#reiven cobra kai fics

[reivenesque]

Cobra Kai Fic: Hawk Eyes CH1

In the aftermath of his best friend’s devastating injury, Hawk is forced to do some serious introspection. Post season two. Hawk character study.

--

Eli Moskowitz was a whiny, pussy ass little bitch and Hawk hated his guts.

More than that, Hawk hated the fact that he ever used to be him.

He hated Eli’s clothes and his hair and his stupid face and his freaky scar and the fact that he was constantly cowering in fear over nothing and everything.

Hawk wasn’t afraid of anything.

Hawk looked at everything straight in the eye and would inevitably punch it in the face. He punched objects and people and trees and other Cobras and even a clown that one time (but it was a clown so that was justification enough) and he liked it – it made him feel strong. It made him feel powerful and invincible and like he had life firmly by the balls and could conquer anything.

But most of all, it made him forget that he was ever Eli Moskowitz, the loser; the nerd; the freak with the weird lip.

It made him forget the nights he cried himself to sleep out of embarrassment and shame. It made him forget the time he hid himself in the bathroom stall just to get away from the laughter and the teasing of everyone in school. It made him forget all the looks of pity the teachers used to give him and the empty words of comfort they used to spew. It made him forget the sight of people constantly pointing at his lip and laughing as he passed by, covering him mouth and wishing that the ground would part under his feet and swallow him whole.

Eli Moskowitz was a pathetic loser who got picked on by everyone.

Hawk was strong. Hawk wasn’t afraid of anything.

At least that’s what he kept telling himself – chanting to himself like a mantra as he knelt by Miguel’s side while the paramedics worked on him. While they stabilized him and strapped him to the back board, trying not to show on their face how serious they thought his injury might actually be.

He tried to drown out everything else; the whispers and the murmurs and the sound of the teachers finally growing enough balls to come out of their hiding places to herd the students away from the hall.

Not one person touched him. No one dared.

He ignored Tory standing off to the side, looking at Miguel’s unmoving figure still sprawled on the stairs like a broken doll.

He even ignored Sam who was crying softly, one arm wrapped protectively around her chest and the other stroking his hair with the gentlest touch as she knelt by his head.

There was a part of him that was still Eli that almost reached over to place a hand on her shoulder in comfort. If nothing else, it was because he knew Miguel still cared about her and he cared about Miguel and for a split second, that was almost enough to quell the hatred in his heart. But the moment was fleeting and by the time the paramedics had loaded Miguel onto the gurney and started heading out towards where the ambulance was waiting for them – that little Eli inside him was nothing more than a distant memory.

--

Miguel might never walk again.

That’s what people were saying.

More so than that – he might even die.

Hawk never did put much stock in the gossip tree because that’s what it was – gossip. Heresay. Bullshit.

Miguel was the strongest person he knew. He was the bravest, the most fearless person and Hawk knew there was no way he was going to let anything keep him down.

But there was a part of him, a part that wasn’t really Eli, that wasn’t really Hawk either; a part that was just a sixteen year old boy terrified about losing his best friend that asked:  Would it not?

A broken back. That’s what people were saying. Paralysed. That’s what another would whisper back. The longer the rumour mill spun the more severe the extent of Miguel’s injures became to the masses. The truth was, no one really knew, not even the doctors. Or rather, they wouldn’t know the true extent until he woke up.

Before that moment, Hawk couldn’t have imagined the words ‘wake up’ would ever carry such a terrible connotation or bring on such a feeling of direness.

Waking up from sleep. Waking up from a nap. Waking up from a day dream or a wet dream or both.

It was just… normal. Nothing anyone ever really thought about twice.

Miguel was in a coma for almost three days. It was three days of worried pacing and uncertainty and fear waiting for him to just ‘wake up’.

Three days of occupying the hospital waiting room with people he hated passing through, waiting for news that never ended up coming.

It was the longest three days of his life in which so many things other things happened almost as if life just carried on while Miguel was fighting for his life.

All the Cobra Kai and Miyagi-Do students that had taken part in the melee had gotten suspended. Hawk was surprised that none of them had just gotten outright expelled. But then again, he knew that the school wasn’t going to expel the daughter of their biggest donor, LaRusso. So obviously they didn’t want to seem like they were blatantly playing favourites by expelling everyone else but her; especially because Sam was caught on multiple videos being one of the people who started the fight.

The other reason was because it was clear as day that although the Cobra Kai were the ones who instigated the fight, the reason Miguel was seriously injured (on school property – something that didn’t align well with school policy) was because he stopped fighting. Hell, he even apologized to Keene before Keene blindsided him and kicked him off the balcony.

Hawk knew even Miyagi-Do couldn’t find justification for what Keene did to Miguel, but then again, he knew the Miyagi-Do and their sensei hated them enough to probably try.

It didn’t matter anyway – Keene was going to pay one way or another. All of them were.

Then almost like a grim sign from above, Sensei Kreese returned, vowing revenge on the Miyagi-Do for what they did and Hawk was angry enough at them, at Keene and Sam and Sensei and even Aisha for not being as angry as he was for what they did to Miguel to take everything he said to heart, to allow it to fuel his rage even further. He was a Cobra Kai, their motto was No Mercy – something neither Sensei nor Aisha or even Miguel seemed to remember which succeeded in fuelling his hatred.

It was easy to be angry. It was easy to have an outlet to direct his rage and to release all his pent up emotions with his fists.

It was easier to be angry than to be scared or acknowledge that was how he truly felt on the inside.

Terrified.

Absolutely terrified.

He was terrified for Miguel. He was terrified of losing Miguel, of losing his best and closest friend; the person he trusted most to watch his back and the only person who liked Hawk just as much as he liked Eli, or rather, liked Eli just as genuinely as he liked Hawk. Aisha didn’t count because she didn’t really know Eli before Hawk stomped him out of existence.

Everyone else either liked Eli or Hawk; none of them could really accept them being the same person.

Demitri liked Eli, but hated Hawk. Sensei liked Hawk, but hated Eli. No one in school gave a shit about the kid with the freaky scar; the loser with the deformed face, until he became the guy with the Mohawk and the badass tattoo.

Eli was no one to anyone until he became Hawk, except to Miguel, because to Miguel, both Eli and Hawk had at different points been the only thing that mattered - a friend.

Hawk never told him how much it meant to him then and how much it meant to him still and he was afraid that he wouldn’t get another chance to do so.

--

Miguel was in the hospital for two days before Hawk was finally allowed up to see him. And whatever sight he’d imagined – no matter how much he’d prepared himself and told himself that everything was okay, that Miguel was going to be okay; the moment his eyes fell on his friend lying so hurt, so prone in that bed; surrounded by beeping machines and wires and IV’s, his neck and spine held erect by a hard, uncomfortable looking brace – it took every inch of his willpower not to let Hawk crumble to the ground and allow Eli to start weeping and blubbering like a simpering pussy.

Miguel’s mom was friendly enough towards him the entire time he was there, but Hawk could see the hurt in her gaze every time he eyes glanced down to the sight of the Cobra Kai logo on his t-shirt.

When she had her back turned to him to fuss over Miguel, he quietly zipped up his jacket to hide the image from her eyes.

He was in no way ashamed of his dojo and he sported their emblem proudly. To him, there was only one person and one faction to blame for what happened to Miguel and that was Keene and Miyagi-Do dojo. But he knew it wasn’t the time, place or person he needed to argue his case against. So for once, he kept his mouth shut.

It was tough being around Miguel then; being able to see his best friend and have him within touching distance, but at the same time knowing that he might as well have been a thousand miles away. It was tough not being able to talk to him and joke with him; of having to just sit there with the knowledge that he let down the one person who always had his back – knowing that he didn’t have his friend’s back when he needed it the most. It was hard acknowledging the fact that while Keene had delivered the fatal blow, all of them had had a part in escalating the fight to that point.

He shook away the thought almost as quickly as it appeared.

He was a Cobra Kai. Cobra Kai doesn’t show mercy to anyone.

That’s what Miguel did, and look at what happened?

But what if Miguel hadn’t shown mercy? What if the roles had been reversed and it was Miguel on the run for almost killing a fellow student? That’s the question that Eli had brought up and Hawk would have smothered himself to silence the voice. But he couldn’t shake the thought completely from his mind.

This all happened because one person had shown mercy, and the other person hadn’t.

But what if both of them hadn’t shown mercy to the other?

What if both of them had?

Hawk hated overthinking the what ifs and maybes. He’d rather solve problems with his fists, but he knew that he couldn’t do that this time.

The absolute last thing he expected or wanted was to run into any of the Miyagi-Do, his sensei, Aisha or really another human being, while he was there at Miguel’s bedside. But naturally the universe had a way of screwing him from behind without mercy because it was at that exact moment that Sam appeared at the door.

He immediately pushed himself off the wall he’d been leaning against, watching Mrs. Diaz as she fussed over Miguel the way only a mother ever could, his arms crossed over his chest and taking a couple of steps to place himself between the newcomer and Miguel.

However, whatever scathing words he was about to say, whatever biting insult he was about to let fly, died on his lips the moment Sam’s eyes fell on Miguel lying in the hospital bed and her face just immediately crumbled. Tears welled up in her eyes and her hands leapt to her mouth as she let out a strangled sob.

Hawk watched as if it were in slow motion as her legs gave out from under her and she almost slid down to the floor on her knees. He was, however, saved from his almost instinctual response of reaching out to grab her before she fell by the second person who appeared almost out of nowhere.

The woman grabbed Sam around the shoulder to steady her and drew her back into her chest, holding her upright in an embrace.

The sadness on her face that mirrored Sam’s or was the result of it meant that she couldn’t have been anyone other than her mom. Hawk knew that much at least. Moms were good like that. His mom was like that too.

His benevolence in that situation lasted for as long as it took her to notice him standing in Sam’s way; after that he was back to being a Cobra Kai and she was back to being a faceless entity affiliated with the enemy. Especially when her eyes looked past him, towards where Miguel was lying unconscious – hurt because of one of them, in a fight they had picked that injured her daughter. Hawk knew enough of Daniel LaRusso from their sensei’s stories and through his own experience dealing with the Miyagi-Do and their prejudice towards their dojo to be able to anticipate what was about to happen – what she was about to say to him.

Every single nerve in his body started bristling; his heckles were raised and he was completely prepared to lay just as much blame that was about to be placed on him, his dojo and Miguel himself.

But none came.

Her expression was one of sadness and sympathy when she turned back to look at him and said, “I’m so sorry about your friend.”

Hawk couldn’t do much beyond staring at her, mouth agape.

But Sam’s mom didn’t seem like she was expecting a response because she didn’t wait for one. She maneuverer Sam to the side where there was a vacant seat that Hawk had declined pushed up against the wall, and lowered her daughter into it before approaching Mrs. Diaz.

Neither of them said anything to each other, but the looks they shared were full of understanding and was intimate enough to make Hawk avert his gaze to focus on the floor.

He heard but didn’t see the sound of Mrs. Diaz’s muffled sobs. He heard but didn’t see the sound of Sam’s mom offering words of comfort. He heard but didn’t see when her own voice started breaking.

He heard a lot but didn’t see because it wasn’t his place. Instead he sidled up to the wall he’d been leaning against and retook his position like a silent guardian.  

For a moment it didn’t matter that it was Sam LaRusso sitting sobbing in the seat next to him. For a minute it didn’t matter that it was a Miyagi-Do student, one of the enemy and one of the reasons Miguel was in the hospital in the first place sitting beside him crying.

For that one moment, it didn’t matter that he reached down to place his hand on her shoulder in reassurance. It didn’t matter that she reached up to cover his with her tear stained, shaking own. It didn’t matter that he let her do it or that he found some measure of comfort in the contact.

For that one moment, it didn’t matter that they were enemies or that they hated each other’s guts, because for that one moment, it was only their love for Miguel that truly mattered.

#cobra kai #miguel diaz #hawk #eli moskowitz #johnny lawrence #samantha larusso #whump #reiven fics #reiven cobra kai fics #fics: hawk eyes

[reivenesque]

Running in a Serpentine Fashion CH6

Chapter 6: Son

Then Daniel said something that gave Johnny pause. He said; “Can you imagine how different our lives would have turned out if I’d joined Cobra Kai from the beginning and you’d been trained by Mr. Miyagi instead of Kreese?”

It wasn’t a thought Johnny had even considered but now that it was out in the open like that, he couldn’t stop thinking about it.

He couldn’t imagine it at all.

A day and a half ago he was sitting wallowing in his office downing bottle after bottle of orange juice. Never had he regretted giving up drinking until that point in his life but he was adamant about making a life changing decision and actually sticking to it for the first time in his life. The last time that happened, he got married and had a kid and ended up not sticking around like the worthless loser he’d turned into.

Now he was sitting in the dimly lit hospital room at his son’s bedside, listening to the beeping and hissing sounds of the machines keeping him alive.

Robby was still unconscious after the surgery and according to the doctor, would stay that way for at least a few more days.

The blade had caused damage to his colon and small intestines and caused some pretty significant internal bleeding on top of the other injuries he’d sustained in the fight, but thankfully it missed major blood vessels, otherwise he would have bled out even with Aisha’s first aid and before Johnny could have gotten him to the hospital. It was the swift action by Aisha and Miguel and Hawk and Moon coming to get him that saved Robby’s life and Johnny didn’t he’d ever be able to find the words to express his appreciation. He figured he’d start with the truth about his and Robby’s relationship first and foremost, since the revelation had been rather sudden and he didn’t get a chance to properly explain to Miguel before he left with the doctor to go see Robby.

Robby looked almost serene despite being in a drug induced coma. Small favours, thought Johnny. The last thing he wanted was for Robby to be in pain, he’d seen him in pain enough during the tournament to last a lifetime and it was all because of him. He just hoped he get the chance to apologize to his son for everything. For what happened at the tournament. For abandoning him and his mom. For not being there when he needed him the most. For everything.

He didn’t expect to get Robby’s forgiveness; he just wanted the chance to be able to work towards becoming a person who even deserved to earn it.

He reached over to grasp Robby’s hand, bringing it up to rest under his chin and he continued gazing at him. His other stretched out to brush the wayward bangs away from his forehead and lingered for a moment to stroke the side of his face.

He remembered Robby as a kid and all of a sudden he was a grown man standing right before his very eyes. Johnny regretted the years he wasted staying away, hiding like a coward and not being there for his family the way he should have been. Him and Shannon didn’t marry for love – well, they were in love at that moment, drunk off their ass and just happened to be standing in front of a pop up church. A few months later she told him she was pregnant and he stuck around for a while; through the pregnancy and the birth and for a couple of years after that. But then…

Well, the past was the past and Johnny forced himself to shake free from the thoughts. It wouldn’t do him any good. It never did. Instead he forced himself to focus on the present moment. He forced himself to grasp tight onto Robby’s hand and remember that that was the present. That was real. Robby was real and he was right there and he was going to need Johnny now more than ever. And Johnny was going to need him too.

“I’m sorry, Robby,” he said, leaning down to plant a kiss on the back of Robby’s bruised knuckles; his other hand stroking the side of his cheek gently with the back of his fingers. “I love you and I’m so sorry I wasn’t there for you, just… please give me another chance. I promise I’ll never let you down again.”

Robby didn’t answer. His eyes remained closed; the rise and fall of his chest was mechanical with every pump of the ventilator breathing for him. Half his face was black and blue and he had a long scabbed over gash on his forehead just below his hairline.

Johnny just waited. He didn’t let go of Robby’s hand even once. He’d never been the most religious of people but at that moment, he started praying.

--

Nothing happening outside the walls of Robby’s room meant anything to Johnny, only the seemingly endless visits from the nurses and the doctors and the detectives who stopped by to check if Robby was awake to give a statement. Apparently they’d managed to identify three of the five guys that attacked Robby and were currently in the process of tracking them down.

Johnny couldn’t give two rat’s asses about the process; he just wanted to know when they caught the bastards to did that to his son and enforce some Cobra Kai justice on them himself.

But then he remembered; Cobra Kai was the reason he was stuck in that predicament. Why he was always stuck in that predicament. His life ended when he lost to LaRusso in the tournament, but it wasn’t because of the actual tournament, it was everything that had happened as a direct result of the loss. His relationship with Kreese. His relationship with his stepdad had disintegrated further with his mom no longer able to play the peacemaker. The friendship he had with the rest of the Cobra Kai’s that had slowly burned out and fizzled away. That was one of the biggest regrets he had. That and ending up being to Robby what his own father had been to him: just another scumbag absentee dad.

“Johnny?” He looked up at the call and found LaRusso standing at the door. He didn’t know how long the man had been standing there. “Amanda asked me to see if you needed anything. You haven’t left his side in days.”

At first Johnny had to wrack his brain to remember who Amanda even was but when he did he just shook his head, though he was appreciative of the gesture and the thought. “Nah, I’m good.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah,” he nodded.

LaRusso spared him a look for a moment before he returned the nod and stepped back to leave.

“Daniel?” Johnny surprised himself by calling out to him before he walked away. “You… you wanna stay a while. I guess I could use the company.”

“Sure,” he said with a smile, walking in and taking a seat on the chair opposite of Johnny, on Robby’s left. “They didn’t manage to find his mom?” he asked when he sat down.

“Nah,” said Johnny simply, though his brain was thinking of a few choice words to actually say about the woman but decided against it. “According to the neighbours she apparently went on a cruise with some new boyfriend he picked up in a bar. I don’t know. I don’t even try to keep up with what she’s doing – or who.”

“Poor Robby,” said LaRusso with a sigh.

“Yeah,” Johnny reiterated because there was nothing else left to say. Robby was unfortunately doomed from the start; a useless mom and an even more useless dad. It was a credit to himself that he grew up to be a halfway decent human being. Johnny hated to admit it, but meeting LaRusso was perhaps the best thing to happened to Robby in a long time.

“It isn’t your fault you know... what happened to him. Despite your relationship, you never could have predicted this happening. As bad as Kreese and the Cobra Kais were, this is beyond even their standard of evil,” said Daniel.

Hearing those words coming from his mouth, considering their less than stellar history and Johnny’s own disillusionment regarding the teachings of his own sensei that he once worshipped absolutely, it meant more to him to hear than he expected.

“It doesn’t change the fact that it did happen, and that Robby almost died… and that the last memory he has of me is standing by as he was being brutalized by my own students.”

“Look, Johnny – I won’t pretend to condone the teachings of Cobra Kai and the philosophy of Kreese that you – to be completely frank – stupidly passed onto those naïve impressionable kids. I thought you’d learned something from your own history. But I’m not here to condemn you or even Cobra Kai, I’ve done enough of that to last me a lifetime. But just… you just need to remember that the teaching is only as flawed as the person who teaches it and between you and Kreese… well, I’m not actually sure which one of you is more flawed.”

Johnny understood that the moment was supposed to be deep but he couldn’t help it, he laughed. Then Daniel laughed.

“Damn, LaRusso, that was honestly the worst pep talk I think I’ve heard in my life.”

Daniel didn’t seem at all offended by his words. “Yeah, Mr. Miyagi didn’t manage to pass on that specific skillset,” he said.

“But, I do appreciate it in a weird way.”

“Then I’ve done my job,” said LaRusso proudly. “You know, Mr. Miyagi would have liked Robby a lot.”

“Yeah, I’m sure he would.”

Then Daniel said something that gave Johnny pause. He said; “Can you imagine how different our lives would have turned out if I’d joined Cobra Kai from the beginning and you’d been trained by Mr. Miyagi instead of Kreese?”

It wasn’t a thought Johnny had even considered but now that it was out in the open like that, he couldn’t stop thinking about it.

He couldn’t imagine it at all.

--

It was nearly three days after Johnny rushed his son to the hospital before he showed the first signs of waking up.

It was just a small movement at first, so miniscule Johnny almost missed it when it happened.  

At first it was just the slight furrowing of his eyebrows as he struggled to surface from the drug induced coma. Johnny stuck close to him, whispering assurances to him that he wasn’t alone. He didn’t know if Robby even heard him or realized he was there.

Then he started stirring, fingers curling weakly and arms moving around heavily; his eyeballs darting around beneath his closed lids. The more aware he became of his surroundings the more anxious Johnny got. He was about a second away from calling Daniel to be there to reassure them both when Robby’s eyes finally opened.

His eyes were glassy and unfocused, barely able to stay open as he gazed around weakly at his surroundings. He didn’t seem aware of Johnny’s presence or the feel of Johnny’s hand grasping onto his. It wasn’t until Johnny called his name softly did his eyes finally turn to focus on the sight of Johnny standing over him.

Everything seemed to happen at once right then. Robby became fully aware of the breathing tube in his throat and the pain that was assaulting his senses at the same time. He began to choke, gagging on the tube, unable to take oxygen into his lungs. His hand reached up weakly to pull the foreign object out but Johnny managed to grab onto his wrist, tugging his hand away.

“Robby, it’s okay. It’s okay, Robby,” he said, reaching up with his other hand to stroke his son’s hair back comfortingly.

Robby had tears trickling down the side of his face and the sight of his broke Johnny’s heart to pieces. He was quickly ushered out the door by the arrival of the nurses and he doctors as they converged on Robby, and he reluctantly let his hand slip out of his grasp before the curtain was pulled and Robby disappeared from his sight.

At some point Daniel joined him in waiting outside Robby’s room but Johnny didn’t notice when he walked up or whether he stayed. His mind was focused completely on Robby, as much as he could with his heart thundering against his ribcage without mercy.

He only noticed when the doctors finally walked out though what they actually said went completely over his head. His only focus was Robby and getting reassurance that he was okay, once he got that, his mind immediately stopped concentrating on the doctor and he rushed back inside the room to be with his son.

He thought Daniel stayed for a while, there was a strange inkling in the back of his mind that someone was around, but he couldn’t tear his eyes away from Robby long enough to make sure.

It was at least a few more hours of anxious waiting, not once letting go of Robby’s hand, before Johnny’s heart was given the release it so desired when Robby woke up a second time. But this time in little to no pain though the doctor insisted that he stay on the ventilator for at least about twelve hours for monitoring.

This time Robby’s eyes were quicker to focus on Johnny once they opened and they stayed trained on him almost as if Robby was reluctant to believe that his own father was actually there by his side.

“You really scared the shit out of me kid,” he said, putting forward a stronger façade than he really felt on the inside and forcing a small smile onto his face.

Robby looked between his face and the hand still grasping tight onto his and for a tense heavy moment, Johnny was terrified that Robby would pull his hand away in rejection of the touch. But he didn’t, and Johnny let out an imperceptible sigh of relief. When Robby actually curled his fingers around Johnny’s hand, effectively latching on to him just as desperately, Johnny had to stop himself from tearing up like a little bitch.  

“It’s okay, Robby. You’re okay,” he said, “I’m here and I’ll be here for as long as you want me.”

Robby didn’t respond, but his shoulders noticeable relaxed and he leaned slightly onto the hand Johnny had cupping his cheek and that was everything Johnny could have ever wished for. He questioned whether to bring up the subject of Robby’s mom but decided against. His son didn’t need the added stress in his condition. Instead, he patted Robby gently on the shoulder and without letting go of his hand, retook his seat by his side. Robby’s eyes followed his descent and Johnny kept his gaze, squeezing his hand once as reassurance that he was real.

He noticed Robby attempting to speak through the tube in his throat and quickly leaned over to prevent him from hurting himself. “Don’t try to speak. Just… Just try to relax, Robby. I know you’re hurting and I know you’re uncomfortable but just… it’s gonna be okay, son,” he said and he realized that it was the first time he could remember calling Robby son, perhaps even, it was the first time he thought he actually deserved to do so.

He didn’t know whether Robby noticed his uncertainty, part of him hoped that Robby was too hopped up on drugs to even realize he’d said anything, but the other part of him wanted Robby to know, wanted him to believe that it was true. He supposed he wasn’t going to get any answers any time soon but he was totally okay with that too, it’d give him more time to work up a response that was less that of a stuttering fool.

But Robby continued staring at him through half lidded eyes that keep drooping and Johnny tried not to show his insecurity so obviously. Eventually he could tell that Robby was slowly but surely losing his battle against sleep and urged him to stop fighting, reassuring him that he was going to still be there when he woke up. It was as if Robby was waiting for the reassurance because the moment Johnny said it, he finally let go of the weak grasp he had on consciousness and slipped away into the dark.

Johnny let out a deep exhale the moment Robby’s eyes slipped shut and his entire body finally relaxed.

Then he just waited.

Tbc.

#johnny lawrence #the karate kid #cobra kai #robby keene #daniel larusso #billy zabka #tanner buchanan #ralph macchio #whump #reiven fics #reiven cobra kai fics #fics: running in a serpentine fashion #intubated

[reivenesque]

Running in a Serpentine Fashion CH4

« Previous chapter | ao3

They made it to the hospital in record time. Miguel was barely on the chorus of Welcome to the Jungle in his head when they pulled into the ambulance bay of the hospital and Hawk was out the door yelling for a doctor before the car could come to a complete stop.

Doctors and nurses convened on the car and Keene immediately, pulling him out of Miguel’s hands and onto a gurney, wheeling him into the doors and out sight in a flurry of activity that Miguel couldn’t even begin to keep up with.

He saw sensei rushing in after them but he couldn’t move from the position he was in, still crouched in the small space between the backseat and the passenger seat, his shaking hands dripping fresh, warm blood that smelled so strong of metal that up close.

“Miguel? It’s okay.” Finally he managed to drag his eyes away from where they were staring transfixed on his own two hands to look up into Aisha’s teary, concerned eyes. “He’s going to be okay. We did everything we could,” she said, almost like she could read what was on Miguel’s mind.

“There’s so much blood,” he found himself saying. The sound was weird, almost like he was listening to his own voice from deep underwater. “There’s… there’s too much blood. I’m never going to get this out of my clothes. My mom’s going to be pissed,” he said.

The sensation of tears trickling down his face was weird, mainly because he couldn’t remember even crying. It was stupid. Keene wasn’t his friend. He didn’t even like the guy… but he’d almost died, right there in Miguel’s arms. It was a surreal situation for anyone to find themselves in, especially a teenager and in that moment, Aisha and Miguel finally realized just how close they came to seeing someone die with their own two eyes.

It was Aisha who started sobbing which spurned Miguel to put his own drama on the back burner. Aisha was the one who’d kept Keene alive; the one who had the sense not to act like a complete idiot. If there was one person who needed comforting in that moment, it was Aisha, and Miguel forced himself to step up.

He reached over and circled his arms around her shoulders, pulling her into a hug. Neither of them cared that they were getting blood all over each other. They were drenched in so much of it as it was.

In that moment they were both just teenagers who needed comfort, so they comforted each other.

--

It wasn’t until a few minutes later that they finally managed to pull themselves together enough to go seek out sensei, Hawk and Moon who’d gone with the gurney carrying Keene towards the emergency room. They were directed towards the waiting room and pushed open the door to find sensei pacing a hole in the floor in the middle of the room and Hawk sitting slumped over in the plastic seat by the wall, his arms around Moon sitting next to him. They were both quiet, unnervingly so.

Sensei wasn’t saying anything but Miguel could tell how terrified he was.

Ever since the tournament, sensei always ended up acting weird whenever the name Keene came up in conversation (it didn’t come up often, or rather it didn’t come up often when sensei was around because sensei was seldom around). At one point Miguel suspected that there was more to the story than he and the rest of the Cobra Kais knew, he thought he even suspected what it was but he forced himself not to dwell on it too long or too much. For one thing, he hated Keene’s guts and he didn’t give a shit.

Sensei didn’t notice them standing by the door. Once Aisha stepped away to approach Moon and Hawk, Miguel decided to see if he could instead go find a bathroom. He didn’t feel like being in that room at that moment.

He underestimated how terrible he really looked until he was faced with his own reflection in the bathroom mirror.

The fist he caught to the side of the face was already starting to bruise, his hair was a mess and he was pretty sure he got cut in the gums by his braces during the fight because he could still feel the bitterness of the coopery tang on his tongue.

He also had blood all over his clothes, staining his hands and smudged on his cheeks and down his neck. He looked like a victim of a wild animal attack and it definitely wasn’t pretty.

The tap water washed off most of the blood but the crusts under his fingernails were tougher to get out.

He wasn’t sure how long he spent in the bathroom, cleaning himself up as best he could, it could have been five minutes or fifty, he wasn’t keeping track and it was like his brain was still stuck on some strange loop that he couldn’t fully shake.

The sight of the waiting room was slightly different when he returned. Instead of pacing the floor, wearing down the shine of linoleum, sensei was instead kneeling in front of Aisha, holding her shaking shoulders tight as she cried into his chest. Once he came within hearing distance, Miguel could hear Aisha’s muffled apology and sensei reassuring her with gentleness in his voice that Miguel didn’t think he was even capable of.

“You saved his life. You have nothing to be sorry for,” sensei repeated more than once.

It wasn’t until Hawk noticed his approach and called out his name that sensei finally turned to look at him.

Aisha sniffled and leaned back, releasing her hold on sensei’s shoulders. “It was Miguel,” she said, “Miguel’s the one who went to help him during the fight.”

Sensei briefly looked at her before glancing back to Miguel standing there, unable to think of anything to say or how to react.

“You both did,” he said, patting her on the shoulder, “All you guys did,” he added, glancing at Hawk and Moon before he got to his feet and approached Miguel. “I heard what you did,” he said when he stopped about a foot away.

Miguel fidgeted with his hands under sensei’s intense gaze. “I just did what you would have done,” he said nervously.

A shadow of a smile ghosted across sensei’s face. “And what’s that?” he asked, as if it were just another class and just another lesson he was teaching Miguel.

“Kicked some ass,” he said as a matter of fact.

The small laugh sensei let out made Miguel’s heart swell with pride. “You’re damn right I would have,” he said. Without another word and without warning, sensei stepped forward and pulled Miguel in for a hug.

Miguel wasn’t expecting the physical contact or the embrace so his entire body froze stupidly.

“Thank you for helping him,” sensei said. “Thank you for saving him,” he added.

Miguel didn’t think he needed any more proof of his suspicions but he didn’t say anything. Instead he returned the hug gladly. It felt nice.

They didn’t say anything more after that as they waited on news about Keene. After sensei pulled himself together, he approached Miguel and asked whether he had Sam’s number. To say Miguel was taken aback by the query was an understatement and the exact moment Miguel was about to voice out his confusion, he occurred to him that sensei wasn’t asking to call Sam.

He was asking to call Mr. LaRusso.

That fact sobered him up quickly. He swallowed the lump in his throat as he fished out his phone and scrolled down to find Sam’s number in his long unused call list which was a sad fact in itself.

It took three unanswered calls before Sam finally picked up on the second ring; her voice dripping annoyance when she barked into the receiver. ‘What, Miguel?’

“Sam… look –”

‘No, you look, Miguel. I can’t do this anymore. I like you a lot – liked you a lot, but you turned out to be –’

“Sam, please, it’s not about that!” Miguel felt bad about raising his voice but as much as it hurt to hear Sam being so angry at him, it wasn’t about him or Sam at that moment. “I need to talk your dad.”

The line was silent for a beat, indicative of the confusion Sam was experiencing. ‘What?’

“Please, Sam. I’m sorry for everything, I’ll apologize every day until the end of time but right now I really need to talk to your dad.”

‘Is everything alright, Miguel?’

“No,” he answered truthfully, “It’s not.”

Once the line went silent, Miguel knew it was his cue to hand the phone to sensei and he stepped back to wallow in his own self-pity on the seat beside Aisha.

Johnny took the phone from Miguel’s hand – he could barely stop picking at the dried blood that was starting to crust on his hands but he forced himself to look away.

He waited on the silent line for a moment before the familiarly indignant and annoyed voice sounded in the receiver.

‘What is your sensei playing at?’ Was the first thing out of his mouth and Johnny would have barked a laugh had the situation not been so grim.

It took just a simple, “LaRusso,” to set him off again.

‘Jesu–What the hell, Johnny? You harassing my kid now? What do you want?’

Johnny opened his mouth to reply but all of a sudden he couldn’t find the words. His mind was flashing back to the sight of his son bleeding out on the pavement just a few feet away from his own dojo. If Miguel and the rest hadn’t stumbled on Robby that night – if Robby had been alone when the guys attacked him – if Miguel hadn’t gone back to help him… Johnny couldn’t imagine what would have happened.

He must have zoned out for quite a bit because he came to with LaRusso’s concerned voice calling his name into his ear.

‘Johnny, what’s the matter?’

Johnny swallowed the lump in his throat and attempted to find his voice before he spoke. He hoped his voice wouldn’t shake the way he knew it wanted to because all of a sudden it occurred to him.

His son almost died.

His son might still die.

And Johnny never got the chance to make it up to him or to say sorry.

The emotions were all of a suddenly almost overwhelming and he let out a sob into the receiver.

“It’s Robby,” he said. “Daniel, it’s Robby.”

Tbc.

We’re headed into Johnny’s POV after this one.

@gleegirl2011 @dream-beyond-the-fantasy (if anyone wants to be tagged or stop being being tagged when I update let me know).

#cobra kai #robby keene #miguel diaz #the karate kid #johnny lawrence #daniel larusso #aisha robinson #hawk #eli moscowitz #reiven fics #reiven cobra kai fics #fics: running in a serpentine fashion #whump

[reivenesque]

Running in a Serpentine Fashion CH5

Chapter 5: Daniel

« Previous chapter (also on ao3 and ffet).

Three hours.

That was how long it was since he drove up to the emergency dock of the hospital with his son bleeding all over the leather upholstery of his car and still there had been no update about how he was doing.

His harassment of a nurse for information only resulted in him almost getting kicked off the premises but the woman had taken pity on him and not only let him stay, but came back with what little information she could find about Robby’s condition.

He was in surgery. That was all they knew.

The waiting room was a flurry of activity by that point, faces that Johnny never expected to see. Or rather just one face he didn’t expect and didn’t really want to see.

Daniel LaRusso.

But LaRusso was there for Robby. Johnny had called him because of Robby; for Robby. He knew LaRusso meant a lot to Robby and although the fact caused an ache deep inside his heart, he knew he had to accept the reality. He had no one to blame for his predicament but himself. LaRusso had picked up the slack he’d left behind and he was done letting his vindictive ways and his jealousy get in the way of him and the people he cared about.

It cost him Ali and it cost him Robby and he was done losing people who meant the most to him because he couldn’t let go of his own ego.

LaRusso had brought along his entire brood with him. His lovely wife that Johnny was really quite fond of. She reminded him of Ali, which both answered the question as to why she ended up marrying LaRusso, and brought up the brand new question, which is why did she end up marrying LaRusso? She was way out of his league and he knew that LaRusso knew it too, or maybe he didn’t, he really was insufferable in that sense. Must have been the New Jersey in him.

His progeny was sitting with Miguel off to the side whispering to each other out of ear shot and the annoying little brat mini-me of his was for once not being an annoying brat. He was sitting quietly beside his mom who was talking to Aisha.

Johnny sensed a presence looming over him before a weight dropped down onto the empty seat beside him.

“You okay, Johnny?”

There were times when Johnny wanted to hate LaRusso and it came easy; the feeling and the execution of it.

But there were other times when Johnny couldn’t stop thinking that in another scenario in another lifetime; had their first meeting been different, his life and his hate-hate relationship with LaRusso might also have also turned out completely different.

He scrubbed his face with a little too much vehemence before he sighed, leaving back heavily against the backrest of the seat.

“I should have been there for him,” he said. It wasn’t the answer to the question LaRusso had asked but somehow it was the only thing on his mind. “I should have been there for this… I should have always been there. I never should have turned my back on him,” he said and he didn’t know why the words flowed out so easily to LaRusso. It happened during his confession about Sid and it happened about Kreese and it was happening again.

He couldn’t understand it.

“You can’t change the past, Johnny,” LaRusso said, “You can only change what you do from that point on. Leave the past in the past – we should have done that. I should have done that.” Johnny didn’t reply but LaRusso didn’t seem like he was waiting for one either. “What did the police say?”

The police had been by before LaRusso and his family arrived, having been called by the hospital because of the nature of Robby’s injuries and how he’d gotten them.

Johnny didn’t have much to add but Miguel, Aisha, Hawk and Moon was almost tripping over each other in order to give their statements.

Johnny hadn’t really been listening that closely to whatever it was they were saying, but the officer seemed fluent in teenage babble because he was taking notes and didn’t seem at all blown away by the sheer volume of sound coming at him from all sides.

It wasn’t until Miguel said that the guy who tackled Robby had long hair and some sort of lip dirt mustache on his face and Aisha added that Robby said they were friends of his did all the puzzle pieces finally fall into place.

Johnny’s fist found the broad side of the wall behind him before he could even verbally react, startling the kids and the officer who was standing there. He told the officer about the two losers Robby used to hang out with, he didn’t know their names or where they lived, though he regretted that lack of information because it was hard resisting the urge to march out of that hospital to deliver those guys the ass kicking they were asking for and so deserved. He told the officer to go ask Robby’s mom and proceeded to give them her address. He’d tried calling her many times but the call would immediately go into voicemail, not that he was all that surprised but he was both pissed off and disappointed on Robby’s behalf.

He could feel the heat of the stares on the back of his head as he was talking but he didn’t turn around. It wasn’t that he was scared or anything, least of all of Miguel and his bunch of nerds, but there was the fear of looking back and seeing the look of disappointment and betrayal on their faces. He couldn’t comprehend why that would even bother him, not that he needed their approval for anything, but perhaps it was because he hated to admit how much the kids under his tutelage had come to grow on him, especially Miguel. The thought of disappointing him struck a deep chord inside his heart and he’d hate knowing that he’d manage to disappoint two boys he cared about.

He’d let Robby down too many times already in his life. He wasn’t there for him growing up and he only stood by with his dick in his hand while his own son got the crap beaten out of him by not one, but two of his own students. What kind of shit father was that?

The Johnny Lawrence kind, that’s what. He only had Sid and Kreese as role models growing up so he wasn’t exactly the poster boy for healthy upbringing, but it wasn’t fair to Robby the fact that he couldn’t put his own trauma on the backburner and put someone else’s needs before his for the first time.

It occurred to him then that he almost lost that chance, like… truly occurred to him. His son almost died. He almost died in Johnny’s arms and he realized with great regret that he didn’t know anything about him. He didn’t know what band he liked or what movie he enjoyed. He didn’t know what he liked to do for fun or who his idols were.

The Robby he saw at the tournament, being coached by Daniel LaRusso of all people was different from the Robby he met at the apartment a few months before. He seemed less… burdened and weighed down, like he was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. It was as if he found the kind of internal peace and balance that Johnny never managed to. And to think that it came from the teachings of his rival… that was the swift kick to the balls type of wake-up call he didn’t realize he needed.

He found LaRusso still waiting on his answer when he finally turned around.

“The kids gave a good description of the guys that attacked Robby and I know for sure two of them were guys Robby used to hang around with – real bad news, loser types,” he said. “I guess, he did take after his dad in one aspect,” he added as a mutter under his breath.

“You know… a couple of months ago there was an incident. A couple of guys got caught on camera trying to break into the garage at my shop. Robby was actually the one who stopped them and I think we got the footage of their faces saved in the security room,” LaRusso said. “I’ll call the officers and let them know to drop by there.”

“Yeah, thanks,” said Johnny distractedly. “Hey, LaRusso,” he called back when LaRusso got to his feet and was about to walk away to make the call.

“Yeah?”

“Just… thanks. Thanks for being there for him when I wasn’t,” said Johnny. “Thanks for… well, thanks for being a good mentor to him. God knows the kid needs some good role models in his life. He never even stood a chance.”

LaRusso sighed, though a small smile curled at his lips. “You don’t need to thank me, Johnny. I just… I guess I had a good sensei in Mr. Miyagi. You didn’t and it’s not your fault. But it’s obvious these kids have a good sensei in you, judging by what they did and how they handled the situation. So just… don’t count yourself out just yet, I did and that was my mistake. You got a chance to become a better sensei than the one you had and you still have a chance to be a better father than what you had.”

Johnny was genuinely touched by LaRusso’s words but the moment was quickly snuffed out by cough. “You really are a lame-ass optimist, LaRusso.”

LaRusso laughed. “It’s all that bonsai trimming,” he said, “You should try it one day. It’s very relaxing.”

Fortunately for Johnny, the sappy moment was cut short and immediately subdued by the arrival to the doctor pulling off his mask and cap and calling for the family of Robby Keene.

Johnny wasn’t thinking anything when he approached the man; he could sense Miguel and the rest stepping up beside him and in an unexpected turn of event, he found comfort in the presence of LaRusso standing just a few feet away.

“I’m his father,” he said and in that moment he realized that what the doctor was going to say was about to bring him relief or cause his entire world to come crumbling down to his feet.

He steeled himself.

Tbc.

#johnny lawrence #daniel larusso #robby keene #miguel diaz #cobra kai #the karate kid #fics: running in a serpentine fashion #whump #aisha robinson #hawk #eli moscowitz #reiven fics #reiven cobra kai fics

[reivenesque]

A Cobra Kai Post Tournament Fic [H/C. Friendship]

Running in a Serpentine Fashion Chapter 1: Diaz 

(AO3)

It had been nearly a week since the tournament – which they won, by the fucking way... not that it really even felt like it – because Sensei Johnny was still moping around over god knows what attempting to drown himself in his office with six-packs of lukewarm Coors light. Miguel didn’t realize when sensei even made the switch. He was the one who always said light drinks were for pussies.

They won in spectacular fashion, like one of those cool underdog sports movies and his sensei’s reaction had been… cold at best, which confused the hell out of Miguel. He taught them to win and they did, and his lack of enthusiasm about it was just frustrating as shit. And strange, even by sensei’s definition of strange.

It didn’t help that stuff was weird at home as well. His Yaya was totally over the moon about his win (something about him finally becoming a man that isn’t such a doormat) and his mom had been happy and proud – at first at least, or that was how it seemed on the surface. Miguel could always tell when his mom had something that she needed to get off her chest. She kept acting all strange about him and saying pointed stuff that he couldn’t really understand. But whatever she really wanted to say she kept pent up – which happened like never, so whatever it was was obviously something huge.

It wasn’t until that evening that she finally out and said it while she was bent over the sink washing the dishes and Miguel had come into the kitchen to get a drink. “You were really quite violent with that kid at the tournament the other day. I almost didn’t recognize you for a minute there, mijo.”

And finally everything seemed to click into place.

“I won didn’t I? Strike first, strike hard; no mercy. That’s the Cobra Kai way!” he said. His mom didn’t respond to what he said and when he looked up at the silence he found her eyes shining with what seemed like sadness as they continued staring him down. “Whatever,” he said. He didn’t want to get into it, least of all with his mom and least of all right then. Sensei Johnny was being a moody dick, his mom was being weird and neither of them were reacting to his win the way he expected them to which was kind of pissing him off. So he shoved the orange juice back in the fridge and with a mumbled, “I’m going out,” he grabbed his jacket and left without another word.

Moon and Hawk were sucking face against the wall outside the convenience store they were at, making really gross sucking sounds that were getting super annoying and attracting too much unwanted looks of disapproval from the old people passing by.

When Miguel left the house to get away from that uncomfortable talk his mom was about to make, he did it not with the intention of becoming the third wheel to Eli of all goddamn people making out with one of the hottest girls in school when they were supposed to be hanging out helping him lick his wounds. Thank god for Aisha.

“Nut?” offered Aisha, offering an opened bag of peanuts to him when he walked over and took a seat beside her on the sidewalk.

“Nah,” he said, waving off the offer. “Thanks. I think I have enough nuts in my life as is.”

“Problem at home?” she asked.

“At home yeah… and at the dojo… and at school… and with sensei and my mom and Sam and just – just when I thought things were finally going right in my life,” he groaned exasperatedly and buried his face in his knees, the very picture of wretched. 

He wished badass Miguel from the tournament, the one who kicked ass and got the crowd all pumped up and shit would have stuck around. He was tired of being loser Miguel who didn’t get the girl, made his mom all sad and caused whatever depressive mood his sensei was currently stuck in. He thought he’d finally crawled out of that particular hole.

“Life sucks!” he bellowed suddenly, startling Aisha beside him into dropping the bag of nuts in her hand. She managed to snatch it up out of the air and continued picking at it like nothing happened.

“It does,” she said unhelpfully and completely unconcerned.

Miguel sighed and let his arms drop to the side, resting his forehead on his knees once again.

He didn’t know how long he stayed in that position, probably looking as pathetic as he felt, ironic for someone who just won the All Valley Championship; beating out people with much more experience than him. It was pretty rad for someone who just a year ago would walk around with greens stuck in his braces for hours without realizing it.

“Oh shit, you’re not going to believe this, Diaz.” It was Hawk who made him finally look up. Aisha was busy staring at an indistinct spot across the street and the fact that he’d actually managed to peel himself away from Moon’s lips to notice whatever it was that caught his eye, it must have been something really important. “Check it out, man,” he said what Miguel caught his eye, following in the direction he was indicating with a jutted chin

And up until that point, Miguel didn’t think his night could get any worse. But evidently someone upstairs named Murphy decided that he hadn’t had enough shit flung at him already.

Because down the street, illuminated under the streetlight, strutting without a care in the world and headed towards the convenience store they were convened in front of was none other than Daniel LaRusso’s super special protégé student, Keene.

Just the sight of him made Miguel’s blood boil and all of his other problems all of a sudden seemed almost unimportant.

“Come on, Miguel,” said Aisha, sounding almost concerned. “Let’s not get into this now. It isn’t worth it. Besides, you already won, right?”

Miguel could hear Aisha speaking but none of what she was saying actually registered. He sensed Hawk stepping up behind him, flinging an arm across his shoulder as he leaned in to whisper into his ear. “Round two, man?” He said. Miguel could almost hear the sound of the smirk on his face. “Remember what sensei taught us: strike first, strike hard. No mercy.”

“Don’t listen to him, Miguel,” said Aisha, ever the peacemaker. “Just let it go.”

Miguel was literally standing there with both an angel and the devil whispering into his ear and he didn’t know which advice to take. Instead he asked himself: what would Sensei Johnny do?

The answer it turned out, presented itself before the little sensei in his head could even begin to verbalize of an answer, when Keene got close enough to notice Miguel staring at him like he’d kicked his dog. Miguel didn’t own a dog in any case, he was terribly allergic to fur, but he imagined he would have that exact look if he had a dog and someone decided to kick it.

“Hey, Keene, out so late by yourself? Where’s your precious sensei LaRusso?” he asked. Beside him he could hear Hawk cheering and Aisha sighing exasperatedly.

Keene was about ten feet away before he slowed down to a stop, rolling his eyes and sighing tiredly when Miguel finished his spiel. He thought he sounded pretty damn cool himself.

“Look, I’m not looking for trouble,” he said, raising both arms in front of him. His shoulder must be feeling better since he was without the sling, Miguel thought, not that it mattered anyway.

“Too bad,” he said. “Cause trouble’s my middle name, and you just found him.”

The moment the words left his lips he knew he’d messed up his own cool monologue scene. Beside him he could hear Aisha scoffing and her derisive, “Dude, that was beyond lame. How are we even friends?”

He couldn’t even find it in him to fault her for that one.

“I’m leaving, okay?” said Keene without addressing the utterly lame point of conversation and if Miguel didn’t hate his guts so much, he’d be super appreciative of the guy not rubbing it in.

For a split second right then, he couldn’t even recall why he hated the guy in the first place.

But then his mind went to thoughts of Sam and it rekindled the fire underneath him once again.

“Running like a little mouse, coward?” yelled Hawk at his receding back.

Keene evidently took a much better course on witty comebacks because he said, “Well I can’t wait around all night for you to go fix that lame ass haircut,” which Miguel hated to admit, was a pretty awesome response.

It stirred up Hawk the wrong way unfortunately and Miguel found himself getting between Hawk and Keene instead of being the one leading the charge.

“Don’t be such a pussy, Diaz,” said Hawk, shoving him hard, forcing him to take a step back. “And you,” he continued, looking up at Keene who’d stopped to watch the proceedings interestedly, “We still have unfinished business.”

It was Moon who fortunately swooped in to save the day and the pun was definitely intended; grabbing Hawk by the hand and pulling him back to finish their exploration of each other’s facial cavity by the side of the store. Miguel forced himself to look away disgustedly.

He found Keene staring at him intently when he turned around. “What?”

It took him a moment to think up whatever lie he was about to spin, at least, that’s what Miguel’s brain told him what’s up. “Look man, I know you don’t like me, and I’m really… just… unbothered by any of you. But whatever you think went on with me and Sam… you’re wrong – and pretty stupid for messing up that badly with her.”

Miguel wondered why he stopped Hawk from beating the guy to a pulp at that moment but he reined back his anger. “What did you say?”

Keene seemed to realize his words because he raised a hand as a show of peace. “I mean, Sam was just being a friend, and nothing more. What happened at the beach party – she was talking about you the whole way there. Her mom took her phone and I helped her get out by pretending that I sprained her ankle so her mom would get her to drive home. That’s why she came to find you there and you did… whatever it was you did there.”

Miguel found himself speechless, his mouth opening and closing like a fish on dry land. It was not a good look in general, and it probably looked even worse on him. “What?”

“Yeah, man. You had a great thing going with her and you messed it up by being… well, by being a dumb guy.”

“But I saw you guys, at her house having dinner that night? She wouldn’t even think of introducing me to her family but with you…” the last part came out almost as a whine which he wasn’t proud of.

Keene’s brows narrowed, like he was trying to remember the dinner Miguel had mentioned. When it finally came to him, his eye roll was very obvious and very exasperated. “Christ, you really are an idiot, aren’t you?”

“Don’t call me an idiot!” he said, taking a menacing step forward but was held back by Aisha’s hand on his shoulder.

“Well then stop acting like one,” he said, causing Miguel to grumble. “I wasn’t there with Sam. I was there because her dad was teaching me karate and he invited me to dinner. Nothing more.”

As much as Miguel hated Keene calling him an idiot it was slowly and surely dawning on him that he really was a stupid idiot.

“Oh,” he said dumbly.

“Yeah, oh-exactly,” said Keene, and even though Miguel’s hate for him had simmered down by a lot, it still didn’t stop him feeling like he wanted to punch the guy right in his annoyingly pretty face.

“Have you come back to your senses yet, Miguel?” asked Aisha, “Cause I miss the dorky, nice Miguel who I joined the Cobra Kais with, not this… skinny, Latino terminator wannabe Miguel who’s really kind of a dick if I have to be honest. Sam deserves better than that.”

Miguel deserved all the name calling he was getting – and more. He really did feel like a fool, and a tool. He didn’t regret anything he’d achieved at the tournament, it was all because of his sensei that he managed to even achieve all that and he was forever grateful. But he couldn’t stop thinking that maybe he could have handled everything better.

His mom’s unspoken words the last couple of days suddenly made a hell of a lot more sense right then.

“Sorry,” he muttered to no one in particular.

Keene just exhaled, understanding that the indistinct apology was directed at him without Miguel saying it outright. “It’s fine. Will you all please leave me alone now?”

Miguel tried to stop the sheepish look from creeping up onto his face – he still had a reputation to uphold – but resistance proved futile. “Sorry about your shoulder too.”

“Don’t worry about it. What’s done is done.”

Keene really was the better man of the two of them. Miguel realized that old Miguel would never have had a problem admitting that, but for karate champion Miguel, the taste of it was still a bit bitter on his tongue. He was still going to have to work on that.

All of a sudden Keene’s eyes caught sight of something coming up from the side street and his posture immediately changed. The easy air that had come about him immediately dissipated. His brows narrowed and his shoulders became tense.

“Get out of here, guys,” he said to Miguel and Aisha.

Miguel followed his line of sight and saw a group of guys whose faces he couldn’t make out coming out of the side street, headed towards where they were standing almost in the middle of the empty road.

“Everything okay?” asked Aisha when her eyes too followed where Miguel and Keene’s were looking.

“Yeah,” said Keene in a clipped tone. “Just go home, this doesn’t concern you guys.”

From afar Miguel could hear one of the guys saying the name Robby in a teasing, sing-song voice. He felt Aisha’s grip tighten on his shoulder, gently pulling him back from where they were standing. Keene had turned away from them, facing the direction the group were coming from, his hands balled into a tight fist and his eyes narrowed.

“Come on, Miguel. You heard what he said,” said Aisha.

Miguel let himself be dragged back without taking his eyes away from Keene and glancing over at the menacing group closing in on him.

Keene wasn’t his friend. He didn’t even like the guy all that much – or at all. But looking at his back becoming smaller the further away he got, Miguel couldn’t help the odd clenching feeling in the pit of his stomach, like he knew something bad was about to happen.

Tbc.

#miguel diaz #robby keene #johnny lawrence #daniel larusso #cobra kai #the karate kid #aisha robinson #hawk #reiven fics #reiven cobra kai fics

[reivenesque]

Not The Best Around CH5

Chapter 5: You’re The Best (Around)

(x)

The couple of nurses that came and went were about as much excitement as Laura received that night before the sun finally came up. The morning greeted them with Johnny’s very first visitor for the day it was someone Laura was always happy to see.

“Ali,” she said happily when the familiar face popped up from behind the door.

“Hi, Mrs. Lawrence,” said Ali, lingering by the door for a moment before hesitantly stepping in, not getting more than a few feet into the room before she stopped, hands fidgeting nervously behind her back. “How is he?”

“He’ll be okay. He just needs a little rest and some TLC but he’ll be right as rain in no time. What about you? I feel like I haven’t seen you in ages. You don’t come by the house anymore,” Laura said inquisitively.

Ali’s mouth opened and closed in an effort to find an appropriate response to the statement but obviously couldn’t come up with anything rational.

“I just – uh, I wanted to see how he’s doing. I don’t want to be a bother –”

There was an uneven sound of footsteps by the door when a new figure appeared, looking much more nervous and much more hesitant than Ali when she first stepped in.

“Umm, Mrs. Lawrence, this is a friend of mine, Daniel,” she motioned towards the newcomer, who looked hesitantly between the two women before raising an uncertain hand in greeting.

“N-Nice to meet you, Mrs. Lawrence,” said Daniel, careful to stay beyond the threshold of the door.

Laura returned the greeting before reaching over to shake Johnny’s shoulder. “Johnny,” she called softly, “Ali is here to see you.”

“Oh, you don’t have to do that, Mrs. Lawrence. I don’t want to disturb him,” said Ali quickly.

“Oh nonsense, Ali. I know he’ll be thrilled to see you.”

Daniel had the literal look of someone caught between a hard place and an even harder place and nowhere to escape.

“Johnny.” She resumed shaking his shoulder gently until his eyes finally cracked open, heavy lidded and bleary, attempting to blink his vision into focus. “Honey,” she said once his eyes finally focused on her, “Your friends are here.” She motioned towards the door and Johnny could only follow the direction she was indicating with his eyes which widened the moment they fell on Ali standing awkwardly near the far end of the room. “If you two could stand a little closer in his line of sight,” Laura said, indicating towards the foot of the bed.

Daniel had the look of someone who’d just stumbled upon a cave full of hibernating bears and was trying to back out slowly before any of them smelled fresh meat and decided that they didn’t need the sleep that badly but had inadvertently woken all of them up. The moment Johnny’s eyes fell on him, it was clear from his expression that he’d picked the bears any day of the week.

However Ali beckoned him in and like with everything to do with Ali Mills, Daniel was too weak to refuse.

“H-Hi, Johnny,” said Ali, forcing a chipper appearance as she approached the foot of the bed. “How are you feeling?”

Johnny remained silent for a moment before he plastered on a smile which looked more pained than happy when he returned Ali’s greeting. Laura didn’t seem to notice the obvious tension in the room, or the one between Johnny and Ali and Daniel who was still skulking by the door.

“I’ve been better,” Johnny said, swallowing the lump in his throat before his eyes glanced over to stare at Daniel who was trying his hardest to blend into his background. “I’m really… glad to see you, Ali,” he added, though from the hesitation in his voice it was obviously only a show put on for his mom’s sake.

“Me too. We were all so worried.”

Johnny tried to keep up the smile but it ended up looking more like a grimace, though lucky for him Laura’s attention was more on the situation between him and Ali as opposed to whatever was going on inside his head, because his mother was one of the few people who could read him like an open book. “Yeah…” he answered simply because the atmosphere of the room descended into silence.

“I’ll just give you kids your privacy,” Laura said, obvious misinterpreting the situation and the silence as being brought on by her presence. “I’m going to get a cup of coffee, sweetheart, I’ll be back in a few minutes,” she said, reaching over to stroke Johnny’s hair and plant a kiss on his forehead. She gave Ali a brief by warm hug when she passed by her before stepping out of the room, leaving Johnny alone to face off against two of the people in the world he probably wanted to see least. Though, maybe second after Sid.

The silence remained for a while after her exit. Daniel ended up toeing his shoe against the linoleum, eyes glancing over at everything in the room besides Johnny, willing himself to shrink down into nonexistence because of the awkwardness of the situation. Ali was fidgeting with the hem of her skirt, eyes downcast while Johnny finally tore his eyes away from the sight of the two people in front of him and opted to stare at the far end wall because it was pretty much the only thing in his line of sight that didn’t cause little stabs of pain inside his heart.

“What do you want, Ali?” he asked finally, his voice cold. “Come to rub it in my face, LaRusso? Don’t worry, I’m not such an idiot that I didn’t realize I’d lost.”

The hesitation immediately drained from Ali’s shoulders when Johnny finished. Her eyes snapped up instantly, the look in her eyes blazing. “God, Johnny, can’t you ever not be so… so… vindictive? We were genuinely worried about you – I was worried about you, despite what you might think of me.”

Johnny clenched his eyes shut tight as Ali continued her almost tearful monologue until the point he couldn’t take it anymore. “Please,” he said, sounding more broken than Ali had ever heard him which caused her to stop mid-sentence. “Just… please. I’m tired of fighting,” he said with a sigh. “Please just leave.”

Ali immediately looked apologetic, almost deflated by the defeated tone in Johnny’s voice.

“I’m sorry,” she said with a sigh. “I really didn’t come here to upset you. Just… I really did just want to see how you were doing.”

Johnny mimicked the tired sigh. It genuinely hurt how much Ali’s presence had come to be more painful than pleasurable and he knew he had only himself to blame for that. “I know, but… the truth is you being here isn’t helping anything, Ali. I appreciate the concern but just… I’d rather if you didn’t come by again.”

“I understand,” Ali replied sadly.

Hurting Ali was something that hurt Johnny deeply, but so was having her so close but at the same time so far out of reach. He knew he would probably never be over her, or over the relationship they once had, especially with her being around, taunting him with the unattainability of her presence.

Johnny looked away when Ali turned to leave and he expected to hear the sound of footsteps leading away from his room, leaving him to his privacy to let his tears flow, but instead there was a shuffling sound and the voice that had at some point become the bane of his existence all of a sudden called his name.

“Hey, Johnny,” LaRusso called out and it took all of Johnny’s will power not to roll his eyes outright. He kept his eyes averted hoping that LaRusso would for once take the hint and just walk away from the situation in which his presence was neither required nor wanted.  “Look, man. I know we’ve had our differences, and we’ve made each other’s entire year hell – though some of us more than others –” he added the last part as a mutter under his breath, “But I never meant for anything like this to happen. Not even to you. So… just – just know that. I’m really sorry that it turned out this way.”

Johnny could appreciate the balls it took for LaRusso to step up and say what he said, to apologize for it nonetheless. The way he never would have done. He’d hurt his fair share of opponents in tournaments but it was never anything personal. It was just for the win. What his sensei asked him to do… what he’d asked Bobby to do… it went against even his own skewered moral compass, but he never in a million years would he have apologized to LaRusso for what happened.

Maybe he really had been the bad guy all along.

LaRusso obviously took his silence and lack of eye contact as his definitive reply and was about half way towards the door where Ali was waiting for him when Johnny found himself calling out to him.

“LaRusso,” he said, finally meeting LaRusso’s eyes when he turned around. He took a deep, measured breath before lifting his left hand up slightly, holding it out to LaRusso who looked between his face at the offered appendage confusedly. “Now we’re finally even, huh?” he asked. He wasn’t sure how he even remembered the words or why they chose to come out at that moment, but he thought it was appropriate.

LaRusso looked confused for a moment and Johnny could see the exact moment the significance of the words finally dawn on him. He smiled, and Johnny found him own lips curling slightly at the edges. “Yeah, man,” he said, walking over without hesitation and grasping Johnny’s hand, holding his firm and giving it a slight shake. “Now we’re even.”

They both let go at once and LaRusso finally turned to join Ali who was staring between them confusedly from the door.

The calm that settled in his heart, probably for the first time in years, as usual, didn’t last very long, because just as Ali and LaRusso both turned to leave, the last person either of them probably wanted to run into appeared at the door.

“Well, well, well, what do we have here?” asked Dutch in a sing song voice, grin plastered on, stopping dead in his tracks the moment his eyes fell on LaRusso.

Johnny just sighed. He was too tired to have to deal with that particular situation. Though he was half proud and half hurt watching Ali put herself without hesitation between LaRusso and Dutch.

The sound of multiple footsteps signaled the arrival of the rest of the Cobra Kais, stepping in into the room behind Dutch who was prowling threateningly around Ali and LaRusso like a wild animal.

“Dutch,” said Tommy, his tone almost cautionary as he said Dutch’s name.

Johnny thought he should break up the tension before it escalated but he didn’t even get the chance to open his mouth to tell him to stop once Bobby walked in.

The immediate shift in Dutch's body language was apparent, it was almost like he deflated; the prickly hairs standing on end like an aggravated feline settled down though his typical smirk stayed on. He raised both hands as if in surrender, taking a deliberate step back.

“I’m good,” he said immediately, looking between LaRusso and Bobby. “Cool as a cucumber,” he added, bowing slightly and motioning towards the door with both arms. “Careful, Danielle, don’t let the door hit you on the way out.”

LaRusso looked about as confused as Johnny felt on the inside by the unexpected turn of events. However he was obviously not too confused to recognize the escape route when it was handed to him on a platter made of gold. He immediately grabbed an equally bemused Ali by the wrist, tugging her away from Dutch. Just before they disappeared out the door, Johnny found himself calling out one more time.

“Thanks,” he said, “For… for coming and for playing along; for not telling my mom the truth about us.”

For the first time in a long time, Ali looked back at him with an expression other than disdain on her face. She actually smiled. “You don’t have to thank me for that,” she said. “Your mom’s a lovely person and I genuinely care about her. But you really should tell her the truth eventually,” she said.

Leave it to Ali to always tell him things he didn’t really want to hear. Johnny guessed that was why he loved her so much.

But then she left with LaRusso, walking away with a last lingering smile before she disappeared behind the wall and far out of reach.

Johnny exhaled through the ache in his chest; furrowing his brows because it was pretty much the only part of him he could move without pain.

“How you feelin’, Johnny?” asked Bobby as he approached. He seemed to be the only person in the room unaffected by Dutch’s strange behaviour. Everyone else was still gob smacked silent by Dutch’s uncharacteristic reaction. Though knowing Bobby as well as he did (the real Bobby that not everyone got to see all the time) Johnny was positive that something had happened between the two that he didn't know about.

The question immediately erased the thought of LaRusso clear from everyone’s minds and they turned to approach Johnny’s bed; some with slightly more spring in their step than others as demonstrated by Tommy who nearly skipped up to Johnny’s side.

“Yeah, man. You doing okay?” he asked, reaching down to grab the side rail of the bed with both hand, leaning down into Johnny’s line of sight.

Johnny gave them a tired smile. The exhaustion was just a default mode of his lately though he was glad to see his friends. “Probably going to have to hang up my dancing shoes for a while,” he said.

Tommy laughed, probably a little too fervently, but then again, it was Tommy. Everything he did and said was slightly more exaggerated than that of a normal human being.

“Really glad you’re okay, Johnny,” Jimmy said, stepping up on his other side, across from Tommy.

Dutch stepped up to the foot of the bed as Bobby came up on Jimmy’s left, his warm smile plastered on his face immediately lifting Johnny’s spirits by just the sight.

“We’re Cobras,” he said, “It’ll take more than this to keep us down.” Though the voice saying the words inside his head wasn’t one that belonged to him, they were words he wanted to believe with all his heart.

“Damn straight,” said Dutch determinedly. “But I still can’t believe you let LaRusso drop you like that, man.”

The resounding sharp intake of breath was apparent in the room and Johnny turned in time to see Bobby deliver a sharp slap to Dutch’s shoulder with the back of his hand, his expression both of disbelief and irritation.

“What?” whined Dutch, feigning offense with a shrug of his shoulders.

“Seriously, man?” stated Bobby, half in query and half as an exclamation of disbelief. His expression was one that Johnny could only describe as an ever suffering mother dealing with petulant two year old who’d just thrown a tantrum. But then again, that was Bobby’s default more when it came to dealing with Dutch most of the time.

“What?” Dutch repeated, putting on the face of the wronged party so convincingly that even Bobby could barely suppress the grin tugging at the corner of his lips.

“You’re incorrigible,” said Bobby once he finally gave up trying to hold back the chuckle.

Johnny couldn’t hold back his either and eventually the whole room descended into laughter.

“You’re the real ace-degenerate,” said Tommy with a cackle and Johnny honestly couldn’t agree with the statement more if he tried.

Tbc.

#johnny lawrence #the karate kid #cobra kai #daniel larusso #ali mills #bobby brown #dutch #tommy #jimmy #laura lawrence #reiven fics #reiven karate kid fics #fics: not the best around #also posted on ao3 #whump fic recs #need to actually finish writing this #and then get to the billion other unfinished fics #and that miguel fic i want to write #send help

[reivenesque]

WTF IS HAPPENING

WHAT IS THIS? HOW IS THIS? WOEEEEEEE IS THIS? WHSIAUGDKSA??

(thank you @curlyfoureyes for letting me know)

WHAAAAT

#cobra kai #karate kid #reiven fics #is this real life #or is this just fantasy #LIKE LITERALLY

[reivenesque]

Just because someone asked for it on ao3, here is it as well, a small preview for the next chapter of Running in a Serpentine Fashion 

Chapter 7: Dad

He didn’t know how much time passed between him slipping in and out of the darkness; between seeing his dad’s relieved face in front of him and disappearing into the abyss of loneliness that had become like a second home to him. But sometimes, in the dark when he concentrated enough, sometimes he’d be able to sift through the static noise and the sound of the machines to hear human voices. Some of the voices sounded familiar, his like dad’s, others sound less familiar and spoke a lot of words Robby couldn’t even begin to understand. But a few times he heard voices that were both familiar and unfamiliar, but he couldn’t put a finger on it. The sound was soothing in his soul and brought up memories of a calm wooded area and a lake and training on a cliff-side with nothing but greenery in his sight for miles.

His dad was there and this unknown voice that made him feel so much peace on the inside and Robby thought that it trumped all the pain and discomfort he was in.

For the first time in a while, Robby actually felt a little okay on the inside.

And Not the Best Around.

Chapter 4: You’ll Reach The Final Bell

Johnny’s father was deadbeat loser who cared about no one but himself.

Laura married him out of love and he stepped out to buy cigarettes one day and never returned.

The second time she married, she married out of obligation and necessity. She didn’t love Sid but he could provide for them. He had the money to give them a good life with the best opportunities and that was all she wanted for Johnny. She raised him the best she could with what she had but it never felt adequate enough. She never felt adequate enough. But with Sid’s money perhaps Johnny would be able to make a better future for himself, something better than she could ever have given him on her own.

Everything she did was for her son and she could hope that he would turn out to be a better man than his father ever was.

#the karate kid #cobra kai #johnny lawrence #robby keene #reiven fics #fics: running in a serpentine fashion #fics: not the best around

[reivenesque]

Not the Best Around: A Johnny Lawrence Fic

It was the kick heard throughout the arena and the second time Johnny hit the mat during the match. It was, however, the first time he didn’t get back up again.

(ao3)

He hated to admit how much the blow to the back of the head really disorientated him. His head was both spinning and throbbing and it took all his will power to concentrate on putting one foot in front of the other and actually make his way to where his sensei was standing without planting pathetically on his face. Again.

Death before dishonour.

That was the Cobra Kai way.

Wasn’t it?

All of a sudden he couldn’t remember. All he could focus on was what was right in front of his eyes and the sound of his teammates calling him names. He deserved that, it was no doubt. To let a twerp like LaRusso get the drop on him like that was just disgraceful. He deserved the ridicule and the tongue lashing that came his way.

His head hurt more than his face and he could see the smudge of red on his fingertips when he swiped it under his nose.

His sensei’s fingers were hard and calloused and rough when they wiped away the rest of the blood. His eyes were cold and steely and never had Johnny felt like a disappointment than he did at that moment.

“Sweep the leg,” he said and for a moment, Johnny couldn’t understand what his sensei was saying or what he meant. He was desperately trying to focus on his face and his lips moving because his ears were ringing something terrible and he couldn’t concentrate on the man’s words. “Do you have a problem with that?”

In that moment Johnny knew that he truly had lost his sensei’s trust. The trust that he’d painstakingly built and the respect he fought so desperately for… gone.

In that moment he was no longer his sensei’s best student, he was just another disappointment among many disappointments.

He had nothing to lose.

“No mercy,” his sensei said, his eyes steely and his voice cold.

No mercy, Johnny repeated inside his head.

That was the Cobra Kai way.

His head was spinning and his eyes couldn’t concentrate anything that wasn’t in his immediate line of sight. He moved on instinct alone, his sensei’s voice echoing like a resonating chant inside his mind.

No mercy. No mercy. No mercy.

Strike first. Strike hard. No mercy.

That was the Cobra Kai way.

He had nothing more to lose, not the trust of his sensei or the respect of his teammates.

He could feel the heat of Dutch’s glare on the back of his head and it only reminded him that this was his last shot; his only shot. There were no second chances in Cobra Kai. You could only be a winner, runner up was a joke. Anything other than a win was a humiliating loss. It didn’t matter if you lost by one point or by twenty. Whether you lost to the best in the tournament or an annoying worm like LaRusso. A loss was a loss and this was his last shot to make everything right again.

His nose was throbbing and his head was spinning; his eye could see double of everything and the last thing he needed was two of LaRusso. One was enough trouble as it was.

He needed to win. He needed this win and he was going to get it no matter what.

Fair play and integrity – those weren’t philosophies Cobra Kai taught, and up until that match, watching LaRusso take hit after devastating hit and keep going; keep persevering and getting back up against all odds; the tenacity he showed – that was the first time Johnny actually questioned whether everything he’d been taught was right. And to have Kreese even ask that of him, such a gutless move in front over every fighter he looked up to and respected, it showed that his sensei didn’t trust his ability at all. Maybe he never did.

Johnny hated to admit it, but it hurt. More than any kick ever would.

But he did it and he could only watch as LaRusso dragged himself back up to his feet again. That was the moment that it truly really sunk in for Johnny.

He was going to lose.

The elbow to the back of the knee really was just his last ditch effort. When it failed; when LaRusso got back up again, that was the moment he felt an eerie sense of acceptance washing over him like a frothing tide lapping at the shore – like the beach he used to go with Ali. He couldn’t help but remember when Ali used to say his name with fondness instead of scathing hatred. When the things she said didn’t always come out so cold. He missed those times but he had only himself to blame for letting her slip out of his grasp.

Right into LaRusso’s awaiting arms.

He had only himself to blame.

For Ali, for sensei, for his mom being stuck in a loveless marriage with an unkind, emotionally abusive man. That was all on him. It was his fault.

He deserved the loss just like he deserved to lose Ali, just like his sensei deserved a better student and his mom deserved a better son; one who wasn’t such a pathetic loser.

That was it. It was truly the end. He was spent, not so much his physical energy but everything else.

He was going to lose and despite the reality of the situation closing in on him while he had his back to an immovable wall, on the inside, he was at peace with it.

He was going to lose, but that was okay because that was what he deserved. That was all he deserved.

His head was throbbing, his eyes were dipping in and out of focus and whatever blurry thing he could even see was spinning wildly in his sight.

He didn’t even see the kick coming straight at his face.

The velocity of the kick coupled with the fact that he was rushing headlong into it snapped his head back. He could feel the impact and the sound was almost like a hypnotizing whoosh which was a strange thing to notice but it was the only thing he could focus on in the moment before the surreal feeling of disembodiment and then just darkness.

He was out cold before he even hit the mat.

--

The moment the kick landed. The moment Johnny Lawrence dropped to the ground; a thick, stunned silence seized the entire arena.

No one could believe what they were seeing; that the skinny kid from nowhere had toppled the titans of the All Valley tournament, the feared Cobra Kais. He’d defeated all the veteran members one by one against everyone’s expectations and done what very few had ever managed to do: bring the two time champion Johnny Lawrence to his knees.

The explosion of sound that followed was deafening.

It was only the presence of the officials and the referees that prevented the crowd from engulfing the stage to offer their congratulations to the new champ. Only the members of LaRusso’s corner and his mother were allowed access.

The feeling of euphoria was palpable and the excitement in the air was contagious from one person to the next.

However, as the crowd began noticing the referee kneeling over Johnny who was still on the ground, lying unmoving on his stomach; a hand on the small of his back, the noise and the chatter slowly began seeping away until the heavy silence reined once more. The final nail in the coffin was when the referee straightened up and with a frantic motion of his arm, called for the medics who were standing at the ready on the sidelines.

That was the second time Johnny hit the mat during the tournament, and only the fifth time in his entire competitive career.

But it was the first time he didn’t get back up again.

Tbc.

Special thanks/dedication to all the great, amazing people I met through this fandom and especially the people who helped with information about the technical side of the fighting in The Karate Kid (in true writers fashion, I used almost none of the things I learned though I was very enlightened by the end) but I do cause Johnny a lot of pain and angst before I make him all better again so hopefully that makes up for it.

@thatsweetbobbyfacetho @cobrakaitilidie @cobrakaiseriesfan @wanderingbeauty @brihana25 @missviolethunter @dream-beyond-the-fantasy @kairosandbalance @outforawalkbitkah @cobra-kai-cutie-pie @elenatria @theempressar

#johnny lawrence #daniel larusso #cobra kai #the karate kid #bobby brown #dutch #tommy #jimmy #john kreese #billy zabka #ralph macchio #reiven fics #reiven karate kid fics #fics: not the best around #whump #hurt/comfort #the karate kid fic #concussion

[reivenesque]

Running in a Serpentine Fashion CH3

Chapter 3: Aisha

« Previous chapter

“Oh shit – oh shit! That’s a lot of blood, guys. Like a lot of blood! Oh crap, guys, what are we gonna do?”

That was Hawk.

Panicking.

In that single moment, he’d completely reverted back to the stuttering, nervous nerd kid Miguel had met during lunch who got nauseous at the sight of blood on Miguel’s finger that time he accidentally cut himself on the side of a very sharp and very dangerous piece of – ahem – paper.

Unfortunately, panicky, terrified of blood Eli Moskowitz wasn’t the person Miguel needed in that moment. He needed Hawk, the Mohawk hair styled, tattooed badass who laughed in the face of adversity and was really kind of a jackass. Miguel needed him.

“Get a grip, Eli!” yelled Aisha, smacking him hard with the back of her hand. “How about make yourself useful and go call sensei, instead of freaking out like a damn fool!”

By that time, Keene had half collapsed against the person nearest to him – which happened to be Miguel crouched down in front of him. In that moment, all his good senses went flying out the window. Between Hawk’s panicked hyperventilating somewhere within his vicinity and Keene bleeding to death in his arms, his brain went into ultra-shut down mode, which meant that all of a sudden he didn’t know what to do, he didn’t know where to put his hands or what to say, he couldn’t remember his name, who his parents were or how to inhale air into his lungs.

Luckily there were two people there who managed to keep their wits about them. Aisha and Moon both delivered the stinging slap to Miguel and Hawk simultaneously which was the literal wake-up call they needed to stop running around like headless chickens, which was ironically, a literal sense in Hawk’s case.

“Go get sensei!” repeated Aisha.

Hawk didn’t need to be told a third time. He was off running, hollering for ‘sensei’ at the top of his lungs and likely managing to wake up half the neighbourhood with his shrill yelling. Moon following after him just as swiftly but at a slightly less hectic pace.

Aisha had pulled Keene back from where he was slumped over Miguel’s chest, gently lowering him to the ground and speaking slow, calming words to him. Miguel didn’t know how she was even able to stay calm while he could feel his heart thundering inside his throat.

“It’s Robby, right?” she asked without looking at him, instead inspecting the area of his side which was completely soaked in blood.

Keene swallowed hard but managed a forced, “Yeah,” in response to her question. His face was pinched and his brows furrowed, sweat was beading at his forehead and his breathing was slow and thready.

Aisha continued talking to him as she carefully removed his hand from his side and peeled back the material of his shirt, exposing the two very obvious, very deep and very much still bleeding stab wounds in his abdomen, just below his ribs.

Miguel was ninety-nine percent sure the stab wounds didn’t just appear out of thin air somewhere between the convenience store and where they were currently situated, which meant that he must have gotten them during the fight. The fight that he was still very much involved in at every point and the one they’d run away from like their lives depended on it – the keyword being the very physical act of running.

Just the thought made Miguel gag. The very painful papercut he suffered definitely felt inconsequential at that point.

“Miguel!” Judging by the level of annoyance in Aisha’s voice, Miguel realized that she must have been calling his name for quite a while.

“Y-Yeah?” he stuttered out.

“A little help?” she almost growled. “You need to put pressure on this, hard,” she said, reaching out to grab Miguel’s hand. When they limbs came into contact, that was when Miguel realized that Aisha’s hands were slick with blood. She guided the flat palm of his hand to cover the two gaping wounds on Keene’s side before turning away from Miguel to address Keene. “Robby, this is going to hurt but… bear with me, okay? You’re going to be okay.” She turned back to Miguel and covered his hand with her own and without another word, pressed down on the wound with her bodyweight on her hands stacked over Miguel’s.

The scream that was ripped from Keene’s throat was raw and painful and Miguel felt like such a villain for inflicting that kind of pain on another human being, but he knew that was the only way to keep the blood where it needed to be – inside Keene. He watched his fair share of Gangland and the CI channel, he knew the basics of TV taught first aid.

“Keep the pressure on,” Aisha said before she removed her hand. Miguel struggled to keep the needed amount of pressure to prevent more blood from leaking out. Keene’s entire side, his clothes and the sidewalk he was lying on was already soaked in blood.

“Hey, Keene,” Miguel found himself saying, “You’re going to be alright, you hear. You’re definitely going to be okay, okay?” He wasn’t sure whether he was trying to reassure Keene or himself not that it was working for either one of them. He wasn’t sure if Keene was even listening to what he was saying. The guy’s eyes had become unfocused and glassy and he was staring blankly up at the stars twinkling serenely in the sky above their heads. “Keene? H-Hey, Robby, you with us man?”

He looked over at Aisha as she scooted closer to Keene’s head, reaching over to tap him gently on the side of the face, leaving finger shaped smudges of blood on his cheek. “Stay with me, Robby,” she said, leaning down closer to stare him straight in the eyes.

The touch seemed to rouse him because he blinked a few times before his half lidded eyes finally focused on Aisha’s face. “‘M so tired,” he said.

Miguel felt his heart sink into his stomach. That was never a good sign.

“I know. You’ve lost a lot of blood, but you need to stay awake, okay? I didn’t get a chance to fight you in the tournament yet, so you’re definitely not dying today, alright?”

Robby let out an unexpected laugh which quickly turned into a pained moan when it jarred his side. “Cobras,” he muttered, though there was no malice in the word.

The sound of footsteps hitting pavement caught Miguel’s attention and he turned back to find the sight of Hawk, Moon and sensei running towards where they were. In that moment he couldn’t have been more relieved to see sensei if he tried.

“What the hell, guys?” hollered sensei before he was even within hearing range. “Hawk’s making no goddamn sense, coming into the dojo in the middle of the night yelling something – Robby!”

Whatever his sensei had meant to say was completely forgotten when he got closer and his eye found the sight of Keene bleeding out onto the cold pavement across the street from the dojo.

He dropped to his knees beside Keene before his body even came to a stop, reaching over with a shaking hand to grasp the side of his face. “Oh my god – oh my – what the hell happened? Robby! Robby, stay with me, alright?”

Miguel gave a brief summary of what had happened. At least that was what he meant to do. All of a sudden it was like his brain and his mouth refused to cooperate. Hawk was clutching his head and pacing behind him being absolutely no help either. Thank god for Aisha and Moon managing to tell sensei the gist of what happened. How they’d run into Keene at the store and fighting the guys that came up and attacked him.

“Moon, did you call an ambulance?” Aisha asked.

Sensei wasn’t looking at any of them. His eyes were locked onto Keene who didn’t even seem to be completely aware of the person hovering over him worriedly. “We need to get him to a hospital now.”

Without waiting for a response, sensei got up to one knee before reaching out to slip his arm around Keene’s shoulder and his other hooking under his knees. With a pained heave, he got to his feet, cradling a limp Keene in his arms. He rushed back towards the dojo, Hawk and Moon running close behind him. It took Miguel a little bit longer to get his wits about him again. His hands were shaking and his legs felt like jello. It was only Aisha’s arm hooking around his elbow that managed to haul him to his feet and keep him there.

“You okay?” she asked worriedly.

“Y-Yeah,” he felt his lips moving but his brain wasn’t even sure what he was even saying.

Both of them rushed after sensei, catching up to him as he was lowering Keene into the backseat of his car.

Aisha rounded the car and crawled in from the other side, pulling Keene the rest of the way in and laying him down on the seat, placing his head gently in her lap. Miguel stepped in without word, crouching in the tight space between the backseat and the passenger seat, his hands reaching over to reapply pressure on the wound. His brain couldn’t process what was happening, but his body knew what needed to be done. Hawk and Moon filed into the passenger seat as sensei rushed around, starting the car and putting it into gear before he fully closed the door.

The car made a loud squealing noise as it pulled out of the driveway and burned rubber before taking off in the direction of the hospital.

Keene’s eyes were closed by the point and they refused to open again no matter how hard Aisha smacked him on the cheek.

Tbc.

@dream-beyond-the-fantasy and ​@gleegirl2011

#johnny lawrence #robby keene #miguel diaz #the karate kid #cobra kai #billy zabka #tanner buchanan #xolo mariduena #fics: running in a serpentine fashion #reiven fics #reiven karate kid fics #aisha robinson #hawk #eli moscowitz

[reivenesque]

Tagged by the lovely @dream-beyond-the-fantasy

Nicknames: I guess I kind of like when people call me Lyd. Makes me feel all fancy having a nickname and all since my real name is just boring Lydia.

Gender: ♀️

Star Sign: ♊

Height: My default height is 5′4, but I’m probably shorter than that.

Time:  8.55 P.M.

Birthday: June 13th, 10,200 BC (might as well be according to tumblr)

Favorite Band/Artist: Within Temptation and Infinite. I don’t listen to them often these days but I’m not really listening to anything in particular these days either.

Song Stuck in My Head: No song currently. Just lots of unrealized fanfiction ideas, and it plays like a dramatic symphonic orchestra.

Last Movie I Watched: If you’re been following me for the last couple of days you know it’s The Karate Kid. The last ten movies I watched have also been The Karate Kid on repeat.

Last TV Show I Watched: If you’re been following me for the last couple of days you know it’s Cobra Kai (me? obsessed? How did you know?)

What Do I Post: Well lately it’s been a series of gifsets for every single scene Johnny Lawrence appears in in The Karate Kid. A smattering of MacGyver here and there, fic posts, general rants, blatant thirsting for Steve Rogers and some  indignant Alec Lightwood deserves more posts (though I’m trying to stay away from that one in particular) and A LOT OF BITTER POSTS ABOUT CHRISEVA

Do I Get Asks: I get a decent amount for the amount of followers I have I guess. Usually it’s related to whatever I’m obsessed about at that specific moment in time.

URL Meaning: Long story short, my original online username was Raven Darkholm + Rei = Reiven. Unfortunately I couldn’t use Reiven for my email so I had to alter it to reivenesque (in all small letters). The unfortunate part of this story is that the Q letter on my laptop keyboard is broken and literally the only word I type daily that requires the use of the letter Q is my own fucking name.

Average Hours of Sleep: Well... anywhere from no sleep to maybe 8 hours. The better question is: Average sleeping time. Which is upwards of 4 A.M.

Tagging: @thatsweetbobbyfacetho @imyourliquor-youremypoison @thehemingwaygoldfish @whyjulieandemhatesevamohn @chrisvertner 

#thanks for tagging me #tagged stuff