Content warning: canon-level violence, PDA, discussions about the future, Robby worrying about becoming Johnny, mention of Robby's parents' relationship and how he came about, etc.
-
"Cal, I need you to help me with Demetri. You know him, and he's..."
"Anal retentive? Lacking self-esteem? Whiny?"
"All of the above." Daniel chuckles.
"I'll help." Cal laughs.
"I could try to help too?" Robby offers, toweling off his hair.
"Might be a good idea!" Cal smiles, watching him nod and walk into the closet to put on some clothes.
"Perfect, tomorrow? Say 11 o'clock?" Daniel hopes.
"Sounds good. That good for you babe?" Cal calls.
"Yeah that's good!" Robby yells back.
"Great. Thank you, thank you, thank you! You are a lifesaver!" Daniel smiles, kissing Cal's head before he leaves her room and closes the door.
"How bad is this going to be?" Robby laughs, jumping into Cal's bed.
"He's a good kid. He just doesn't like to go out of his comfort zone, like ever."
"So pretty bad huh?"
"Pretty bad." Cal laughs.
-
"Cal! Can you please tell Mr. LaRusso that I'm fragile." Demetri begs, stopping the kata.
"You're only fragile because you haven't learned your strengths yet. And you can't learn those strengths by doing nothing. You've got to power through. You're only hurting yourself by not trying."
"I'm hurting myself trying!"
"Everyone hurts themselves at first, that's just the way of the world. Now stop stalling and do your kata." Cal says pointedly, watching him sigh but nod.
"I didn't know how whiny you meant till now." Robby chuckles, getting back into position on the floating dock in the pond. Cal laughs, grabbing onto him as she teeters on the dock. Robby holds her by her hips, both moving to the center.
"You know, I still haven't danced with you yet." Robby smiles, looking down at her.
"Huh. Well we can change that pretty easily." Cal smiles, wrapping her arms around his neck.
"No music though."
"We don't need it." Robby smiles, nodding before pulling her closer, kissing her forehead softly as they sway.
"Can almost tune out the grunting and whining." Robby chuckles.
"Almost." Cal giggles, turning to look over her shoulder.
"See! He can do it! He's just stubborn as all hell!" Cal whispers, pointing to the two.
"Huh, sounds like someone else I know."
Cal huffs before pushing Robby off the dock.
"Cal! Come on!" Daniel yells over.
"He deserved it!" A soft squeal makes it out of her lips as Robby tilts the dock towards him making her slip down into the water with him.
"I am so glad we drove separate cars!" Daniel calls, laughing slightly.
"I don't have to do that right? I'm not the most adept swimmer and like I've said my limbs are disproportionate and I really can't-"
"Okay! That's enough for today!" Daniel groans, completely exasperated.
"Did I break him?" Demetri asks worriedly as he walks over to a soaking wet Cal and Robby.
"Not entirely. You just have to try more Demetri. You can't keep interrupting or second guessing."
"Cal - have you met me?"
"I have indeed, and I believe you can do this if you try. I wouldn't have begged you to join if I didn't. You just need to get out of your own head!"
"My head is attached to my body Cal! It's hard to get out of it!"
"You are smart enough to know exactly what I meant, don't even try that shit with me."
"Look, man," Robby sighs standing up from the ground, "I get it. It all seems ridiculous. The chores, the kata, but it serves a purpose. If you don't do them - you're setting yourself up for failure. Ask questions, don't make excuses, and just try. Before you give Mr. LaRusso an aneurysm preferably." Robby chuckles, patting his shoulder.
Cal watches Demetri deflate and nod before he walks away.
"Thank you for stepping in."
"Could tell you were getting aggravated." Robby chuckles, helping Cal off the ground.
"He's a smart kid, nice too... he's just so set in his ways and he can't see anything else to be in the realm of possibility."
"He'll learn, like we did."
"I hope so."
"Keep believing in him. You never gave up on me, don't start."
"I won't. I know he can do it. I just need to smack some sense into him." Cal giggles.
"Sooner or later he'll realize it's all to help him, hopefully that comes before you smack him."
"He better hope so." Cal jests, making Robby laugh.
"You do punch pretty hard, sensei." Robby bows, still laughing.
"Stop it!" Cal chuckles, "I'm not a sensei!"
"You could be!"
"Doubtful. Not old enough or experienced enough. The last tournament I won was when I was seven!"
"Think you'll do All Valley next year?"
"I'd like to... just don't want to mess up or make Uncle Danny look bad." Cal explains softly.
"Hey," Robby holds her waist to stop her from walking away, "You could never make him look bad. You helped teach me and I got second place! If you mess up, you mess up. You're only human flower. Messing up doesn't make you look bad, only if you don't learn from the mess up - that's when you look bad."
"When did you become so wise?"
"I had someone believe in me before I ever believed in myself. She stuck by me through some of my worst moments, she showed me how to learn from those and make myself better, and I did. But I never would have been able to without her by my side cheering me on." Robby smiles, kissing her forehead.
"She sounds really great." Robby laughs, nodding in agreement.
"She is. I hope she'll take her own advice."
"Me too." Cal whispers, hugging Robby tightly.
"Come on, we should get home. Try to talk Mr. LaRusso off the edge." Cal laughs, agreeing before separating from the hug and walking off into the dojo and out to the car.
-
"Sammy! You came in today!" Cal exclaims, getting off the ground from beside Robby.
"Overheard the Demetri dilemma last night. I figured you could use another buffer." Sam smiles, giving her sister a hug.
"Thank you, so so much, truly!"
"Anything for you sis." Sam looks behind them at the pond, "Wonder if we could all fit on the deck?"
"Won't know if we don't try." Robby shrugs.
"Did you bring a change of clothes?"
"Yeah, I learned from the first time! No more algae clothes for me!" Sam chuckles.
"Found that out the hard way yesterday." Cal laughs.
"I heard."
"Ready to go girls?" Robby asks from the pond, waist deep in the water with his shirt now off.
"Yeah, let me take my shoes off!" Sam calls.
Cal heads into the water walking to the opposite side of Robby.
"Maybe a triangle formation?" Robby offers.
"Good idea! We just have to keep ourselves equidistant apart! We just need to find the three medians of our triangle to balance since we won't all fit in the centroid." Robby and Sam look to Cal with wide eyes.
"What? I suck at most math, just not geometry or financial math!"
"Dumb it down?" Robby begs.
"We need to all be the same distance from each other in order to balance on the deck. If we step off without the others, we will all be in the water. If someone falters, we all move to the center to keep balanced. Make sense?"
"Yes! Much more sense!" Sam nods.
"We're all gonna be in trouble with algebra II come fall." Robby laughs.
"Don't remind me." Sam groans.
"All right! On three?" Cal proposes, putting her hands on the dock.
"Yep!"
"Let's do it."
"Okay, one, two, three!" All three teens pull themselves onto the dock, wobbling slightly as they gather their bearings.
"Strong work everyone!" Daniel calls from the dojo, making the three smile.
"Okay, in a circle! Step one, punch two-"
The three go for it, still a bit wobbly due to the weight distribution but no one has fallen in yet so they all take that as a win.
"I don't know if we'll ever use this in a fight, but if we're ever forced into a dance battle, we're set."
Cal and Sam laugh, their chests falling forward, making the weight uneven again.
"Ooh!" They yell as they wobble.
Robby reacts quickly grabbing both of their arms to stabilize the dock.
"Uh, hey, are we doing shirts versus skins? Cause I prefer to be a shirt." Demetri stops, looking to Sam and Cal, "Not saying that you two have to be a skin. Uh... unless you want to! I support your right to choose." Sam and Cal nod, trying not to laugh.
"Demetri! Over here." Daniel calls, seemingly benefiting everyone who wanted to get out of that awkward conversation.
"Again?" Cal posits, looking to the two.
"Think dad may need your Demetri duties." Sam laughs, pointing to the two, seeing that Demetri was now holding his leg in pain.
"Think you're right. Um... when I jump off, you two rush to the middle okay?"
"Jump?! Are you crazy flower?!"
"I'll be fine! I'll use the dock as a spring board!" Robby looks unconvinced.
"Okay, ready?"
"We can't talk her out of this can we?"
"Not a chance." Sam grumbles.
"Hey! I know my limits! Just let me do my thing! Now, are you ready?"
"I guess." Is the general consensus, making Cal roll her eyes.
"Count of three! One, two, three!" Cal jumps into the grass by the pond, landing close to the edge but still safely on the ground.
"I told you I could do it!"
"Yeah, yeah, show off!" Sam laughs.
"Do you... want to be here, Demetri?" Daniel asks exhaustedly, watching Cal come to his side, her arms crossed over her chest.
"Not really." Demetri admits annoyed.
"Then why are you here?" Cal posits softly, looking for him to bare his soul.
"My whole life I've been, let's just say, less than popular. But at least I had a few friends! And then Cobra Kai comes to town, and next thing I know, my friends are taking karate and becoming alpha jerks... well, besides Cal, but she still scares me sometimes." Cal stifles a laugh with her hand looking to him to continue.
"I'm literally being threatened by my best friend. I just wanted to show I could fight back."
Daniel nods, sighing as he steps closer to the lanky boy, "Look, I understand what you're going through. I do. But Miyagi-Do isn't about showing off. It's about self-"
"Self-defense. I-I know. Problem is, my 'self' is too weak." Demetri starts walking away, leaving Daniel staring at his back and Cal staring at Daniel.
"Let me talk to him." Cal says softly, running out of the dojo.
"Demetri, wait!" Cal calls, running towards him.
"I know what you're going to say Cal! That I'm only weak because I won't do the things to make me strong, that I'm capable, that I need to stop interrupting-"
"You're right on all accounts. But you were wrong Demetri, your 'self' is not weak."
"I have limbs like noodles!"
"That's not what I meant." Cal laughs softly.
"I meant that someone who was weak would have never even bothered to try this, or come back to it, or even entertain the thought. Yeah, you don't have a lot of muscle definition, but you have one muscle that's really strong."
"Yeah which?"
"Your heart. I know how much you care about Eli. I know that his actions have caused you pain and made you feel alone. But you aren't alone when you're here, and I think that's why you keep coming back. Even though you think you can't do it, you come back because you know it's safe here, that you're safe here. Just don't write it off entirely. Take a break and try again later. But don't give up, please?"
Demetri sighs before nodding his head, making Cal smile and give him a big hug.
"Thank you."
"You've saved me more times than I care to admit so I kinda owe you." Demetri chuckles.
"You owe yourself." Cal shrugs.
"Hey! I was thinking maybe we could all go to the mall for a late lunch? Have a little Miyagi-Do student bonding time?" Sam proposes, walking over with Robby.
"I need to grab something from the mall anyway." Cal shrugs, looking to Demetri.
"Me too?"
"Are you gonna stick around?" Robby asks with a smile.
"Uh yeah... just after a break."
"Then yeah, you too."
"Um sure. I'll head home to change and meet you all in the food court?" Demetri proposes.
"Sounds good! We'll see you there!"
The three wait for Demetri to leave before Cal looks to Sam appreciatively.
"Thank you."
"Figured if we can show him that he does have some friends he may be more inclined to try." She shrugs.
"You are a genius and I love you." Cal hugs Sam tightly.
"Love you too sis. Now let's get dressed. We should probably get there before him." Sam laughs.
"Another bright idea!" Cal exclaims, grabbing hers and Robby's change of clothes from the back of the car.
-
"Wait, wait, wait - Cal, why haven't you changed your license over to California yet?" Sam inquired as she looks at her sister's driver's license.
"Well, when we went to the DMV to put in the name change they realized that I wasn't registered in California, because I honestly didn't know if I was going to be staying. But when we figured that I would be, I put all the info in and they said they would mail it to us. I just haven't gotten it yet." Cal shrugs.
"At least you don't look bad in yours." Robby huffs out a laugh.
"Oh you cannot say that and then not show us!" Sam chastises.
"Hey, I haven't seen it either and I'm your girlfriend! So come on, hand it over!" Cal holds out her hand expectantly.
"No laughing!" Robby warns, grabbing his wallet.
"Oh this is gonna be good." Sam whispers to Cal.
Robby hands over the license with a groan, letting the two look at it.
"Oh ho ho!" Cal starts, covering her mouth.
"Sweet man bun." Sam laughs, making Robby laugh.
"I told you it was a horrible picture!"
"You know if you were my boyfriend at the time I could've warned you this was a fad!" Cal giggles, kissing his cheek.
"Yeah, well, I'm stuck with it for five years, so no biggie, right?"
"Wait. 'Robert Swayze Keene'?" The two look at Sam's glowing eyes at the find, making Robby chuckle.
"My mom was a huge fan of Patrick Swayze. He was an actor in the 80s."
"Babe, she's seen Dirty Dancing, like, a hundred times." Cal laughs, earning a lightning fast nod from Sam who is still beaming.
"My mom made me watch it all the time."
"Made you?" Sam questions.
Robby leans side to side before relenting, "Okay, maybe I liked it." Sam chuckles just as Demetri puts his own tray on the small table.
"I'm more partial to his performance in Donnie Darko." Demetri huffs as he sits down before continuing his rant, "Interesting movie. Eh, time travel logic left a lot to be desired." Sam, Robby, and Cal share a knowing smile before Demetri speaks up again.
"Wait. Is today Wednesday?"
"Yeah."
"Mm-hmm." Demetri bolts out of his chair, pushing it back in haphazardly.
"The new issue of Dungeon Lord came out! Um... do you guys want anything from the comic book store?" Demetri asks, pointing to them.
"I think we're good, right guys?" Cal offers, watching Sam and Robby smile and nod in agreement.
"Okay, I'll be right back! Make sure no one throws away my chicken!" Demetri runs away, leaving the three behind laughing as quietly as possible.
"He's a goofball, but at least he's fairly polite." Sam admits.
"He's a good kid, just has some ADHD tendencies."
"Some?!" Robby ekes out, putting another fry in his mouth.
"Stop it!" Cal whines, pushing his shoulder.
The three engage in idle chitchat as they finish their meals, still waiting for Demetri to return.
"That chicken is gonna get cold." Sam points out.
"He's been gone for a while, maybe we should pack it up and look for him?" Cal offers.
"Yeah, that's smart." Robby agrees.
"I'll get his food wrapped up and you two clean off the trays?" Cal and Robby nod, taking the empty trays over to the trash cans.
"Maybe we could get your license redone sooner than five years?" Cal proposes.
"Yeah? How?"
"You just have to move house..."
Robby sighs, "Flower, I can't put that on the LaRussos."
"I thought you would say that, so here is my next offer. We both have jobs, we both have free rent right now... maybe we could set some money aside for when we turn 18 and get our own place?" Cal tries, looking to Robby.
A smile quickly creeps onto his face, "You want to live with me? All on our own?"
"When it's legal... yes."
"I'd love that, flower. Truly." Robby smiles, holding her jaw and giving her a soft kiss.
"Ah!" The two part from their kiss at the sound of a yell.
"That's Sam." Cal says worriedly, taking Robby back towards the table they were at, finding Eli and his goons surrounding Sam and Demetri.
"I don't wanna have to hit a girl." Eli spits.
"You wouldn't stand a chance." Robby speaks up getting into the circle. Cal slinked around back taking Demetri and putting him behind her, further away from the mob.
Eli scoffs, "Five against four? More like three and a half."
Cal watches the large black boy come behind them before going to Robby. She watches Eli nod, "Robby behind!" Cal yells in just enough time for Robby to shake him off and block Eli's kick.
"Don't get hurt please." Cal begs of Demetri before joining into the fray, kicking the boy Sam had just punched back in the side. He comes at her again, but Cal swipes under his legs, making him fall back on his ass. Soon they find themselves in a triangle again, working in tandem with each other with Demetri snug behind them as they kicked and punched their way through the bullies.
Hawk rushes towards Sam only to be kicked in the head by Cal. Soon three of the five are laid out, leaving Hawk and a new guy in an ugly orange shirt fighting.
"Demetri look out!" Sam yells. Robby grabs Demetri and holds him with his face covered, away from Eli's fist while Sam barrel rolls over his crouched body to kick the orange shirt in the neck. Cal hears "No, no, no!" And takes out the boy in the Quicksilver shirt who had tried to swing on Demetri while Robby fought Eli one-handed, his other grasping Demetri's shirt for dear life. But one hand means no hand to block, leading to Eli elbowing him in the head. Robby quickly pushes Demetri out of the way and towards an opening. Cal hook kicks Quicksilver while Sam double foot kicks orange shirt with the help of a table. She hears Robby pushed into a table before she can see it. Sam grabs Demetri leaving only Eli, Robby, and Cal in the fray. Cal watches Eli run up and jump with his fist high and quickly backflips into the air landing a scissor kick to his chest, making him crash to the ground. Robby catches Cal as she comes down, smiling, before they walk over to Demetri and Sam hearing the crowd "Ooh!"
"We saved your chicken." Sam says, handing him the styrofoam container.
"Thanks."
"We should all probably get out of here before mall security ruins our little moment of victory." Cal whispers, earning quick nods from the rest of the group.
-
"It's like we were back at the pond. You went left-"
"And you went right, and Cal took up the slack!" Robby says excitedly.
"Yeah!" Sam laughs.
"And I can't believe how high you got in that back flip!" Robby exclaims.
"Me? I can't believe how high Sam got off that table!" The three laugh not noticing the distressed Daniel rushing in.
"Hey. Hey, mom told me. You guys okay?"
"Yeah."
"Yeah, dad. We're fine."
"All right, good. Good." Daniel pants, looking between the three, "What happened?"
"Well, they were gonna hurt Demetri." Sam starts.
"We had to do something." Cal finishes. The three nod together looking to Daniel worriedly.
"Are you mad at us?" Sam asks nervously, gritting her teeth.
"What?" Daniel shakes his head, "No, I'm not mad. I'm proud of you! Karate isn't only about self-defense. It's about protecting others." He takes in a big breath of air to calm the nerves he had before walking into the kitchen to find all teens with all appendages and no blood.
"Just don't give me a heart attack like that ever again. All right? I mean just cause we train to fight doesn't mean I ever wanna see you in a fight."
Daniel directs his focus to Robby, "And you..." Robby squeezes Cal's hand harder, "I'm glad you're part of this family." The squeeze dissipates as Robby breathes out and smiles.
"Cal... you really are your father's daughter." Daniel chuckles.
"Demetri could use some motivation... he didn't want to join us." Cal explains softly, gesturing behind them with her head where Demetri was sat at the outside table, looking at his hands.
"All right..." Daniel says under his breath, leaving the three teens for the lone one.
-
"Moon, hey, it's okay." Cal says into the receiver, grabbing Sam and walking them both down the stairs and outside away from prying ears.
"It's not okay. I'm so sorry."
"Hold on, I have Sam." Cal puts her phone on speaker, the soft cries of Moon now enveloping the outdoor patio.
"Moon? What's wrong?"
"I'm so sorry Sam. I didn't know he was going to do that, I swear!"
"Hey, we never thought you did!" Sam reassures her.
"I don't know what he was thinking! The tattoos, the Mohawk, the muscles - all that I like, but the bullying? I can't be around that again. I know how that made me act and I can't do that to someone again." Moon says softly, hiccuping.
"Hey, it's gonna be okay Moon. We're still here for you. We always will be. I'm sorry you guys broke up but maybe this'll be the wake up call he needs?"
"I really hope so. I knew that they were a bit harsh there but I didn't know this is what they were teaching." Moon explains.
"We know. We were never mad at you. Your boyfriend... er ex? That's who we are mad at. Never you. You're completely separate to him."
"Thank you. I'm so sorry."
"Don't be sorry hun. Just do us a favor and take a nice long shower, get some rest, and we'll all talk in the morning and everything will be fine. It's high school, people act out, we can't change that."
"Okay, okay, thank you. Both of you."
"You are more than welcome. We'll talk to you tomorrow?"
"Yeah, yeah. Thanks again." Moon hangs up leaving Sam and Cal looking at each other nervously.
"Do you think it's our fault?" Sam asks worriedly.
"No, she made her own choice to end it. We just showed his true colors." Cal tries to reassure her.
"Then why do I feel bad?"
"Because she's our friend and she's hurting." Sam nods, looking at the small fire in front of her.
"Do you remember when we used to make s'mores out here?"
Cal giggles, nodding, "We thought we were so slick until Aunt Amanda found the glob of marshmallow in the fire."
"Well... we're older now, maybe we should see if we can get away with it?"
"I like the way your mind works."
The two laugh before grabbing the necessities and setting up in front of the fire. Sam opens the grate, pushing a marshmallow onto one of the metal prongs and rolling it around the flame.
"You two are still up, huh?" Robby asks, sauntering over.
"Too much adrenaline." Sam shrugs, making Robby chuckle.
"Do you want a s'more babe?" Cal asks, twisting her own marshmallow.
"Never say 'no' to free marshmallows." Robby smiles, sitting down beside her. She pulls the marshmallow from the fire, handing over her tong to Robby as she holds it against a Graham cracker. Robby takes the prong and puts his own marshmallow on, putting it into the fire.
"Hold on... are you making a s'more with a peanut butter cup?" Robby asks laughing, looking over to Sam.
"I call them Sam-mores. I'm kinda a genius." Sam shrugs, taking a bite.
"They're not bad. But I'm more partial to the OG chocolate... or if I'm feeling frisky a crunch bar chocolate!"
"A Crunch bar chocolate? Flower!" Robby laughs.
"Hey! You don't need a Graham cracker that way!"
"Cal just doesn't like Graham crackers because a goose bit her hand when she was trying to eat one." Sam explains, earning a shove from Cal.
"A goose?! Flower, where did you find a goose?"
"At the park obviously!"
"We were like... what? Five?"
"Yeah around there." Cal nods in agreement.
"Went down to a park up north for winter break with both our families. Cal found a goose, but she thought it was a duck."
"Because even at five my father warned me about how evil geese are!"
"Yeah well clearly you weren't paying attention!"
"That goose was small and white with an orange beak! It looked like a damn duck!"
"Whatever you say Cal!"
"So what happened?"
"I was eating Graham crackers out of a baggie and I went to sit by the duck-goose because I liked to feed the ducks but only if they would come to me first. The thing came over and I stood up in an attempt to be the more imposing figure. I reached my hand in the bag, grabbed a Graham cracker and before I could even hold it forward the damn thing bit my fucking hand!"
"She was screaming and hitting the goose on the head with her bag of Graham crackers! Uncle Jackson had to literally pry it's jaws apart!" Sam laughs, nearly falling backwards.
"It was not funny! I got the fucking bird flu!"
"How?!"
"There are strains of avian influenza that are transmissible to humans, I was just unlucky."
"Geez flower!"
"Yeah, tell me about it!" Cal groans.
They spent a few more minutes eating their s'mores before cleaning up and heading to bed.
"Hey... do you really want to live together?" Robby asks softly, laying his chin on her shoulder as she braids her hair.
"We kinda already do." Cal chuckles.
"I mean when we're older? Do you really want to live with me?" Cal puts her brush down, tying off her hair before turning around in his arms.
"What's wrong? Why are you acting so nervous? ... Do you not want to move in with me when we're older?"
"No! No! That's not it! It's just... you should go to college and live a normal life... I don't want to take you away from that."
"Why do you think you would be? There are great colleges in California. You could go to community college or a trade school or just work! Why would you think that moving in together would take me away from having a normal life?"
"Because I'm not exactly the most normal guy?"
"And I'm not the most normal girl, so we have that in common... now spit it out." Cal says softly, holding his cheek in her hand.
"I... I don't want to become my parents." Robby whispers.
"I'm not following..."
"My mom and dad got pregnant with me pretty young and they only got together because of me. They were miserable flower. They are miserable. I don't want-"
"Hold on, just a second. Robby, one, we haven't had sex, two, I'm on birth control and we will be getting condoms, three we didn't get together because I got pregnant, and four, we're not miserable... at least I'm not."
"I'm not either... I just don't want to fuck up your life like I fucked up my parents."
"You won't. I mean, if I got pregnant would you leave me?"
"No, no, no! I swear to you, I wouldn't! But I am terrified that I'll become my father. I'm scared that I'll hurt you and I will never forgive myself if I do that."
"So don't do that. Don't hurt me. You are not your father any more than I am my mother. I love you Robby. I'm not scared that you'll become your father because I know how much you don't want to become him. I know that you will do everything in your power to be the exact opposite of him. So don't beat yourself up over something that hasn't even happened yet! Take a deep breath for me." Robby sighs, taking a deep breath.
"I'm sorry. I do love you Calanthe. I'm just scared."
"Hey, it's okay to be scared. You can't let that fear ruin your life or the life you want. Do you trust me?"
"With my life."
"Then trust that I know you and love you. And I know you are not and never will be your father." Robby nods, hugging her close to his body.
"Thank you."
"I'm always here Robby. Always."