thule Society, and she was the one in control. She tried to take the bracelet, but he went gauntlet. She ordered me to armor up, and it just happened as if I'd told him but I didn't." The shaking starts to get worse, to the point that she's having troubles keeping her hold on the glass, so she downs what's left. "She made me kill the twins, bleed them out to fuel the ritual. Cut them, hold them down, watch their eyes pleading for mercy and slowly, so slowly bleed to death."

Johnny Blaze has posed:
Fucking monsters.

Johnny hears what they made her do the poor kids. Johnny knows what it feels like. To have no contorl over one's actions. To be shoved into the backseat while someone else drives you around. He didn't even think it was possible for the Witchblade to be controlled, didn't know it could even be conceived. But the Thule Society...apparently they knew exactly what to do.

Fucking Monsters.

Johnny looks at Sara then. "Gas can still get passed the senses. Often times before it's too late." He tells her then. "Ava von Strucker?" He questions her, as if he had no clue who she was. But, she was probably the chick whose people they kicked the asses of. He frowns then a moment.

"I'm so sorry, Sara. I couldn't imagine."

Sara Pezzini has posed:
Sara keeps her eyes closed, still laying against him, and is silent for a good five minutes, in her thoughts, in her pain. The tears that fall, she ignored, just letting them roll down her face and onto the flannel robe as if they weren't there, and the shaking just stays the same.

"von Strucker is the leader of the Thule Society," she finally manages to say. "She had me kill the twins parents, another family, and a third, all to fuel the impostor Witchblade's creation. That's why he kept it," she holds up her wrist to show the two bracelets intertwined. "Because so many lives were taken to create it, he doesn't want those deaths to be in vain.... and I agree with him on that."

Opening her eyes she looks up at him. "The reason the memories were taken were Witchblade. When I managed to scream through the spell, to break it for just a few seconds, that's when he knew it wasn't really me and shattered the spell. All the way out of her hideout, I kept screaming in my head that I didn't want to remember what I'd done, I couldn't remember, I couldn't live with it... so Witchblade... he took those memories to protect me, because he loves me and... it wasn't right, but it came from a good place."

Johnny Blaze has posed:
Sara lays against him, and Johnny doesn't move. The tears that start to roll down her face are seen by Johnny, and with a gloved hand, he reaches to wipe the tears from her eyes, offering her solace and comfort. Strucker is the leader of the Thule Society, and they're fanatic enough to not only suicide on the spot, but to also go through having a bomb in their bodies that explode upon flatline.

Jesus.

"I don't know if it's love, but it's clear he wants to protect you as his host." Johnny tells Sara then, and he frowns a little bit. "But he wiped your mind trying to protect you. Protect you from the pain of knowing what had happened."

A real shitty situation.

"Multiple people died because of the Thule society, not because of you. You were the weapon, but you're not to blame." Smoking gun. He frowns then. "Does this...other Witchblade have a personality too?"

Sara Pezzini has posed:
Not stopping him from wiping the tears away, Sara does however attempt to ignore that the tears are even there. She not trying to 'tough it out', she's letting them fall, she just isn't bothering to acknowledge them. With Jon she had been a sobbing mess, completely unintentionally, but it was the first time telling anyone. Now she just accepted that tears were happening and let it go at that.

"He chooses the wielder and protects them," she comments quietly. "But that protect is the way he shows his love, because he does care in his own way. I realize it's not real love, but it's better than none at all. He also did it because it was the only way he could think to make up for his mistake, for him not realizing it wasn't really me, for being tricked. It sort of humbled him a little."

Hands finally ceasing their shake, she takes another sip of the whiskey. "No, there is no personality to the other one. They are both a part of him, so they are all him. He's angry, very angry at von Strucker, we both are... but now we reach the point that I ask you the same thing I asked Jon."

Staying right there leaned against him, trying not to think about what had happened but it being all her mind could really think about, she lets out a slow breath. "The families of those people deserve justice. The immediate, quickest justice is me turning myself in for their murders, but so far that concept has not gone over well." She remembers how Jon reacted, and how Cael reaction to that idea, and was pretty sure Johnny would react the same way. "Jon and I both believe that justice has many forms, and that there isn't a cell on the planet that could hold her. She has teleport spells that work even when she's unconscious."

Lifting her head to look up at his face, at his eyes. "Jon said he was meant to judge immortals, as the Archivist I mean, and that..." yeah, time to use the name. "Zarathos is meant to judge mortals. I have to figure it out of course, but... I think we'll be going after von Stucker together, and Ghost Rider will be judging her. It's the only way for justice to be served for those families."

Johnny Blaze has posed:
So that's her idea.

Johnny thought she was right in a sense. That sometimes judgment came from the darkest of shadows, and she sought to unleash him on the Thule society. Johnny's gaze returns to the wall, but her words on turning herself in for crimes not of her own will? Johnny nods. "That's the dumbest thing that ever came out of your mouth." Harsh, but honest and with a good heart behind it.

"You can't pay for crimes that's not yours. You didn't have control. They wrenched free will from you." He suggests to her with a bit of a frown. He doesn't comment any further on the Witchblade's current host-wielder relationship between her and the Witchblade. He doubts it's different from his and Zarathos's relationship, but sometimes? Sometimes people need a little bit of good.

A little light.

"You want to sick me on the Thule society?" He questions her, though he frowns a little bit. "Alright...then we do it together."

Sara Pezzini has posed:
A decision is made in Sara's head, though really she has no idea why. Scooting herself over she puts herself in his lap to lay against his chest and wrap her arm around him, unless he stops her of course. If he stops her, she'll just go back to leaning against him.

"She appeared in the room, screaming about the Ghost Rider judging her, and that he shouldn't have even been there, and then she teleported out. She's already convinced he judged her, so why not make it true?" She looks back up at his face, then lays her head on his shoulder. "She's powerful, very powerful, and it's going to take all of us to find her and end her, but judgement and justice are important, and I think Ghost Rider can be judge, jury and executioner to make all the... it feels right, his judgement on her, as payback."

Johnny Blaze has posed:
Sara seems to move. It surprises Johnny, how she finds a home in his lap and rests her head against his chest. His hand moves to gently caress her hair, even as she wraps her arms around him, he accepts her embrace and holds her tight. Even as she speaks of the fear that seemed to consume Strucker and sent her into a panick, considering how quickly she teleported out of the room.

"Hm, interesting. Seems she fears the supernatural just as much as she wants to take control of it." Though Johnny sighs. "All of the crazy ones are very powerful. They talk a big game, but in the end? They burn just the same." Johnny frowns a little bit. "But...if you want payback?"

Johnny takes a breath.

"I'll try and make it happen."

Sara Pezzini has posed:
This was perfect, Sara felt comfortable and safe, which was something considering she'd been feeling lost and out of control until that moment. Closing her eyes, she snuggles in, content despite the chaos in her head.

"The payback doesn't have to be from my hands," she says quietly. "I just need to be there when it happens, to see it happen, that's enough for me. As for her fear, yes. They are all afraid of what they can't control, and that's part of what drives what they do. He was in my head, I was in his head... I know them now, not that I want to."

Taking another deep breath, she opens her eyes and looks up at him. "You and Wade will be my hand, because in this... I know I could do it, but I don't want any more blood on my hands."

Johnny Blaze has posed:
Sara is comfortable. She's safe.

Good.

Johnny wasn't there to help her through the hard times at first. He was there when she woke up, but he wasn't there during her suffering. During the times where she was sadly so forced to drain the poor souls dry of blood. But, Johnny ish ere now. Not as a vengeful spirit, judge of the damned, the guilty, mortal and immortal alike.

He's here as Johnny Blaze.

"Might be dangerous for Wade. I can tell he can't use magic. If she's a powerful sorceress, he'd be in danger." Though Johnny seems to look away from her at mention of Wade, but he keeps her in his arms for now. It's clear he's likley not going to take advantage of her during her time of emotions and stress, though he nods softly.

She snuggles into him, and a hand rests on her leg while the other finds a home at her side.

Sara Pezzini has posed:
Sara hadn't mentioned Wade to change the moment or remind herself or Johnny that he existed, she had mentioned him because Wade was just as eager to get a pound of flesh for her as Johnny was. Right now however, it was Johnny's time. She felt the slight shift in his body, and noticed the way he looked away. He was so convinced it wouldn't work, and she knew it would, knew deep down in her soul that just as she was meant to be with Wade, she was meant to be with Johnny... she just had to convince Johnny of that.

Reaching up she turns his face back so she can look at his eyes, then his lips, then back to his eyes. "He'll be part of it, even if it's not directly against her," she says softly. "But you're the one who will stand against her, because you're the only one who can take the level of magic she can throw."

Then, without further warning or words, she kisses him. Complicated though it might make things, she wanted to kiss him and so she did.

Johnny Blaze has posed:
Johnny was gonna be hard to convince. He had given his reasons, all valid of course - just like her reasons were valid. Sometimes it is in those small hours where decisions are made. Johnny didn't want it to be 'Wade's time' or 'Johnny's time'. He just wanted it to be 'time'. Not split, not sectioned off, not special moments. Those were few and far between. Even as Sara praises the kind of magic that Ghost Rider can take, Johnny hums softly.

"I'm sure he will. He's just as part of this as you or Cael or anyone you trust is. Honestly, I'm happy to be in the circle of trust at all." Johnny tells her with a warmth to his voice. Though what he doesn't expect for her to lean forward and kiss him. Johnny lets out a 'mph!' sound of surprise, but eventually, his eyes slowly drift close.

His arms curl around her a little bit tighter, holding her close and secure. His lips mold against hers perfectly, as if they were made to kiss her. How warm she was...how soft.

Sara Pezzini has posed:
Sara's arms slide around him. She heard what he said, but at the moment it was just information lingering in her head as she kissed him. Even if it would complicate everything, and she knew it would, she couldn't deny loving the man nor wanting to express that love. Sometimes in life there were only moments, there was nothing solid and permanent, there were merely fleeting moments or warmth, affection and passion. Everyone wanted more, that was the very nature of being human, wanting more and always striving for it, but in doing that, the moments that are real get lost.

Breaking the kiss to look into his eyes, she offers a sheepish smile, which makes her eyes sparkle a little. "Oops," is all she offers wish mischief in her tone. "You were saying?"

Johnny Blaze has posed:
"Mmmm..."

Johnny's eyes stay firmly shut as they kiss, as they meet in the middle. Even if Sar ahad initiated, Johnny had not refused the contact. Each loving second, each moment of warmth and safety and passion and love and joy was drunk like a fine wine that got better with age. Even as they kissed, Johnny's gloved hand rose to cup her cheek. Yet, when she finally pulls away to look into his eyes, she'll see nothing but love there.

Love and hesitation.

"I uhm...." He clears his throat, then he looks at her. "You're making this hard." Johnny tells her with a grim chuckle. Though her eyes sparkle with a mischief, even if all he wants to do right then in there is just have -sex- and have her. And eventually?

That's exactly the emotion that wins.

He reaches to caress her cheek and pull her into that tight embrace, his lips fully parting. If she wanted him? At least right now, in this moment? She could have him.

Sara Pezzini has posed:
The next morning...

The fire was still burning, though the flames had gotten low enough that another log was needed soon or it would burn out. The blanket bed on the floor was actually quite comfortable given the plush carpet beneath it, and the fact that there were in fact about eight more of the thick, fluffy blankets around.

The only indication of morning in the house wasn't the sun through the windows, the curtains blocked most of that, instead it was the beep of the coffee maker in the kitchen get up to make coffee at exactly seven o'clock, then sound an alarm when the coffee was ready.

Stretched out on the blanket, wrapped entirely in a blanket while pressed against Johnny, Sara slept through the first beep of the coffee starting. She was comfortable, warm, and for the first time in a while, actually relaxed and able to sleep without a nightmare waking her up half way through the night.

Johnny Blaze has posed:
Honestly?

First night in a long time without nightmares for Johnny too. Maybe it was that he had a woman there with him that was stretched out against him, no part of either of their bodies stopping the warmth from reaching the other. No doubt the scent of salt from sweat on their beings, Johnny's eyes slowly drift awake. It takes him a moment to remember where he was, and when he does?

He doesn't regret it.

He looks at Sara as she stays close, relaxed and sleeping. With a soft smile touching his face, Johnny lifts a hand to gently brush at her hair. Not so much to be massaging her scalp quite yet, but to be sweet to her. To look at her in all of her peace of mind.

In all of this insanity and angels and demons? It was nice to be brought back to earth. Even if they could or couldn't ever be, even if this made everything much more complicated, even if they enacted this out of love? Johnny was there for her.

And so he is.

Though Johnny gives a -dirty look- at that coffee maker.

Sara Pezzini has posed:
The coffee maker remains unaware of the hatred aimed toward it, it does it's job. One beep to announce it was brewing, as per the programming and exactly fifteen minutes later, three more beeps to announce that magic brown bean juice was ready to be consumed.

For that fifteen minute however, Sara lays there asleep. The only indication that she is no longer deep asleep being the soft mmph sound she makes when she shifted, and her latching on more tightly. Normally, on a day to day basis, Sara was never relaxed. Her posture, body language, even her eyes all indicated a constant level of readiness and tension. Laying beside him however, she was completely relaxed, content, even happy. When he touches her hair there is another soft mmph sound, but her eyes don't officially open until the sounding of the *beep, beep, beep* from the kitchen, and even then they open slowly to look at him.

A smile spreads across her face. A part of her expected him to be up and gone before she woke up, not because he suddenly stopped caring, but because he might have run from the 'morning after'. "You sleep well?" she half mumbles, mouth still waking up.

Johnny Blaze has posed:
The beeping. Johnny wants to take a shotgun to that thing. It woke him up to begin with. Even as his eyes are trying to close so he can somehow drift back off to sleep, It was the awakening of Sara that kept Johnny up and moving, even as she just makes soft sounds as if in rebellion to waking up at all. "It's morning." Johnny tells her. Not as a 'hurry up and get off me' but rather, that the dawn had risen and it was time to arise.

Or she can sleep there as long as she chooses.

Either way. Much coul dbe said about Johnny's body language, like he looked ready to -move- at a moments notice. But here? Here he was relaxed. Yet when she opened her eyes properly and muttered out a question, Johnny nods. "Mhm...best I've slept in years, if I'm being honest." He continues to play with her long locks. "How about you?" He questions her, though even as they both still work on waking up, Johnny squeezes her.

"It's not fair. You're too warm."

Sara Pezzini has posed:
The coffee may be ready, but Sara had no intention of moving. Snuggling into him more, tightening her hold around him with the arm she had over him, she closes her eyes again just to enjoy the warmth, closeness, and his scent. Morning could wait as far as she was concerned, this was just too perfect to rush.

"I haven't slept that soundly in months," she replies, mouth forming the words better but that doesn't mean she's getting up yet. "And was the first night without nightmares in a couple of weeks."

Yes, things would be complicated when they finally got up, but right now she was content to just lay there and soak up as much of him as she could get before he put his emotional armor back on. "You're very comfortable you know," she then comments and opens her eyes again. "I could seriously just lay here all day."

Johnny Blaze has posed:
Moving was the last thing on Johnny's mind.

The complications, the drama, the battle scars and armor? That can come back on later. But right now? Right now Johnny was happy right where he was. Even as she pulls him tighter, Johnny's hands descend from her hair to the soft skin of her back. Moving over any possible scar, any tattoo. Any marking. Because for this morning and this morning alone?

She was all his.

"It's the mileage." Johnny tells Sara with some humor lining his words. He had more than a little bit of muscle on him. Need it to fight the demons and other things that go bump in the night in this crazy-ass world. Even as he intends to lift her chin, and give her a slow kiss. "I'll scare away all of your nightmares."

Because the Ghost Rider was apparently pretty fucking scary.

Johnny wonders for a moment how Zarathos and Witchblade felt about this union, though he holds Sara tightly to him, like he was never - ever going to let her go.

"I can try and put on the coffee." Johnny offers to her.

Sara Pezzini has posed:
Lifting her head up more so she can place a soft kiss on his chin, Sara scoots up just a touch so she can then kiss his lips lightly, but her hold on him... nope, not letting go. She knew eventually she would have to, that they would get up and start the day and the joy that had been last night and this morning would fade into the category of a 'mistake' that will make things more difficult. She didn't want to think about that right now, in her mind there was no reason to recategorize it, but it would happen because of where his mind was.

"Apparently you do just that," she whispers before laying her head back down and letting the arm over him caress his bare back. The scars on his body were obvious, yet they changed not a single thing in how she looked at him. "At least it wasn't another dream about a past wielder, or a nightmare, it was real dreams... those are rare."

By way of making sure he gets the hint that he's going no where just yet, she wraps a leg around him as well. "The coffee's brewed," she then offers, running her hand up to his shoulder then down his arm as far as she could reach. "That's what the all the beeps were for... and we can get up if you want to, or we can lay here like this and talk."

Johnny Blaze has posed:
A kiss was placed on his chin, and Johnny answered with a light kiss to her lips. Though he may even sneak a few extra kisses on those lovely, perfect lips. Though Johnny had started to move, the feeling of a leg holding him in place let Johnny know pretty quickly that he wasn't going to be 'allowed' to go anywhere. She even informs him that he could leave if he really wants to, Johnny shakes his head.

"No...here will do just fine." Johnny informs of Sara, a smile on his face. She explores his scars and more than a few of them look like they could potentially have been lethal. Impalement, cracks of a whip, some burn scars, claw marks. Johnny turning into Ghost Rider didn't regenerate his body. Plenty of times he's needed medical assistance. But scars build thrones.

Johnny takes a moment to look at her. "I love you, Sara." JOhnny admits to her. Clearly, with no strings or conditions, no 'buts' at the end of the sentence. "I'm going to protect you for the rest of my life." Not that she needed protecting, but his statement was more than that. It was an oath to guard her heart and her mind, to open hell's gates should that protection be jeopardized.

Sara Pezzini has posed:
After everything that had been said in the past, that was most certainly not what Sara was expecting. A full on profession of love, with no but attached, followed by the promise to protect her for the rest of his life. A part of her wondered where that but was, did it linger in his thoughts and was just unspoken? It had been there before, and some how she felt it lingered.

Wrapping her other arm around him, she presses herself into him as she accepts the words. Resting her head against his chest she says softly, "You know I love you, Johnny." She closes her eyes, listening this heart beating in his chest. "You know I'll stay by your side, protect you if I can, heal you when it's needed, be there through heaven and hell."

Opening her eyes again, she leans back just enough to look up at his face and into his eyes. "That will never change, no matter what else might happen in our life times. I will always love you and be there for you and with you. All that there is to you, and about you, I accept completely... the good and the bad."

Johnny Blaze has posed:
Maybe it did.

But Johnny wasn't going to tell her even if it did linger. He's protecting her heart, remember? Johnny's heart is slow. Calm. It's not accelerated like it may be, though even with her ear to his chest, she can hear the 'Thump-pump' of his heart. He was relaxed, and blood flow was moving perfectly. He has a good heart indeed, one that has not yet been brutally murdered by the world or it's consequences.

"I know."

Johnny tells her with a soft voice, even as he turned to more fully entangle himself in her. All of him was bare. "Deal." Johnny says then to Sara, as if solidifying a soul-bond: love that went higher than the normal definition of love. Even if their love would be one that was scarred and battle-beaten, the love would endure in some capacity. Even if it just meant saying 'hi' instead of ignoring theo ther person completely.

Love is power as much as it is it's lacking. As much the conqueror as it is the peacekeeper.

Sara Pezzini has posed:
A smile spreads across Sara's face as he entangles himself more, just what she wanted. The coffee would keep, but this, this was worth not drinking coffee for a week... maybe a month. She wraps her arms more tightly around him and for a moment just savors being close to him. Somewhere Cael's head was probably exploding over this exact moment, but she'd adjust in time.

Finally she places a soft kiss on his lips and says, "You're officially in a relationship, Johnny Blaze... hope you realize that."

Johnny Blaze has posed:
The words she speaks makes Johnny seem to tense and stiffen.

"This probably won't end well." Johnny tells Sara with a light frown. Potentially a mood killer, but he's not saying 'no we're not', which is likely a good sign! Even as she wraps her arms more tightly around him, his hands curl around the muscles in her body.

They feel every bit of tension. Of course, what they had experienced previously together left very little unexplored. "A committed relationship...been a while since I was in one of those. I barely remember how."

Sara Pezzini has posed:
Johnny gets another kiss, this one a little longer, a little deeper. She can't get any closer to him without actually melting into him. She likes it there, and even though he tenses, she stays right there.

"It won't end," she offers quietly against his lips once she breaks the kiss. "I know your worried Johnny, I know you see all the negative that /could/ happen... but take a deep breath, feel my body against yours and think about the good stuff that could happen."

Another soft kiss and her hand caresses over his back, following one the scars up to his shoulder. "Committed relationships are easy, especially with me," she continues. "Love me, pamper me from time to time, remember I'm stubborn and like to get my way, oh yes, no flowers. Never bring me flowers, ever. They just die. Leave them on the plant where they belong. See, easy."

Johnny Blaze has posed:
Before Johnny can say another word, his lips are captured in a kiss! He melts into it, his eyes drifting ever so slowly closed as her kiss claims him as her own. He holdsh er in his arms, and she offers to him that they won't end. They can't end. If Johnny gives her his heart...

It will be complicated. Johnny doesn't know if they'll survive. But they can try, right? He takes that deep breath. Does the good outweigh the bad? Has it ever outweighed the bad? Johnny has to hope.

He feels her touch trace his shoulder like one would a pen to a line. She tells him to love her, to pamper her, and to never bring her flowers. "Us both being stubborn alone is likely to be met with disaster. I'm a romantic, just so you know. I'm jealous and I appreciate quality time."

Sara Pezzini has posed:
The smile on Sara's face turns coy before her fingers slide through his hair, brushing it back, letting her see his beautiful eyes. She loved his eyes, almost as much as she loved him.

"Us both being stubborn S.O.B.'s is what will make this interesting, Johnny," she offers with that mischievous grin. "Think about all the angry sex we can have, or better yet, make up sex." Another kiss is lightly brushed over his lips before she leans back to look more fully at his face.

"You will have quality time, more than you know what to do with," she finally says, her smile turning soft. "There's something I need to ask you to do for me though, if you're willing." Her hand caresses down his back again, following a different scar as she goes. Just touching him. She already knows where they are, but to touch him, experience him, that was wonderful.

"I need someone to take care of this house for me," she finally says. "I thought I might sell it, but I can't... so I need someone to stay here and take care of it when they can. You feel up to the job?"

Johnny Blaze has posed:
Johnny couldn't help but laugh a little bit at her sweet words to him. "Well, let's hope we have more make-up sex than angry sex." Johnny informs Sara with a bit of a chuckle and laugh. Though he looks at her. "Curiously, what does Witchblade think of all this?" Johnny questions her, assuming she can still hear Witchblade's voice in her head. Though, he smiles at her. "Good. I hope to not make it awkward for Cael though."

It would probably torture her ears if Johnny and Sara were being intimate with each other. Though he tilts his head at her. "Name it, love." Johnny calls her 'love'. The last person he ever called that was Roxanne, and that was twenty some-odd years ago.

She touches him, experiences him, just as his hands explore her. Slowly, gently, like he ewas reading a book with his hands, musing over every word and inch of skin.

Though her request makes his eyes widen. "Sara...this is your house." Johnny tells her, as if to initially refute her, but then he takes a deep breath. "You're sneaky, you know that?" He sighs. "I'll look after the place."

Sara Pezzini has posed:
And now the grin of victory, and a sparkle to Sara's blue eyes. That was some of the sneakiest cornering and set up she could have ever used, and it worked. He had no escape route, and that's just how she liked it. Of course there will be times he will get to win, but on this one thing, he never had a chance.

"Thank you," she says with another soft kiss. "I've left is sitting since his death, and that needs to stop. Besides, once you see the kitchen..." she chuckles quietly then lays her head against him.

"Witchblade doesn't get a say in who I date or fuck," she then states plainly. "I made that clear on day one. He doesn't have to like you, but he has to tolerate. That said however," she looks up at him again. "He doesn't hate you, but he doesn't trust you either, because of the Rider... he'll learn. What does Zarathos think?"

Johnny Blaze has posed:
"Zarathos doesn't care."

Johnny suggests then. "He doesn't like anybody, but it's my body. We just share a soul." That bond is what composes the Ghost Rider, the gestault that forms the Sin Eater that just won't stop. Can it be stopped? Well, you can't win them all...and no doubt Johnny's last ride is somewhere out there in the ether, waiting to rear it's ugly head when it's time to ride off into the sunset.

That cruel, cruel sunset.

A soft kis is rewarded to him, and Johnny kisses her back. "Don't think I'm going to make this easier on you. I'll throw out all of your old things." Johnny teases her with a grin. SHe talks about a kitchen, and Johnny sighs happily. "A place to cook...." Though he nods on the report about the Witchblade.

"That's understandable, honestly."