— chapter seven, seasons!
THE LATE AFTERNOON sun shone down on Bowie as he jogged up to the peak of the hill he had set about conquering. His calves ached and sweat dripped down his forehead, but he still felt the endorphins swimming through his system and the pride in knowing he was getting closer to being ready to compete in the All Valley. Sensei Blakeway had been pushing them and the other six kids competing exceptionally hard, just as Johnny Lawrence had been doing to his students at Cobra Kai, as far as Hawk and Miguel had told him. Mr LaRusso had equally been pushing Robby hard with his training, which is where the boy was this afternoon.
Looking out over the Valley, Bowie smiled, stretching his arms up over his head and basking in the sun. His curls were growing in blonder as late springtime crept through California, and the school year was encroaching on coming to an end, which meant he had the entire summer laid out to do nothing but spend time with Robby, and maybe a little with Demetri and Eli.
His father hadn't been home in two weeks or so; he was on some poker trip with friends that had started in Canada but would most definitely end up in Vegas, meaning Robby was free to crash at Bowie's virtually every night. This worked out well for both of them, as Shannon had begun showing her face at home less and less and bills were beginning to stack up. Robby was still working at LaRusso's when he wasn't training with him, but it wasn't quite enough to pay utility bills on top of rent.
Once their breathing slowed back to a regular pace, Bowie stretched out their legs before beginning to jog down the other side of the hill, watching as the colours of the sunset began to bleed across the sky. The music playing in his ears was only interrupted by a short stream of texts from Robby, mostly just checking that the two were still meeting that evening for takeout and a movie marathon. Realising the time, Bowie upped their pace back to their house so they could get ready in time.
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Standing under the stream of the shower after half an hour of practically sprinting back, Bowie was ready to fall asleep. The heat from the water didn't help, so he turned the temperature down slightly, choosing instead to focus on the music strumming from his phone rather than his aching muscles.
Training for the All Valley had been non-stop for Bowie, yet he still didn't feel like he was in peak condition. Sure, the methods of training at Red Tigers weren't anything new or elaborate, but they worked. It was only this time around with opponents rising from Cobra Kai that Bowie really felt concerned. There was a lot riding on them and their performance in this competition; and as a former member of Red Tigers Karate, the All Valley tournament was often one of the few times a year when Bowie's older brother, Freddie, would return to the Valley. There was no point in Freddie returning to see his brother lose.
Drying his curls as hurriedly as he could and throwing on a shirt and shorts, Bowie set off on their skateboard towards Robby's, the sun beating down with the ferocity of summer even though it was only late April. The journey to Robby's apartment passed by quickly, the route ingrained into Bowie's brain somehow stronger than second nature, and Robby was there to open the door before the boy even had a chance to knock twice.
"Hey, Robby," Bowie raised an eyebrow at the seemingly joyful smile on his best friend's face. "What's gotten you grinning like a dumbass?"
"I did karate on a tree yesterday," Robby said, explaining nothing. He let Bowie into the flat, and they instantly crashed onto the couch, significantly more tired than they already were after skating across town.
"That's a new one but okay," Bowie yawned, watching through cracked open eyes as Robby seemed to sway from side to side with excitement.
"Mr LaRusso thinks I'm getting really good, yknow. He doesn't like the idea of using karate to compete but I think I could do it."
"Sure, Rob," the curly haired boy agreed, virtually asleep.
"Oh, and Daniel nearly did this two footed kick. Do you know how to do a two footed kick?"
Sighing, Bowie wrapped their arms around Robby's knees as he came walking past where they were sprawled out on the couch, pulling the boy down with a thud so that he landed on top of them.
"Let me sleep, Keene," they groaned, receiving an elbow in the ribs from Robby in retaliation.
"What about takeout and a movie marathon?"
"Wake me up when food is here, then we'll start. I ran like, ten miles today, and then skated here."
"Damn, okay," Robby rolled his eyes, giving in and sitting up, settling down at the end of the couch and pulling Bowie's legs into his lap.
"Did I tell you I met Daniel's daughter today, though?"
"If you did, I slept through it," Bowie admitted. "What did you think of her?"
"She seems nice," Robby shrugged with an attempted nonchalance that made Bowie snort. "Mr LaRusso invited me to stay for dinner after training, too."
"Is this still part of the ruse to piss off your dad?" the half-asleep boy muttered, having to open their eyes when Robby didn't verbally answer, instead only giving a small shrug.
Too tired to think deeply into it, Bowie rolled onto his side, nestling his face in one of the couch cushions and kicking Robby a little accidentally as he moved.
"If you order pizza, I promise I'll be awake when it gets here." Their voice was muffled by the pillow as they spoke.
Sighing softly with a small smile, Robby nodded, pulling out his phone to order food on and resting his arms on Bowie's legs as he did so.
"If you take a nap now, does that mean you'll be awake enough to spar me after the movie marathon?"
"We'll see, hotshot," Bowie chuckled lightly, finally able to relax enough to get some sleep.
☼
The next morning, Bowie stood, overlooking the bowl at the skatepark, watching Robby attempt to conquer a new trick. Robby had let him sleep for a couple hours longer the evening before, saving their food and warming it up in the microwave before starting the movie marathon, so he was feeling more rested than he expected to for their morning of skateboarding.
Dropping into the bowl once Robby surfaced, Bowie attempted a couple jump tricks off the ledge, landing all of them but not particularly neatly. Both he and Robby had been attempting a hand stall on the side of the bowl, and either of them were yet to achieve it.
Bowie bent his knees, bracing himself low enough to place his hand at the top of the bowl, using his other hand to hold the board to his feet. He got most of the way around before the board slipped out from under his feet and he slid down on his back into the bottom of the bowl.
"That's the closest either of us have gotten yet," Robby grinned, offering Bowie a hand up.
"One more shot before coffee?" Bowie asked, taking a seat, kicking their feet as they dangled into the bowl.
"Sure," Robby nodded, fist-bumping his best friend and pushing his long hair behind his ears. "Wish me luck."
Robby angled the nose of his skateboard over the edge, positioning his feet before tipping in, going up and down the raises a couple of times to pick up speed before attempting the trick, planting his hand. Unfortunately, his other hand didn't grab the underside of his deck in time and the board slipped out from under him.
Bowie watched, wide eyed and impressed, as Robby shifted his weight onto the hand that was planted, his legs raising in the air until he was angled in a one-handed handstand.
Their eyes met across the bowl, both wide with surprise as Robby balanced for five or so seconds before collapsing to the side, causing Bowie to erupt in fits of laughter.
"Fuck you, Woods," Robby scowled, picking himself up off the floor and walking over to where Bowie was sitting: "That was impressive and you know it."
Bowie raised his eyebrows playfully.
"In a gymnastics competition, sure."
"Alright, alright," the shorter boy scoffed, swatting at Bowie's arm playfully.
"We'll go get coffee if you admit that I got the closest to the hand stall with that."
"Like hell you did," Bowie snorted, standing up and stepping on his board, leaving Robby behind, sulking at his loss before he got up and skated after his best friend.