lupinblacktheone

[lupinblacktheone]

First times chapter 1 - Freshmen

Hello, friends! This is the first chapter of my fic "First times" for the @newsiesminibang24

I had a lot of fun writing this and I hope you will enjoy it as well! The artist was @cowboy-caboodles. Check out his amazing art here:

Read it in AO3!

 “And… there”, said Mr. Jacobs, placing the last box on the wooden floor.

         “Thanks, dad.”

         “Have you got everything you need, honey?”, Mrs. Jacobs asked, looking around the room.

         “Let me see… books, clothes, computer, sheets, extra sheets, snack money…”, the young man rubbed his forehead, making his father giggle. “Oh, yeah. Can I have an extra hug?”

         The woman wrapped her son in a bear hug and kissed his cheek. “Take care.”

         “I will.”

         “Can we visit Sarah now, mom?”, Les begged, pulling on the woman’s skirt. 

         After one more hug and kiss, Esther allowed Meyer to bid their son goodbye.

         “If you need anything, just call us, ok?”

         “Alright, dad.”

         As the family left the room, David turned around to start unpacking his clothes. Halfway through the second box, he heard his mother’s voice again.

         “Medda, darling!”

         He rushed to the door, just in time to see her kissing the cheek of the theater star Medda Larkin. Of course renowned journalists and authors Esther and Meyer Jacobs would treat her as an old friend.

Maybe they really are friends, David shrugged. They had reviewed all of her shows, after all.

“Come here, honey”, Esther waved at him. “I want to introduce you.”

Long ago, David had learned to hide his shyness in front of his parents’ acquaintances, posing as the erudite, well-behaved, happy-not-to-be-noticed middle child. And he was glad to play that role, because it allowed Sarah to take on the intellectual discussions and Les to be the life of the room.

This time, the boy wasn’t interested in charming Miss Medda. He’d rather make someone behind the adults burst into laughter instead.  David looked past his mother’s shoulder to find his little brother telling jokes to a young man around David’s age — probably a freshman as well —, his hair covered by a vintage cap and dressed in a blue button-up shirt.

“Well, if you’ll excuse us, we have to pay a visit to our daughter”, said Meyer.

“Send Sarah my regards”, she waved

Of course Medda Larkin knows Sarah, David laughed to himself.

The house where Sarah lived with two other girls was a fifteen-minute drive away from David’s dorm. As soon as Sarah noticed them getting out of the car, she put a box on the floor and jumped into her father’s arms.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were coming? The place is a mess.”

“How could we not come? Today’s David’s moving day”, Esther kissed Sarah’s cheeks.

“That’s the famous David Jacobs?”, said one of Sarah’s roommates, with bright brown hair.

“The one and only”, he showed her a tiny smile as they shook hands.

“We’ll be throwing a party this weekend. Wanna come?”

“I appreciate it, but I have a lot of things to unpack.”

“C’mon, little bro”, Sarah jokingly slapped David’s arm. “I can come over and help you. And besides, parties are mandatory credits for freshmen. Did you know that?”

“Who are you and what have you done to my sister?”, they laughed. “You used to be daddy’s little princess.”

“And you still are momma’s precious boy, I see.”

“Knock it off, you two”, Les demanded, pushing David so he could hug Sarah.

“She’s right, you know”, Meyer whispered in David's ear. “Not about the credits, of course, but socializing at this stage is very important.”

“Dad…”

“I just want to make sure you are well-adjusted to this whole thing.”

“Fine. If that will make you feel better, I can come to the party.”

“That’s my boy.”

With the rest of the family gone, Sarah drove David back to his dorm, advising him to lose the tweed vest to the party.

“Nobody will want to be your friend if you look like a professor.”

“Thank you”, he grunted, forcing the door open. “For the ride and the advice.”

“Anytime”, she winked at him and drove off.

He walked into the building as fast as he could, trying —and failing, to a certain degree — to avoid the annoying drizzle. He climbed the stairs back to his room.

“I have already picked out my bed”, a male voice announced before David could acknowledge his owner.

It was the young man who laughed at Les’ jokes earlier. He had hung his cap and changed the blue shirt for a pair of — apparently very soft — gray pajamas. They met in the middle of the room to shake hands.

“The name is Jack Kelly”, said he, pocketing his hands.

“David Jacobs.”

“Oh, so you are Les’ brother?”

From Sarah’s brother to Les’ brother. What an upgrade.

“I have never done this before. What do we do now?”

“I think we are supposed to become best friends by default.”

“Sounds like a good plan.”

“So, soon-to-be-best-friend, do you have any plans for the weekend?”, David asked.

Jack’s shoulders went down. “Probably write emails to my friends and draw a little. I’m a bit rusty.”

“I know a place where you’ll find a ton of references.”

Jack showed him a large smile.

“I’ll take my new pencils.”

David sent Sarah a text, just to let her know he had invited his roommate to her party, without giving his brain the time necessary for it to reflect on what was happening.

For the rest of the night, the boys sat in a comfortable silence, with David arranging more of his belongings and Jack sketching — to warm up the muscles for the art classes.

***

“Hey”, Jack said the next morning.

David’s response was a long, heart-felt yawn and a nod.

Jack put on his favorite blue shirt and a pair of jeans. All of his art materials for the day were packed — he even remembered to include some personal favorites along with the recommended list of brushes and paint. Medda had given him a debit card so he could get more supplies and snacks anytime he wanted.

This was his first official day at college and he wouldn’t let anything ruin it, not even a cranky roommate.

As soon as classes started that day, the notice boards of the dorms were flooded by colorful posters inviting freshmen to participate in the most ordinary or exquisite extra-curricular activities, clubs and teams or to join fraternities and sororities. Others, more discreet, announced part-time jobs at restaurants and shops nearby. Jack stopped by it, just to take a look — or so he said. Maybe something interesting would pop up.

“Do you mind giving me a hand?”, said a boy, holding a box full of pamphlets.

“Sure.”

Once he freed himself of that burden,  the boy attached another notice to the board: an invitation for the rugby trials.

“You can take one if you want”, he said, taking the box back. “It’ll be next Wednesday.”

“Thanks”, Jack grabbed a bright red piece of paper.

“I’m Race, by the way.”

“Jack.”

“See ya ‘round”, he waved and walked out of the building.”  

Despite not being late to his first period — art history, what a cliché —, Jack felt the weight of sixty eyes staring him down as he walked by the desks trying to find a free spot. A pink-haired girl dragged some of her stuff, clearing space for him to sit by her side — and protecting her drawing from potential “art thieves” (her words, not mine) in the process.

Everybody around him seemed so… creative and busy. It was almost like he could hear these people’s minds working to create this century’s Starry Night and Jack had nothing more than a few drafts in his sketchbook.

“You are capable of great things”, Medda used to say. “But remember to always run your own race.”

Medda had given Jack all kinds of advice — both as a parent and as an artist —, but that one had always stood out in Jack's brain. Maybe that was because if the world around him was a race, he was definitely losing.

The professor entered the room and the focused students immediately turned their eyes to the white board. Seventeen minutes into the lecture and he had already lost half of his listeners. Most of them were texting, the phones hidden under their desks, like in High School.

When the girl by Jack’s side started to doodle on her notebook — and she was doing a pretty good job on that beach landscape! —, he shook his head, in an effort to regain concentration. Medda worked very hard to find a school with an art program that suited him — not to mention she was paying for his tuition. He would not let her down. He took a deep breath, counted to five, let all the air out through his mouth and grabbed a pencil. Not to draw, but to take notes.

Ninety minutes later, Jack left the room, slightly proud of himself for having sat through such a long class — he would mention it in his next email to Medda, for sure. Now he was on his way to a more “artsy” class, at the carpentry workshop.

With a sigh, the professor told every student to take protection equipment from the locker at the back of the room as soon as they entered. Then, she proceeded to read the syllabus with her monotonous voice. The first project was going to be a medium decorative sculpture. They weren’t going to use the saw yet, but there were sharp tools involved, so they ought to be careful anyways.

Attached to the syllabus, there was a list of forbidden sculptures — tables, shelves, squares and any other kind of simple shape and so on and so forth for two and a half pages.

Jack turned his head to the left, getting a view of the front patio through the window. There had to be a loophole on this list he could explore. He just needed some help to find it.

The bell finally rang, prompting the students to return the equipment to their respective boxes and flee the premises. Jack’s stomach growled as he reached the cement path.

He had a free period before lunch was served, so he bought a snack — a bag of chips and a bottle of lemon juice, his favorites — and headed to the dorm, with the hope that he would have the place to himself.

But well, he was wrong. David was hunched over his desk, typing as if the wooden floor was about to open and shallow him.

 “How’s it going?”, Jack asked, letting the heavy backpack fall on the bed with a muffled sound.

“One day into this and I am already screwed.”, he rubbed his forehead and took a glance at the blank document he should be working on. “You?”

“I am thinking about dropping out”, David stared at him, his eyes wide open. “Relax, it’s just Carpentry.”

They stayed there, in an awkward silence trying to figure out how to kill that piece of free time.

“If you had to write an essay about a historical period, what time would you choose?”, David got Jack’s attention.

“Something easy, like the eighties or the nineties”, Jack approached the desk to read the text on the computer screen. The professor wanted the students to do some broad research — focusing on wherever they found interesting or important — and then, write a news article about it. “Or maybe the seventies. Then, you can write about the hippie movement and its impacts in modern society.”

“I liked your first idea better. I can dissect the millennial lifestyle. Maybe interview some people.” 

Then Jack decided to work on a portrait of Medda, based on a picture taken on the day he graduated from High School. It would make a good Christmas present when finished.

She started acting when she was seventeen, so all the changes time imposed on her were registered somewhere. At thirty-five, when she became Jack’s foster parent, she didn’t look like the star-strucking beauty she once was, but she was gorgeous, for sure. Now, ten years later, she was considered a maternal figure by pretty much everyone who laid eyes on her. However, he still found it difficult to represent her kind and soft gaze.

“Who is she?”, David said, over Jack’s shoulder.

“My mom.”

“That looks awesome, man. Do you take commissions?” 

I do now, Jack thought, nodding.

“Great. Can you paint a picture of my family? They would love it”, he started scrolling through his phone’s gallery. “This one is good. Can you do it?”

Jack studied the image. It showed a happy couple with their three smiley children in front of their double-deck house. He recognized the younger versions of David and Les, along with a girl — perhaps one or two years older than David.

“ I charge fifteen bucks per person plus ten dollars if the background is complex. So that adds up to…”, he pressed buttons on his phone’s calculator. “Eighty-five bucks.”

“Is it okay if I give you fifty bucks now and…”

“The rest when it’s done?”, Jack raised an eyebrow. “Fine, but only because I know where you sleep”, he laughed.

This guy has got a weird sense of humor, David thought, transferring him the money. 

“It is a pleasure to make business with you, good sir.”

***

“We should get going”, David announced on Friday night.

In twenty minutes, they were ready to go to Sarah’s party. Despite the chilly wind, they decided to walk there and take a look around the campus. They passed by fraternity houses and dorm buildings where blaring music could be heard through closed windows and people were already wasted.

He is hating this, David thought as Jack walked silently by his side. He’ll go back to the dorm and never talk to me again.

Jack didn’t. He just kept kicking pebbles along the sidewalk. Around his head, the world was covered by a dark blue cloth as the moon got up from behind the clouds.

Sarah’s house was the block’s church mouse when they got there. David walked ahead of Jack to ring the doorbell.

“Coming!”, an unknown voice announced. The girl took a glance at David before shouting louder: “Your brother’s here!”

“Thanks, Kath”, the girl seemed to have appeared out of thin air. “Evening, boys.”

She hugged David and extended a hand to Jack.

“I’m Jack, the roommate”, he said, shaking her hand politely.

“I’m Sarah, the sister. C’mon, the guys want to meet you.”

In the neatly-decorated living room, two boys were sitting in front of the TV, playing Mario Kart. On the other side of the room, three girls are discussing a book over cups of coffee. Sarah got a hold of David’s arm and dragged him through the little groups. Jack approached the snack table to have some soda.

“Can you fill this up, please?”

Jack filled a cup with lemon soda up to the top and gave it back to the boy who was leaning on the wall next to him.

“Thanks”, he drank a big gulp and burped. “S-sorry. I’m thirsty.”

“Oh, hi, Thirsty. I’m Jack.”

“That was terrible”, he chuckled.

“What? You almost spilled your drink!”

“That’s because I have weak nerd arms”, he flexed his left arm. “My name is Charlie, but everyone calls me Crutchie.”

Before Jack could open his mouth again, the boy showed him the crutch under his right armpit.

“So, how did you sneak in?”, Crutchie grinned. “The window?”

“Nah, Sarah’s brother invited me.”

“Which one is he?”, Crutchie fixed his posture to look around.

“The one with the black pants over there.”

“Hmmm… your boyfriend is pretty.”

“Not my boyfriend. Roommate.”

Someone turned some jazz music on with a loud giggle.

“C’mon, Jane. This isn’t a café!”, Crutchie said. 

“But it looks like one”, a girl replied.

All eyes in the room had turned to the argument going on, except for David’s. He was way too focused on his own conversation to care about people around him. He didn’t even seem to notice that the girls near him had basically turned their backs on him to participate in the “Jane vs. Crutchie” thing.

His hands had stopped mid-air, drawing visual aids for a story Jack couldn’t hear. Something in the scene reminded him of the Vitruvian man he had seen a thousand times in Arts classrooms.

He grabbed the sketchbook and pencil in his pocket and drew a circle. He could draw a basic face with his eyes closed, but it didn’t mean he wouldn’t have trouble getting the hands right.

***

Sarah’s friends were very interesting, David noticed as she introduced him to each one of them. Especially the girl who opened the door.  Her name was Katherine and she was more than happy to follow Sarah around. Actually, it seemed that both girls were satisfied with the arrangement, because  every few minutes, Sarah would interrupt the conversation to look for Katherine.

Their other roommate turned some music on while people sat down to eat pizza and drink soda. David watched as Jack helped a boy fill his plate with mini pizza slices.

“You can ask”, Sarah placed a hand on David’s shoulder. “But don’t stare. That is rude.”

 Only then, David noticed the crutch on which the right side of the boy’s body leaned. It wasn’t thicker than a twig and was almost invisible against the yellow wallpaper. And his wide jeans covered any defects his leg could have.

Now Jack, with that button-up shirt he loved so much, was as bright as the Sun. Their conversation was inaudible from across the room, but Jack was smiling a lot — David liked to see him smiling, because that Carpentry project was gradually sucking his soul away.

  Speaking of assignments, David had his own problem to solve: a short story with tridimensional characters and a man vs. society and a man vs. self conflicts. That on top of all the other homework he had to do made his brain twirl. He knew he could make it, but he also wanted to run back to his dorm and type his fingers out.

Stop, take a deep breath and take a look around, was Esther’s advice every time her children had trouble writing. Maybe the universe has got a clue for you.

“So, Debra has quit for real this time?”, Sarah asked Katherine.

“Yeah. She got that position she was hoping for.”

“So you need a new assistant.”

“Correct.”

“You know, my little bro here studies journalism too. And he would love to join the newspaper.” 

“I see…”, Katherine looked at David with a raised eyebrow. “You start on Monday. Thanks, love”, she turned around to kiss Sarah’s cheek.

“Anything for you, dear.”

Sarah finally let go of David’s arm, just to grab Katherine’s waist and walk away. In a millisecond, David crossed the room and sat by Jack’s side, ready to whisper at his ear:

“I’m in.”

“The newspaper?”, David nodded with a huge smile. “That’s great, Davey.”

Davey. No one had ever thought of calling him that way. And when the word came out of Jack’s lips, it sounded like a brand-new symphony.

“C’mon, let’s celebrate”,  Jack offered him a hand.

“I thought you wanted to draw!”

“I have enough sketches for three months now.”

 They put their coats on and got out the door. Jack held it open to David by instinct.

“Why, thank you”, David smiled at him. “You are a true gentleman.”

“Mom taught me well.”

Again, they walked in silence to the empty bus stop. Around them, parties were still going on — and with no end in sight.

“I know a place that sells great coffee. They call it ‘secret blend’ or something”, Jack said, getting on the bus.

“Lead the way, then.”

They passed by the college campus and entered the city neighborhood — which was inhabited mostly by students nevertheless. The apartment buildings were not too high. It was like a toddler had placed some toy construction blocks in groups of four with strip malls under them here and there.

Cheap burger and coffee shops raised to the sky, their green spotlights bashing the sidewalks and streets. They stopped in front of an obscure shop, with a half-lit sign that said “Dale’s” in blue neon calligraphy. This time, David opened the door, which earned him a smile from Jack.

The place wasn’t busy, so they grabbed a seat near the window and waited for someone to bring them the menu. A girl their age — her name was Patricia, according to the little tag on her shirt — welcomed them to Dale’s Coffee Shop, the most trendy place in town and the unofficial home of the Gray Tigers.

 “I should start calling myself an unofficial member of the Gray Tigers”, Jack pondered as the waitress left. “At least, it sounds good”, he looked so determined saying that. Not to mention he had been training and talking about it non-stop ever since he met Racetrack. 

Jack ordered an espresso with one cream and five sugars and David asked for a vanilla cold brew. While waiting, the boys observed the movement on the street.

“I almost forgot”, David said, watching as an old man carried a seemingly heavy wooden box. “How is your Carpentry project?”

“I still have no idea what to do about that”, Jack sighed. “We are not allowed to use simple shapes or saws, so what can we do? I hate this class so much I can’t come up with a single thing.”

“You could take two square pieces, sandpaper them on the top and sides, nail them together and paint it red. Boom! You have a heart.”

“Thanks”, Jack gave him a shy smile. “Actually, do you mind if I use your idea?”

“Yeah. Happy to help.”

David’s mind once again wondered about the short story he had to write. The only thing he knew was that he wanted to discuss the desires and agonies of a young artist’s heart.

“Hey, Jack”, the boy looked up from his phone. “I have a tricky assignment to do. 

“And what is that?”

“A short story.” 

“That should be no trouble for you, a freshman and already a member of the university newspaper.”

 “The thing is: it has to meet some weird requirements and I was thinking I could use you as an inspiration for my main character?”

“Yeah. Just don’t give the poor guy an overly tragic death, ok?”

David nodded as a cup was placed in front of him. Jack was served immediately after and then, his world could be summarized to that slightly stained, chipped porcelain cup.

“You should at least try your drink”, David suggested. “It will get cold.”

“Oh”, Jack shook his head, now passing his gaze to David. He had a gulp of his coffee, perfectly made, as Race said it would be. “Do you have a plot for the story?”

“Kinda. I know what I want to explore, I just don’t know how.”

“Tell me about it. That might help.”

As David recited the concepts he had in mind, Jack noticed how his elbows leaned against the plywood table.

I wonder if he’ll think it’s rude if I do a quick sketch.

“What are you drawing?”

“It’s… hum… your character”, he finished the hair, parted in the middle, like David said. “See?”

“Wow!”, he stared at the small page. “It looks great! I love what you did with his hair.”

“You can use it to illustrate your story if you want.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. It’ll give me an excuse to use the graphics tablet my mom’s friend got me.”

“Thank you.”

“Think nothing of it”, Jack wiped the air in front of him.

“Sorry guys, but I need you to leave”, the waitress approached them, followed by a tall, bald man (probably her manager). “We are about to close.”

“Oh, ok. Sorry”, said Jack, getting up. “How much do we owe you?”

Jack insisted on paying for the whole bill — he also left a generous tip. After all, he was the one who did the inviting.

“After you, good sir”, David held the door open.

“Aren’t they the cutest?”, the guy whispered  at the girl’s ear a second before the door was closed.

“I know, right?”

#newsiesminibang24 #Newsies #92ies #Javey #Livesies #Art student!Jack #Journalism Student!David #David Jacobs x Jack Kelly #Sarah Jacobs x Katherine Pulitzer #Sarah Jacobs x Katherine Plumber #Friends to Lovers #Rugby player!Jack #Both Jack and David love coffee #Mutual Pining #Fluff #omg they were roommates

[lupinblacktheone]

Thank you so, so much. I loved it!!!

for the ask thing, tagging @lupinblacktheone because they commented not asked, 17 and lumity! will do the goldenheart one too gimme a sec. this is a bit bad because rushed but I hope you like it anyway :]

"Blights are expected to behave properly. 

This is common knowledge. Blights are nobility and are supposed to behave accordingly. As such, you aren't supposed to lose your composure. 

This is rule one. You don't stumble over yourself, you don't burst into tears, and you're certainly not supposed to be impulsive or ridiculous. 

Amity Blight isn't very good at being a Blight. But she tried very hard for a very long time. She carries herself in the perfect little posture that feels like it'll break her back, is either stone faced or grinning smugly, a perfect golden child. She does not cry. She does not whimper. She expresses affection through very, very specific means. All of them are incredibly professional and fitting of a Blight. 

Offering a gift to a friend. A book, a new piece of jewelry, a pie. 

A compliment, professional and impersonal.

Reassurance when it's needed. 

A small touch on the shoulder. Nothing beyond what is socially acceptable, of course. Because she is a Blight, even behind closed doors. And Blights do not lose their composure. 

Amity loses her composure three times before she actually tries to be a good person. Over a badge, a duel, and Luz visiting her in the library. All of these were around a failure. Which wasn't something a Blight was allowed to be. 

She didn't lose her composure when she apologized to Willow. But it was close. Two steps from the edge, the ledge crumbling. Only a thin cloak remained, tattered and worn. So close to disintegrating that she'd expected to be struck and to be left to bleed. 

Somehow, she wasn't. 

The sports game with Luz had been the first time in a very long time anyone had held her. 

She didn't think she'd wanted to be held. 

And to be completely honest, it was incredibly embarrassing. 

Blights weren't supposed to lose their composure. They weren't supposed to turn bright red at the thought of a cool girl being on their team, they weren't supposed to bare their soul to someone that wasn't in the family, they weren't supposed to be held and carried back to the house of a wanted criminal. 

But, absurdly, she was happy. She was so, so happy. 

She'd known her mother was a bad person for a very, very long time. She still cared for her, but she wasn't under any impression she was good. But Amity had never really thought she could get out. She'd never thought she could be happy after that birthday party. And not once had she ever considered trying. 

Luz's arms were warm and she was such a dork and felt the need to be a stupid goof about everything and she thinks she wants to kiss this girl. 

But Amity is still a Blight to the public, and she can't afford to risk it. So she doesn't initiate. 

A homemade fairy pie seemed like a nice, professional way to tell her she was happy she was back. 

On the day she made a pie, she'd also broken her necklace. 

She'd wanted to break the stupid thing for years. 

(Somehow being side by side in a crumbling crater with Luz, after almost being crushed, felt safer than she'd ever felt in the manor.)

She'd meant for it to stay there. Kind words. Shoulder touches. Gifts. That's all. Luz got the message with just those. There was no need for more. 

Until she kissed her on the cheek, not because it was profesional or necessary, but because she'd wanted to for so long. 

And then Luz wanted to date her too, and then they held hands, and she's realizing she likes it. 

She likes when she holds her hand, she likes hugging her, she likes kissing her on the cheek. She likes not being professional, she likes not having to stick to gifts. She likes just being able to hold her when words won't work. Gestures still remain. She still gets her gifts and says kind things because those never stopped being how she expresses her love. 

But she likes being held. She likes kissing her. She likes not acting like Luz is her business partner. It's…nice. 

It's nice when they hold each other tightly. It's nice when she just leans against her. A voice in her head that sounds far too much like that coward of a bully reminds her it's unnecessary. She's trying so hard not to listen. It's a little easier not to listen when she has people who remind her that it doesn't have to be necessary. They tell her she can do things because she can, not because she has to. She's trying so hard to listen. Slowly, it's becoming a little easier. 

And years later, they kiss without blushing. They hold each other and it's normal. It isn't a surprise. It isn't confusing or new or stiff. It's natural. She worries about it some days, because she can't help it. The need to carry herself perfectly has been ingrained in her mind since she was old enough to know what the word meant. 

Sometimes, though, she can remember she's allowed to be soft. Softness is difficult and its a choice, but it's a choice she's learning how to make. Sometimes becomes more often, somehow. They tell her to be proud of herself. She's trying to be, and it's almost working. 

She holds Luz, because that's how Amity expresses her love. Amity is no longer a Blight, and she's no longer expected to be professional. She expresses her love through gifts and compliments and gestures as well, but mostly through touch. Because she wants to. It's unnecessary and it's comforting and it's nice and she's gotten good at not caring who sees them. 

Amity holds her girlfriend, listens to her heartbeat, and somehow she feels safe. 

She's a lot happier as "Amity" than she ever was as "Amity Blight." Amity Blight was, deep down, always afraid. But Amity wasn't. She wasn't okay all the time, but sometimes she was. Sometimes was becoming more often. And maybe that was enough.

So she leans into her arms, and she lets herself cry. Because she knows Luz, and she knows she won't be mad. No matter what her mothers says, Luz is not her. And Luz doesn't get mad at her when she breaks. 

There's a scared girl in Amity's head. There will always be a scared girl in her head. 

But she isn't scared of that girl anymore. And she's not scared of Luz. She's not scared of Willow, she's not scared of Gus, she's not scared of Hunter, and she's not scared of Ghost. 

There's a scared girl in Amity's head, and she gives that girl a hug. That scared girl is allowed to be hugged, allowed to shatter and weep, because composure isn't everything. Not anymore, and it never should've been. It wasn't fair, and she was allowed to walk away from it.

Blights were supposed to be perfect. Blights were never allowed to lose their composure. Blights were expected to behave properly. 

Amity hasn't been a Blight in four years. 

So she holds her and doesn't let go, because Amity is free, and she wants to be held. 

And that's a good enough reason. 

Luz is safe, and Amity is too. And it's enough."

(this will also be posted on ao3 I've decided so! same username there as on here. go follow me. shameless plug.)

#love language #owl house spoilers #owl house #the owl house #toh spoilers #the owl house spoilers #toh #amity blight #luz noceda #lumity #toh fanfic

[lupinblacktheone]

Odysseus: "Wine so fresh, you'd never want to eat human flesh."

Polites side eyeing him: Say sike rn

[lupinblacktheone]

*the Delanceys appear*

Davey: Who’s that? 

Jack: They don't like me.

*the cops appear*

Davey: Who’s that? 

Jack: They don't like me either. 

*Snyder the Spider appears*

Davey: Who’s that?!

Jack: Let's just assume for the moment that everyone in here doesn't like me!

[lupinblacktheone]

... a mom

Notes: This is my first TOH fanfic. I hope you like it!

            Luz Noceda is NOT living her best life. She doesn’t have any friends at school, her grades are dropping, she isn’t enjoying her hobbies like she used to, she is estranged from her family and yeah!, her father died a few months ago.

            So when she stumbles upon a weird portal, she enters it to never come back.

            Growing up, Luz loved to be outside, creating games with Papá, Mamá and Vee. They all would jump into the activities her imagination brought up.

            Now, Camila had to work a lot more to keep things going on as a single parent, and all of a sudden, Vee was too cool to hang out with her loser older sister. Actually, Luz despised the majority of Vee’s friends — Masha was fine, but that was it —, so she was happy that their place of choice to spend time was the park, leaving the Noceda household all to Luz.

            She would usually sit under a tree and read the Azura books or work on a fanfic. Although she had gone through the pages of each The Good Witch Azura volume a hundred times before, the story always managed to grasp her attention in a different way… until now. She didn’t quite understand what was happening, but her mind would not get mesmerized by the wonderful plot and characters.

            “I’m sorry, Papá”, she sighed, tossing the second volume of the series to the side. “I just can’t keep going like this.”

            She went back to the room she shared with Vee and took a long look at the backpack under her bed. Maybe this plan isn’t so stupid after all.

            Luz thought she could rely on her guidance instincts, especially in her home town, but they proved to be useless the second she turned  three corners away from her school.

            With tears in her eyes, Luz sat down on the curb, holding tight to the straps of her backpack. Night is falling around her and the closest shelter was like, eleven miles away from wherever she was now.

            “Great”, Luz muttered, already imagining what she’ll say when — and if — Camila called after noticing Luz wasn’t home.

            As she put her phone on her pocket, something moves in the bushes, followed by a shy bird sound.

            “Awwwww. Are you hurt, little buddy?”, Luz shoved her hands into the thigs to move them aside and find out what is going on.

            The tiniest of the tiny owls came out, chirping as she tried to hold on to a branch of berries and untangle from the leaves.

            “Let me help you.”

            Setting the poor thing free was the easy part. The minute the owl realized it could once again fly as she pleased, she dives into Luz’s pocket, snatching her phone away.

            “You thief!”, Luz shouted as she bolted after the fugitive bird. “Give me my phone back!”

            The girl ran for a few blocks, extending her hands with the fragile hope of retrieving her mobile before it was broken.

            With the same speed it got in and out of Luz’s pocket, the owl entered a weird orange rectangle and disappeared.

            “Well, what do I have to lose now?”

            ***

            “What is that?”, said Amity Blight, pointing at the creepy-looking key pending from her girlfriend’s neck.

            “I’m not sure yet. I mean, it’s obviously a key, but to what?”

            “To the human realm”, Hunter assured in a growl. “Belos will come after it in no time. We should destroy it now.”

            “Luz won’t be able to go back home!”, Gus interjected.

            “If we wait too much, Belos will kill all the witches.”

            “Shut up!”, Eda yelled, covering her ears. “Luz found this thing, so she should have a say on the matter.”

            All the eyes turned to Luz. Suddenly, she had had enough of that conversation. And rushed to her room.

            “We should give her alone time to think.”

            “We don’t have time to waste!”

            “It will be better if her best friends handle the situation.”

            “She needs her girlfriend!”

            All the voices quieted down after one of Harpy Eda’s trademark screeches. Then, a fist knocked on Luz’s door.

            “I’m coming in, kid”, Luz couldn’t answer. “I’m taking your silence as an ‘I’m okay with that’.”

            As Eda sat down on the bed, her wings created a light airflow and messed with the trinkets on the top shelf.

            “Don’t listen to Hunter. We have all time in the world to decide what is our next move. Do you hear me?”, Luz nodded. “Good. So: what is eating you right now?”

            “I have been lying to you guys. I’m not lost. I ran away from home. I don’t want to go back, but I feel like I should check on my family at least once. But the only way to do that is by using the key and we don’t know what would happen if we opened a portal.”

            “Ok, ok. The Owl Lady has got this. Get up, we are going on a trip.”

            Luz got downstairs, behind Eda, now in her human form. Everybody in the “Screw you, Emperor Belos” team gathered around them.

            “Here’s the plan: Lily, you and I are taking Luz to Latissa. The rest of you will tear this key apart. Raine, you are in charge.”

            The Clawthorne sisters got on their staffs, with Luz holding on to Eda’s waist.

            “Edalyn, I, better than anyone in the Boiling Isles, know that you and Luz are always up to some kind of weird endeavor, but is this the right time to…”

            “Here we are”, Eda interrupted, forcing Owlbert to go down. “Before we move on, Lily, can you explain to Luz about the Latissa portals?”

            “Sure thing”, she jumped off her staff, ready to talk.

            You brought me all the way down here for a history lesson?

            Turns out that the water of the Latissa lakes leads to a dimension of magic cubes that allow communication with other realms — given certain limitations. Eda planned on using them so Luz could talk to her family without open a portal that Belos could use in his evil schemes.

            According to the readings of Lilith’s device, a portal to the human realm was located not very far form them. Eda made sure that the rope around Luz’s waist wasn’t too tight or too loose prior to letting her go in.

            “I’ll be back in a minute.”

            Luz immersed her head in the galaxy-like tissue. Identical cubes floated to all directions. The girl called out her mother’s name and a cube raised up to her hands’ level. Like a child learning to blow bubbles in a swimming pool, Luz lowered her head in the cube, peeking inside.

            Camila and Vee strolled around the kitchen, making dinner. Luz watched them from above, as if she was sitting on the top cupboard. They hummed along the song played by Camila’s phone. Luz “swam” to the device and called Camila again.

            “Luz? Diós, I didn’t hear you call. Are you okay? Where are you? When are coming home?”

            “I want to talk about that. I finally found a place where I fit in, so… I will get in touch more often, but I will not go back to Cincinnati.”

            “Do you hear yourself? You are a child, Luz. You can’t find another place to live and expect me to just accept it. Where are you? I’m coming over tomorrow morning.”

            “You can’t come, Mamá. The… door will be officially closed tonight.”

            “Are you in a cult?”, Vee asked. “Because it sounds like a cult.”

            “It’s not a cult, Vee”, Luz felt the rope being pulled. “Crap. I gotta go.”

            “What’s going on, mija?”

            The cube slipped from Luz’s fingers and she was pulled out from the water.

            “I am sorry, kid, but the time is over.”

            They fled the place and got back to the Owl House. People were sitting by the fireplace, chatting and warming their hands.

            “Are the smores ready yet?”, King reached out his arms to be picked up by Willow.

            “I thought I left you with a task”, Eda entered the room with her hands on her hips.

            “We completed it and now we are chilling out”, Gus responded. “C’mon, Luz, we made popcorn.”

            The girl sat down with a pillow with the other kids in a corner as Eda caught up in the key destruction process. Long story short: that thing was filled with Titan’s blood, which was the real fuel for the transport between realms, so they broke the capsule and burned Amity’s blood-stained gloves — Darius promised to get her another pair.

            “It has no use to Belos now”, Hunter assured. “We should fly over to the Knee and bury the pieces there. That way, Kikimora will find it and the Emperor will get angry at her, instead of us. We will live happily ever after.”

            “It doesn’t solve the whole Belos problem, but it will give us some kind of higher ground”, Raine said, holding Eda’s hands.

            “I know that. I have to talk to Luz”, she whispered at their ear. “See you later, Rainstorm.”

            Raine waved as Eda escorted the human to the kitchen.

            “Do you want to talk about the conversation with your mother?”, Luz gave her a sad nod. “Go on, then.”

            “She didn’t understand. She thinks she can drive to where I am and drive me back home. And my sister is convinced I’m in some sort of cult.”

            “Titan…”

            “I couldn’t bring myself to tell them about demons and witches being real. It would sound like another Luz delirium to their ears.”

            “It’s not like you owe them anything. You can stay here for as long as you want. You’ll have Lily, Raine and Darius when you need responsible people. You’ll have your friends when you need goofy people that share your crazy interests. You’ll have King when you need an annoying little brother. You’ll even have me when you need… a mom.”   

            “T-thank you.”

            “Anything for you, kid.”

#the owl house #the owl lady #mama eda #luz noceda #lumity #amity blight #out of character camila noceda #vee noceda #raine whispers #don't mind me #I'm just projecting my issues into my newest obsession

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☃️❄🤍

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why is it that we keep retracing the same steps

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upside down squad as a dnd party 🎲

nancy wheeler, elf ranger 🏹

robin buckley, half-elf sorcerer 🔥

steve harrington, human paladin 🛡

and of course, eddie munson as their tiefling bard 🎸

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[lupinblacktheone]

A bit of a repost but I made phone wallpapers for the park date illustration I did in case people want them :D been getting a lot of love with these illustrations so it makes me happy!

Tag which ones y’all start using as wallpaper cause I’m super curious! XD

#Using the Lumity one right now

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Looking Glass Ruins

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I am once again asking Catholics to stay the fuck away from abuse survivors and folks with religious trauma because none of you ghouls know how to behave.

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All the love in the world

            The minute Johnny showed up at the doorstep with a little package in his arms, Laura fell in love again.

            Since Johnny and Sid — thankfully — wouldn’t be around the baby all the time, she gladly jumped into the role of the main caretaker. She sang him lullabies, fixed his meals, played with him, took him in outings — no matter how much money her husband had, Laura Lawrence believed in buying her own groceries —, helped him with homework and listened to his long speeches about his concerns and dreams.

            Her friends were always talking about her being too old to raise another child, but she couldn’t care less. No one, except for her — and occasionally Johnny — would be able to take proper care of her precious Robby.

            Growing up, Robby was proud to help and take care of Laura, gladly helping her carry shopping bags, reminding her to take her medicines, cooking for her every now and then and when he got his license, he insisted on driving her anywhere she needed to go — even though he got bored to death by church services.

            When Johnny told his son that he decided to move in with his boyfriend and asked him if he would like to go as well, Robby was happy for his father. Daniel was a good person and his daughter, Samantha, was fun to hang out with, not to mention that Daniel liked to talk about old cars with Robby.

            However, when it came to telling Sid and Laura, things got a little… tense. They knew and expected that Sid would react badly, to say the least, but weren’t so sure about Laura. Over the years, Robby had heard pastors yelling at the top of their lungs that being gay was a sin. Most of the people listening seemed to agree with them, exchanging rumors and gossip about each other’s children who were queer — as if anyone of them actually knew what “queer” meant — and a few older men here and there — some of them even were pastors! — who had affairs with other men and thought no one knew. Laura had never said a word about it.

            “I want you to have dinner upstairs tonight”, Johnny said as they were labeling the last boxes in Robby’s room.

            They had been packing their stuff and taking it to Daniel’s house, little by little, just to make sure they had somewhere to go after Sid inevitably kicked them out.

            “No way! I will be there with you. To give you emotional support, you know?”

            “Thanks, kid. It really means a lot.”

            “I know.”

            After that, Robby made Johnny play Mortal Kombat with him. The old man will never admit it, but he kind of liked the game and the distraction provided by the colorful pixeled images and loud sounds worked miracles to him.

            “So, just so you know…”, he said at the dinner table. “I’m not straight. Never was. And I have a boyfriend. Robby and I will be moving to his house tonight.”

            “I always knew there was something wrong with you”, Sid mumbled and went back to drinking whatever was in his glass.

            Laura, on the other hand, said nothing.

            +++

            On his first day living with the LaRussos, Robby replayed that dinner over and over again, wondering if talking to Laura beforehand would have made things better or worse. On day two, he learned that Samantha had her own secret agenda to push and was trying to get Johnny to join the cause. On day four, she succeeded.  On day eight, the first change was introduced. Now, she was allowed to have driving lessons on Johnny’s motorcycle.

            On day sixteen, Robby saw Daniel and Johnny acting romantic and goofy for the first time. They were slow-dancing in the living room, at the sound of a cool 70’s band, thinking nobody was watching — he recorded it to show at their wedding.

            On day thirty-two, things were functioning automatically. Sam and Daniel no longer needed to say where Johnny and Robby would find toilet paper. They were officially part of that household.

            On day one hundred twenty-eight, Robby saw Laura at the students’ parking lot, walking straight towards him.

            “Hi”, she said, hugging him. He hugged her back, because damn! He missed his Nana so much. “How are you, Robby?”

            Laura didn’t have any terms of endearment, except for “Robby” — she coined it, by the way.  Hearing her say that is like going back to being six years old. In a good way.

            “I’m great. What about you?”

            “Missing you both like crazy, of course. How’s your dad? Is he happy?”

            “The happiest I’ve ever seen, Nana.”

            “He must really like his boyfriend.”

            “He loves him.”

            “That’s wonderful”, she looks away for three seconds.

            “Would you like to meet him?”

            “Yes. I’d like that very much.”

            “And maybe we could hang out like we used to?”

            “Yeah, yeah. Sure.”

            “Cool. I just have to tell my sister to find another ride.”

            “Oh. You have a sister?”

            “Yup. She’s Daniel’s daughter from his first marriage and she’s great, so I call her ‘sister’.”

            He called her and informed the girl he’d spend the afternoon with his grandma and would be back home in time for dinner.

             “Daniel is very methodic about meal times”, he explained to Laura after the call was ended.

            “That’s good to know.”

            Ever since Johnny was young, his mother worried about how he would take care of himself as an adult, because every time he had a problem, he’d resort to her. That’s probably why he waited until he had somewhere else to leave before coming out.

            Robby drove to his favorite ice cream shop and entered the place with the same excited look he had in his eyes as a child.

            “You still have a sweet tooth, huh?”

            “And I don’t think I’ll ever change”, he answered with a smile.

            Following their tradition, Laura waited patiently while her grandson built a mountain of ice cream using the most exotic flavors and toppings, then ordered two scoops of chocomint with cherry syrup for herself — and paid for it all.

            “How are your college plans? I remember you wanted to be a teacher when you were little. Do you still want that?”

            “I feel like I would be a good psychologist, actually.”

            “It suits you.”

            More small talk happened before Robby gave in to his anxiety.

            “Why did you show up at the school?”

            “I wanted to see you”, Laura was using that tone of voice she had on whenever people were being stupid. Robby used to encourage that because people’s stupidness can reach stratospheric levels, specially at fancy country clubs, but right now, Robby wished he could shake it out of her. “I said I missed you, didn’t I?”

            “Then why didn’t you call us? We missed you as much as you did.”

            “I had to come to terms with my beliefs and how did they affect my relationship with your father.”

            “And what did you decide?”

            “I decided that I love you both very much, regardless of who you love.”

            “That’s nice, really”, he rubbed the back side of his neck. “Is it a bad time to tell you I’m pansexual?”    

#karate kid #daniel larusso #johnny lawrence #robby keene #lawrusso #cobra kai #fanfic #writing #mine #Laura Lawrence #laura lawrence

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The person I reblogged this from deserves to be happy

I tried to scroll past this. I really did

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What we want, have and need — chapter 17

Notes: This is the seventeenth chapter of the Lawrusso and Sam/Robby long fic that I'm posting on AO3 and on Tumblr. You can read the next chapters on AO3 or the previous chapters on Tumblr here. I hope you enjoy this!

He won't give up on them

The sun raises day after day, as if the universe was pretending that fight is gone with no bigger sequels other than suspensions for everyone who was involved on it and an expulsion for Tory. The boy sits at the table, with a mug full of coffee nestled in his fingers and stays there for half an hour or so.  His eyes are puffy and his gaze, lost. Every single morning.

            Damn, Johnny can’t even say something to his kid, whose girlfriend is lying on a hospital bed. And Robby should say something to Johnny too. He knows Sam’s his father’s favorite student (everybody knows that, duh). But they can’t, because they are back to square one on the “father-and-son relationship” matter. And they both hate it.

            Someone knocks on the door one day. Johnny opens it and sees a sleep-deprived Daniel LaRusso.

            “I need your help.”

            “For what?”, he swallows a pretentious comment.

            “To stop Kreese.”

            Johnny imagines a reality in which Kreese had just retired when the first Cobra Kai was closed. The tournament would have had a different outcome, Robby’s injury wouldn’t have happened and Sam would be kicking and punching her favorite punch bag.

            They cannot change the past, but they can still save those children.

            “I also brought this to Robby”, he shows a signed paper. “It’s an authorization for him to see Sam. Can you ask him to go there after lunch so Amanda can go back to the dealership?”

            “Sure. Be right back.”

            He rushes back into the apartment, Robby only had time to take the mug to the sink while he was gone.  

            “I’m gonna skip work today and go looking for Kreese”, Johnny informs. “Are you ok to stay alone?”

            “Yeah. That’s not like it has never happened before.”

            “Oh!, LaRusso signed this”, he hands him the authorization. “He asked you to go after lunch, to replace Amanda.”

            “Tell him I’ll be there at noon sharp”, the boy promises and Johnny turns to leave. “Hmm, dad? Can you do somethin’ for me?”

            “Anything, son”, Johnny has a little smile when he looks back at the boy.

            “Can you take care of Mr. L? And tell him I asked him to take care of you as well.”

            They get in Daniel’s car and leave.

            If there is something Kreese is good at (besides mentally abusing teenagers), it’s disappearing. They search in the county shelter, but no one has heard of him in six weeks. 

            After thanking the woman for her time, they head back to the car.

            “Where do we go now?”, Johnny asks, looking at the fuel pump as Daniel puts it back in the place.

��           “Don’t you have any ideas?”

            Daniel thinks for a second. There’s a memory – or in better words, the hint of a memory – of a long time ago, that he would pay an obscene amount of money to forget, if he could. Revisiting it is painful, but he’ll do anything to keep Sam and the other children safe.

            “There’s someone we could…”, he cuts the phrase when he gets a call from Amanda.

           Johnny tries to find the source of that annoying noise.

           “Is your car ringing?”

            Smirking, Daniel presses a button on the panel and Amanda’s voice blows out on the speakers.

            “Hi, Daniel.”

            “Hi, Amanda.”

            “That hospital armchair ruined my back.”

            “Told ya”, the man laughs.

            “Anyways, are you busy right now? I’ve got some papers for us to read and we can do a FaceTime call if you are free at the moment.”

            “I’m at a gas station”, he talks as if he was confessing a crime.

            “And who’s with Sam?!”, yeah, turns out that’s kind of a crime on her book.

            “I signed an authorization so Robby can be with her.”

            “What is going on, Daniel?”

            “I’m trying to find John Kreese. I promise I’ll catch up with all that paperwork tomorrow, ok?”

            “Christ… I know we’ve already closed the divorce process years ago, but you can’t hide everything from me, we still run a dealership and raise a child together, in case you don’t remember.”

            “I’m sorry, Amanda. It won’t happen again.”

            “Right”, she hangs up, or whatever is the correct word for ending a car phone call.

            “Sorry you had to hear all this.”

            “Don’t worry. That was the most civilized couple argument I’ve ever heard.”

            “Did you argue before you decided not to be together anymore?”

            “You mean me and Shannon?”, Daniel nods. “No, we didn’t say a word. Everything about us was so wrong that the ending was surprisingly natural.”

            “And how did you solve Robby’s custody?”

            “Custody?”, Johnny makes a half-spiting, half-laughing sound. “That’s a dish to fancy clients like you. She basically just dropped off the baby with no more than a diaper and a blanket.”

            Johnny’s spine gets stiff while the words get out of his mouth without much of an effort.

            "Robby thinks he was four when he lived with me for the first time, but he was two days old, actually. Shannon knocked on my door with the baby wrapped in a dirty blanket and said she needed me to watch him while she was gone on vacation. I had no choice but to take him in, right? So, I fixed Robby a crib with pillows in a plastic box. Don't worry, he was so small that there was plenty of space for him”, Johnny stares at Daniel’s shocked face. “Luckily, one of my students at the time had a sister desperately in need of a job, so I could go to work knowing that he was alright. Little by little, I was able to set a proper bedroom for him, with a good crib, furniture and other baby stuff. He was one of those happy smiley children and when I got home from the dojo and saw those little eyes... I looked around the place and realized that everything I had done in the last weeks was for him. And it was worth it. All of it."

            "That's beautiful, Johnny, for real", Daniel looks at him. "Why did you return Robby to Shannon?"

            "Because I had had eight really fatiguing months. I thought I could use a break and she had to take care of him too. I waved them goodbye on a Friday evening and went back inside. The apartment was so quiet that I took the longest nap I could. Fifty-four hours later, I felt like a new man. All of Robby's stuff were still in his bedroom, because I knew deep inside, he would come back and need it. Indeed, he stayed with me during long weekends and holidays, during which I had no idea where his mother was. But he never asked for her. I guess Shannon didn't have the habit of touching her son. And then, when the cops brought him to me in the middle of the night, I decided not to return him to her ever again. Something had happened and changed him. I asked him lots of times what was it, but he never told me or any of the therapists he saw.”

            “You know, even though Amanda and I remain good friends, we needed some space to deal with the divorce process and we didn’t want Sam to be around all that, so I asked Mr. Miyagi to take care of her for a while. Two weeks later, when I went to pick her up, he gave me a box of chocolate milk, patted my shoulder and said: ‘You have the opportunity I never had, Daniel-san. Do not throw it away’.”

            “What did he mean by that?”

            “His wife died at childbirth along with the baby”, Johnny gasps, “and he was fighting in the war. He never had the chance to see his son grow up, but I had, so he wanted me to…”

            “Be the dad he would have been?”

            “No”, his head shakes. “He wanted me to just be a dad. I wanted to be a good one, like he was.”

            “But you said… oh, I got it. Sorry.”

            “There’s nothing to be sorry about. I was lucky to have him by my side when I needed someone. Sam’s lucky too.”

            “I’m not falling for this again. Please, explain.”

            “God. You’re dense, man. I meant that Sam is lucky for having a good sensei like you.”

            “Do you really think that?”

            Daniel goes on a report of the tournament night, after they went home and Daniel talked to Sam.  The men can’t help feeling a bit bad. All the girl wanted to do was bond with her dad through their favorite sport.

            “Huh… can I drive? Just a little.”

            I could use some time to calm down, he thinks, parking the car to change seats.

            “Where does your ‘someone’ live?”, Johnny asks before Daniel can close his eyes.

            The route is set on the GPS, after a quick check on Google and at last, Daniel allows himself to breathe slowly, mentally transporting himself to Mr. Miyagi’s old peaceful garden.

            Johnny knows he isn’t sleeping, but leaves the man alone and enjoys the nice time he has driving this potent Audi.

            The destiny is an Encino-like mansion, but with a bigger yard, where a dozen cars are ostensibly parked, exhibiting the owner’s wealth – and nearly 70% of their personality.

            “This thing is amazing”, he speaks softly to let Daniel know they arrived and clenches his fingers on the spinning wheel. “Can you get me one for Christmas?”

           Maybe. Were you a good boy this year?

            “Are we breaking in?”, Johnny almost doesn’t believe he is asking it to a fifty-something-year-old LaRusso – and yes, Johnny is quite aware that he isn’t much younger himself.

            “I can’t afford to ring his doorbell.”

            Having said that, Daniel guides Johnny to the backyard. There’s a smaller building some meters away from the house. They can hear a male voice yelling attack orders – probably to a bunch of teenagers.

            Johnny takes the lead as they walk closer. In fact, a 13-teen group is facing a ponytailed man, who paces among them as if he could see their livers through their skin.

            Recognizing such a cruel tone makes both men feel some chills.

            “Let’s get out of here”, Johnny’s voice trembles because he’s fucking terrified. “Kreese isn’t here.”

            “I know, but that guy knows Kreese. If we’re lucky, he might even give us a lead.”

            Nothing good or useful could ever come from a guy like this, is what John is about to say, however, it takes only a gaze into the brown eyes for him to realize how much Daniel is afraid too.

            Suddenly, it feels certain. Not because the situation is joyful – it’s the exact antonym of “joyful”, actually –, but because Daniel wouldn’t want someone else to be by his side when he’s about to face his psycho ex-sensei. And Johnny feels like here is where he should be, not because he promised to take care of Daniel, but because he wants to be with him and help him get through hard moments in life.

            He even reaches for the other man’s hand to watch the class being dismissed. Although it’s possible to recognize Hawk in that little crowd, he knows, not that deep down – because it’s clear as day – that the Hawk he taught in Cobra Kai would never keep his eyes fixed on the ground, still, and not bragging about his tattoo.  

            Daniel pockets their fists together and takes cautious steps inside the dojo.

            “Danny-boy?! Is that you?”

            “Hi, Terry.”

            Daniel freezes. Since the beginning, he knew they were driving to this asshole’s house, but he still freezes while Terry Silver pretends they are old friends.

            Johnny doesn’t know what is going on here, but he instantaneously doesn’t trust that old man, so he does his best to finish the conversation.

            “We’re looking for John Kreese”, he takes a step in front of LaRusso. “Do you know him?”

            “If I know him?”, the man giggles. “We served together on Vietnam. Ever since that, we’re always in touch.”

            “That’s good to know. He was here recently?”

            “What are you? Cops?”

            “No, we are not cops”, the blue eyes roll. “His daughter”, he points at Daniel “is at the hospital, thanks to Kreese and his cruel teachings. We just want to make things right, so if you’d cooperate, it’d be great.”

            “Sorry, son. I don’t feel like it”, he gives Johnny an evil grin, marching up to Daniel’s face. “Can I help you?”

            Daniel manages not to flinch; however, he balls he left hand around Johnny’s hand on his pocket.

            “I’ve already said what we need”, he howls, protecting Daniel even more.

            “What are you? His husband?”, Terry turns to Johnny with mocking eyes – that Johnny wants to punch so bad.

            “Perhaps I am. So what?”, he is done with this shit. “Kreese was here or not?”

            Terry thinks for a second, deciding what he’ll say.

            “Yeah, he came by some days ago.”

            “Do you know where is he now?”

            “What is this? An interrogatory? I won’t say anything else unless you show me a badge or a warrant”, then, Silver realizes a vital information they were leaving aside until that very moment. “Actually, if you don’t get out of my property right now, I’ll call the cops on you.”

            An affected LaRusso and a dozen cops is way too much for Johnny to handle, so he just spits on Terry’s face – you didn’t think he would leave without performing at least one offensive act, did you? – and drags Daniel back to his Audi, feeling somehow tempted to pick him up and carry him over his shoulders –yep, he wants to hold Daniel, but that’s not the only reason; he also wants to get there faster and Daniel is walking really slow.

            ***

            Johnny helps a shaking Daniel out of the car and into the house. Daniel lies down on the couch. Johnny watches him falling asleep slowly. Underneath his breath, LaRusso is snoring. Ok, as a teenager, Daniel was a little dick, but now, he seems so small and helpless.

            According to the Internet, Terry Silver is a businessman who is often sued by environmental activists – he doesn’t quite understand why, but they must be right – and was the real owner of the Cobra Kai dojos by the time Johnny was a student there. He also was the sponsor of the 1985 All-Valley tournament runner-up: Mike Barnes.

            There’s plenty of information about Barnes. In the past, he was the “Karate bad boy”.  While he was struggling to be a professional athlete, Johnny might have seen an ad about Barnes and, unfortunately, missed the chance of adopting that nickname, since Barnes’ career ended along with the ’85 final match – in which Daniel probably kicked him in the face or worse.

            At 8 p.m., Robby texts him to tell he got home, Amanda bought him dinner – something healthy this time – and asks about Daniel.

            Asleep as a baby, he assures him. Everything is under control here.

            Thanks so, so much, dad.

            My pleasure, he takes a look at the man, who groans and rubs his eyes.

Johnny keeps watching LaRusso rolling on the couch. Now he’s trying to get up.

            “What time is it?”, he groans.

            “Eight and a quarter”, Johnny sits by his side. “You good, man?”

            “All I need is a shower and I’ll be good as new.”

            While Daniel is gone, Johnny buys them dinner. He selects the first option on his phone screen and waits. Bathed and rested, Daniel LaRusso really is a new man, who has a sexy businessman look on a regular basis. The dark circles remain under his eyes and will be there a little longer if things don’t turn out right soon, but at least, he’s way better than the man who knocked on Johnny’s door this morning.

            “I’m sorry you got into this mess I am.”

            “You’re not a mess, LaRusso. It’s all around you, yes, but it’s not you.”

            The doorbell rings and Daniel goes fetch their food.

            “What did you choose?”

            “Mac n cheese”, Johnny smiles proudly, evaluating the paper bag. “Hope you enjoy it.”

            “I love mac n cheese”, he shouts happily.

            They share a pleasant – although silent – meal. Johnny’s glad his random choice pleased Daniel, but even with all the benefits of a nap and a hot shower, he still has tons of trauma to deal with.

           “I found out Terry Silver was the owner of Cobra Kai back in the eighties. Did you know that?”, as Johnny speaks, his eyes don’t get off his plate.

            “Yeah, I know”, he’ll understand it. He knows how it feels. “I was his student.”

            A fork falls down. Little Saint Daniel LaRusso once was edgy and few-spirited enough to step inside a Cobra kai dojo? Poor Johnny Lawrence wouldn’t be ready to hear this in a lifetime.

            “This sounds too low for the kid who kicked me in the face.”

            “That kid was scared, so he made the wrong decision.”

            Daniel allows Johnny to see his hands. The scars are getting more prominent as he grows old (the wooden dummy wasn’t as soft as Silver wanted Daniel to believe. Not at all). Following Johnny’s example, the man lets his deepest demons out of his chest.

            Johnny helps him get upstairs. He can feel the shaking hands over his shoulders.

            LaRusso crawls into the bed, burying himself in covers.

            “Johnny?”, Johnny stops walking away when hearing his name. “Stay with me. Please.”

            “On your bed? Are you sure?”

            The man groans in agreement.

            Lawrence has his clothes changed for borrowed blue cotton pajamas. The mattress is wide enough for both of them, so Johnny lies down on the edge of it, as distant as he can from the other person.

            Thanks to that afternoon nap, Daniel knows he won’t be sleeping again any time soon. Johnny, and Daniel likewise, moves a lot during sleep. He rolls over his belly. Daniel now can distinguish some lines of his face in the shadows.

            John Lawrence was that kind of pretty boy during high school and nowadays, he has proven himself to be a wine man – the older, the better. He sleeps with his hands wrapped around the head and breathes slowly. The golden locks messily cover his forehead.

            Daniel has never seen anything this beautiful, therefore, he watches it carefully, hoping his brain will use this image in dreams.

            When Daniel wakes up, there’s something heavy on his neck. It’s Johnny’s arm. He straightens out of the bed and checks his phone, only to find worried texts from Amanda and missed calls from his mother.

            Rise and shine, Danny boy, he thinks, taking a last look at the guy asleep on his bed.

            Once he leaves the room, he calls Amanda, just to assure her everything is alright – and he ends up telling her that Johnny slept over.

            “Did you sleep together?”

            “Hmmm… yes?”

            “What’s the matter? Aren’t you sure whether you slept together or not?”

            “I mean, yeah, we shared the bed, but nothing happened, I swear.”

            “Are you familiar with the concept of ‘ex-spouse’? It basically means you can do whatever you want, ‘cause guess what? We’re not married anymore.”

            “I know, but it’s so recent that it feels like it’s still our bed, you know?”

            “Oh my God.  You have been sleeping alone on that bed for eight years. You should know this is your bed by now. You can share it with whoever you want”, he can hear her laugh-sighing. “I have a meeting in five minutes and since your mother volunteered to stay with Sam, you can work from home today.”

            “You’re such a good boss, Ms. Stewart. Thank you.”

            “You’re welcome, Mr. LaRusso. Oh, I gotta go, bye.”

            The phone buzzes like a crazy bee due to tons of email notifications. He makes them breakfast, momentarily picturing an ordinary morning, in which he would do Samantha’s favorite pancakes and smoothies and share the meal with her before school.

            Cut the crap, LaRusso. When was the last time you had breakfast with your daughter on a Thursday?

            "Good morning”, Johnny comes down when the coffee is finishing the brewing.

            “Morning”, he rubs his face, it’s somehow beautiful. “Is it coffee? It’s smelling good.”

            “Here, have a cup.”

            Johnny drinks it at once and he turns back to Daniel with a cute smile on his face.

            “Can you get me another cup? This sensei here needs extra energy to kick ass”, Daniel hands a cup with color of a pale piece of wood and a cover in it. “I gotta go to work now, so, thanks for the coffee”, he shakes the to-go cup slightly.

            “I should be the one thanking you, so… thanks for everything you’ve done for me.”

            “Don’t mention it”, he smiles, still shamefaced. “Feel free to call me if you need any help, ok?”

            The cool breeze freezes Johnny’s limbs in front of his car. Back at the garage, he has three hatches waiting for him. One of them has a broken glass; the other, a cast engine; and the latter, a doorknob that doesn’t work. He can fix all that in no sweat, then he drives back to where he came from without giving the idea a second thought.

            Terry Silver is a more refined character than John shaped-in-the-war Kreese. Could he be talked into changing his ways or abandoning his long-life associated (or would it be partner?).

            How could he care about their relationship when Johnny’s sure that he saw Hawk and Kyler standing behind Silver while they were talking? The upright boys looked like guard dogs. These kids have undergone a brain-wash so intense that they could beat up 16-year-old Johnny Lawrence in a jiffy.

            Johnny can’t either turn a blind eye on how Hawk kept his eyes down all the time. There’s no way the kid who came to Cobra Kai willing to learn how to defend himself and swore he would never be mocked due to his looks ever again (and also dyed his hair and had his shoulder blades covered in paint to do a spectacle out of his body) would accept being treated like a shadowy, underpaid bodyguard.

            “I’d like to see Mr. Kreese”, he informs the plaided-face butler.

            “Come with me, sir.”

            Johnny follows the “penguin” to a visits room. The purple walls show off Silver’s wealth. The decoration, on the other hand, is so ugly and corny that not even a hand-me-down store would sell it. The copper sculptures intend to give an “art gallery” atmosphere to the room, but the result looks more like a creepy tattoo parlour or haunted house – from a shitty carnival. The frames are clean on every inch of the corners whose function is to accumulate dust – and a few of them are more beautiful than the paintings themselves.

            “I really can’t get this ‘art’ thing.”

            Johnny turns on his heels. Kreese is coming in, a peaceful expression on his face, pocketed hands and sunglasses hanging from the shirt collar.

            “What do I owe such pleasure?”

            This fancy place has gotten into your mind, heh? You’ve learned manners!

            “Tory Nichols.”

            “What about her?”

            “She and her friends have been fighting people for no reason. I trust you’ve heard the news about the girl who fell off a staircase”, Johnny’s chest aches when he refers to Sam like that, just not to give away her name.

            “They’re showing how strong they are. If others are too weak to face this aggressive world we live in, it’s their problem.”

            “Tory is really strong, indeed. She almost killed the other girl.”

            “Ain’t you too attached to that kid? Or is her father you’re fond of?”, Johnny gasps for a moment. “What? Did you think someone as famous as the Valley auto king could remain anonymous if his child ended up in the hospital?”   

            “I’m a sensei who cares about my students”, Johnny straightens his spine. “Unlike you.”

            “Oh! I didn’t care about you? I made you who you’re today.”

            “Yeah, yeah. You made an excellent work”, his eyes roll. “One of my students is in a coma, the others hate me and my own son simply despises me.”

            “You can’t fool me, boy. Hawk told me that the girl believes in you, as well as the other Cobras. They all are proud of the sensei they have and are grateful to you.”

            “Is that so? Then why did Hawk go to you?”

            “Because you aren’t what he needs. It’s no one’s fault.”

            “Anyway, you’re aware that Tory has to answer for her actions, aren’t you? Do you know where she is?”

            “If I knew, why would I tell you? So you can turn her in to the cops?”

            “You should turn her in yourself. It’s called ‘civic duty’.”

            “Go ahead and fulfill your civic duty. I’m more loyal to those who are loyal to me than to the state.”

            “Presuming that you keep on protecting her, because I know you are, you might be considered an accomplice.”

            “Your prediction is unlikely to come true. For that to happen, they gotta find her first and she has been on the run since the accident.”

            “It’s very kind of you, calling it an ‘accident’”, he draws quotes with his fingers. “Tory intentionally pushed Samantha during a fight that she provoked.”

            “You and Tory are quite alike, you know? Back in the day, when LaRusso used that very same illegal kick to bring you down, how did you feel? Weren’t you angry with him?”

            “More choked than angry, actually. And guess what who was choking me? The man who taught me to fight. And just so you know, everything above the waist is legal, therefore, that move is in conformity with the rules.”

            “You didn’t think so before.”

            “I also used to think that you were a good person. Turns out that I was wrong in both situations.”

            “Lemme give you a piece of my mind. I think that you are afraid that Samantha misjudged you. Deep down, you know that she’s lying on a hospital bed because she believed your teachings would be enough for her to defend herself on a real-life combat. Let’s see if her mind will remain the same when she wakes up. Whoops, my mistake. If she wakes up.”

            Kreese doesn’t get to close his mouth before Johnny’s fist meets his teeth. Arched and covering the bloody lips with a hand, he backs off. Johnny groans and leaves the room. Looking to his left, he can see the double door to the yard, where two teenagers spar under the supervision of the ponytail man.

            “Quiet!”, the sensei yells. The students get in that stiff and intimidating position. “Hello again.”

            “Hello, Mr. Silver.”

            “It’s a pity that Daniel didn’t come. I wanted to see him again.”

            “Where’s Tory Nichols?”

            “Leave”, he says to the students. They bow and go inside. “What’s your interest with Miss Nichols?”

            “She hurt my student, whose family wants Tory to face a trial.”

            “That’s funny. I’ve been told that Daniel grew up to be a man who floats above common people and doesn’t need indemnity and stuff like that.”

            “He doesn’t want money, he wants justice. And that these fights end”, Johnny doesn’t have to say that the last phrase is his, not Daniel’s.

            “Listen, I don’t have children of my own. The closest thing I’ve ever had to off-spring are my students, but I do know a thing or two about high-schoolers. I know that they’re naturally hotheaded and are always willing to fight. It’s a shame that this one had such terrible consequences.”

            “Mr. Silver”, Johnny breathes slowly. He saw Robby doing this once. “This situation is about to become a war. Is that what you want for your students?”

            “I’m their sensei, not their mother. I won’t stop them if they want to fight and show the world they won’t be easily finished off. Some others, on the other hand…”

             “Samantha’s not weak”, Jonny clenches his jaw. “She’s an honored fighter. Some of the others, on the other hand…”

            “Honor has no place in survival, boy. What did little Sasmy get for her honor? A two-week stay at the best hospital in the Valley? How lucky.”

            I think you and Kreese are lucky that Daniel and Amanda aren’t hearing what you’re saying about their daughter, he thinks for a second. A moment later, he’s sweeping Silver off his feet. The sound of his head hitting the ground alerts Kreese, who rushes to the yard, with Tory pursuing him.

            “Oh, great”, Johnny murmurs when the girl comes at him.

            He attempts to put her away by grabbing her hand, but she’s fast and knows what to do in order to stay free to punch his throat. Johnny takes her arm and shoves her to Kreese’s direction.

            The old man helps her up, however, he doesn’t force her back to fight – like he would have done when Johnny was his student. Instead, he has Silver take Tory inside and strikes Johnny’s stomach himself.

            While Lawrence is bent, Kreese goes to his back, causing him to fall flat on his face. His eyes are buried in soil and grass. Someone hits his body repeatedly everywhere they can. The last thing he notices is that there’re no ants living on Silver’s lawn.

#karate kid #lawrusso #daniel larusso #johnny lawrence #robby keene #sam/robby #samantha larusso #robby and sam #robby/sam #samrobby

[lupinblacktheone]

[lupinblacktheone]

having a job is very weird bcos by and large your coworkers will be a variety of ages and you will not all be at the same stage of life. your coworker will be like, well I’m off home to spend time with my husband & child, what are you going to do with your evening? and you’re like, well, I plan on playing Rollercoaster Tycoon for as much as it as possible