Work Text:
Bobby rubbed his eyes tiredly as he looked over the mound of papers scattered on Johnny’s countertop. Ever since returning to the Valley, he felt like he was doing more work outside of his job than the times he was actually on the clock.
Not that he minded though. Nowadays he was just over viewing other people’s projects and signing off on them rather than being the one involved in the nitty gritty. Being high enough up that you just got to sign off on things and get a fat check would have been the dream to many but Bobby had found the joy in his life had slowly just been drifting away. A large part of why he came back to the Valley was because of that.
He needed something that made him want to get up in the morning again, that made each day worth it. That being said, dealing with Kreese’s bullshit and trying to fix the legal issues of Cobra Kai was not easy. More often than not he had to spend half his time trying to rub the headaches away. However, Bobby was finding himself putting stock in Cobra Kai too.
Johnny had told him why he’d put the dojo back together, why he was doing it. Now he was seeing the importance of it though, not just in the kids but in the change in Johnny. Bobby couldn’t know all the details of the past decades, but Johnny had become more honest, at least with him. He told the truth about the problems and issues he was fighting. There wasn’t that constant wall of false cheer that Bobby remembered from their youth. It made Bobby want to fight harder for a newer and better Cobra Kai but also for Johnny.
After all, the memories hadn’t only been bad and if he could make the most recent memories of Cobra Kai good ones…
The work had been slow but Bobby was getting somewhere. He’d been going over some of his latest findings with Johnny who was now in the shower before they went and grabbed lunch, finally taking a break from the paperwork.
Bobby was reorganizing the papers when he heard a knock on the door. Glancing towards Johnny’s bedroom, he could still hear the water running. Practically only two seconds passed before the person knocked again so with a tired sigh, Bobby got up to answer it. He frowned as he saw who was there. “Are you one of Johnny’s students?”
“What? No,” the kid scoffed. A bag hung around his shoulders and he stood with his arms crossed, a distrusting look on his face. “Who the hell are you?”
“Tell me who you are first.”
“Not until you tell me what you’re doing in my dad’s apartment.”
Bobby blinked, eyes widening. Johnny had told him bits and pieces about his son. Bobby knew that though the relationship wasn’t great, they’d both been trying over the past few weeks and Johnny had even told him of a few lunch outings they’d gone on.
A grin slowly slid across his face as he leaned against the doorframe and looked at the kid. “So you’re Robby. It’s nice to finally meet you.”
“Whatever. You still didn’t tell me who you are.”
He couldn’t help but chuckle a bit. He could already see Johnny’s stubbornness in his son. “An old friend of your dad’s. You can just call me Bobby if you want.”
“He never mentioned you.”
“Well, it’s been about two decades since we last spoke so I’m not really surprised. He’s in the shower right now so you might as well just come in and wait for him.”
Robby hesitated but Bobby moved back to sit down at the countertop, leaving up the choice to him. As he finished stacking the papers and putting them into files, he heard the door finally close and Robby’s presence draw nearer.
“So you’re named Robert too?”
“Yep.”
“Are you my namesake?”
Bobby looked over. The kid was clearly digging, which considering the relationship between him and Johnny made since. They probably felt more comfortable learning things about the other through outside people. It didn’t require the personal confrontation that they were so unfamiliar with.
Still smiling, Bobby said, “Oh yeah, totally.”
“Then why don’t I believe you,” Robby suspiciously murmured. He crossed his arms again, ready to say more just as Johnny finally walked in.
“You’re buying this ti—Robby.”
They both froze and Bobby looked with intense interest as the two stared at each other. Johnny still had a towel around his shoulders, his hair damp as a dawning since of guilt seemed to come over him while Robby seemed to have passed through all the stages of grief to land at acceptance.
“You forgot.”
“I didn’t I just—I did. I completely did,” groaned Johnny. He rubbed his eyes tiredly. “What are you doing here though? I said I’d pick you up.”
“It doesn’t matter now,” Robby sighed. He glanced over and then shook his head. He was ready to leave without a word and one glance at Johnny showed he’d probably let him. Neither knew what to do. Technically, Bobby didn’t know either. He didn’t have a kid, but he liked to think he was a bit more emotionally grounded than the two in front of him.
Bobby took a step forward. “We are not ending things like this.” He grabbed hold of Johnny’s and Robby’s shoulders.
“Hey—”
“I’ll start,” Bobby said. “I’m sorry for distracting your father. We’ve both had a difficult week but that’s no excuse.” He turned silent but the two just stared at him. Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, he hit Johnny in the shoulder. “Your turn!”
“Uh…yeah. I’m…I’m sorry. I should have paid attention to the time…should have…yeah.”
At that, Bobby did roll his eyes. It was very much a Johnny style apology though Bobby was honestly impressed that he’d used the word ‘sorry’ at all.
“Alright, your turn kiddo.”
Robby made a face. “Kiddo? Really?”
“Would you prefer miniature person?”
“Hey, I’m still growing!”
“Just child then?”
“God, did you have to name me after someone so weird?" groaned Robby.
“What…” Johnny trailed off and quickly hit Bobby in the shoulder.
“Ow!”
“I already said I didn’t name him after you!”
“And I’m supposed to believe it’s just a coincidence?” Bobby leaned up against Johnny with a grin. “I’m the light of your life.”
“More like the pain in my ass.”
“Just keep telling yourself that,” Bobby laughed. He gestured back at Robby. “It’s still your turn.”
“For what? To apologize? I—”
“No, about why you’re here,” Bobby said.
The annoyance on Robby’s face disappeared to reveal a sad show of acceptance. “It doesn’t matter now.”
“Sure it does,” Bobby replied. “You don’t want to become a miserable, emotionally stunted man when you’re older right? Like your dad.”
“Hey!”
Bobby was pleased with the chuckle that he managed to get out of Robby as Johnny glared daggers into the side of his head. “So,” chuckled Bobby, “why’d you come?”
The smile dropped from Robby’s face once more but instead of trying to back out of it again, he simply let out a soft sigh. “Instead of…instead of grabbing lunch I was wondering if…well movie and pizza. Just sit in and…but never mind.”
“Robby…” Johnny sighed.
The look on Robby’s face was honestly heartbreaking, even more so by the fact that Bobby had the feeling that the kid hadn’t believed his dad would say yes even before he’d found he’d forgotten. “You’ve got company—”
“No. I—we both need a break,” Johnny said, his own fatigue leaking through. “And I’ve been meaning to introduce you to my friend. If you don’t mind Bobby sticking around.”
Robby cocked his head to the side. There was hope in eyes, some shock even, but he held both emotions off as he slowly said, “I guess not…but are you sure?”
“Of course I’m sure. You can pick the movie and I’ll order the pizza.”
Robby hesitated. He seemed astonished that his dad would still agree. Finally, a smile broke across his face and he said, “I’m guessing you don’t have Netflix.”
“What’s a Netflix?”
Robby snorted. “Figured as much. Just promise me you’ve got an HDMI outlet.”
Johnny blinked in pure confusion. Very slowly he raised his hand and pointed at a wall outlet in question.
Robby actually laughed and though Johnny was still completely confused, he smiled at the sound. Robby looked to Bobby and asked, “Any better with technology?”
“I’d like to think so,” chuckled Bobby. “I’ll help you set it up. Johnny, you do what you know.”
Johnny rolled his eyes but pulled out his phone all the same as Bobby walked over to the TV and readjusted it to better get at the ports on the back. Robby took out his computer and an HDMI cable, handing one end to Bobby.
“So…I’ve never heard of you. Or seen you around,” Robby slowly said.
“It’s been a few decades since your father and I talked,” Bobby answered honestly. With the cable connected and the TV on, Bobby sat down on the couch and let Robby do his thing. “Last time we spoke was at his mother’s funeral. And before that the last time we saw each other was a few days after graduation.”
“So you went to high school together?”
Bobby nodded.
“Why come back now?”
“Well, I guess you could say I was lonely,” Bobby shrugged. “Missed home and everything. I’ve stayed because…well let’s just say I want to help as best I can.”
“With what? What’s got both of you so stressed?” asked Robby, raising his voice a little and causing his father to pause.
Johnny and Bobby looked between each other. It was obvious that Johnny didn’t want to spell out his problems. However, Bobby felt that Johnny being honest now would be a good step in the right direction. He glared at him with a pointed stare.
It didn’t take long for Johnny to cave. He let out a tired sigh and said, “Pizza first and then if you really want to know, I’ll tell you. How does that sound?”
“Yeah, fine by me. If I can help…”
“Doubt it. But hey, maybe going through the details will give us another idea,” Johnny sighed. He walked over and fell on the couch next to Bobby. “Pizza is ordered. What movie have you got?”
“It’s this older—”
“Unless it’s in black and white, it doesn’t count as old,” Bobby interrupted with a pointed look.
Robby laughed. “Whatever you say. In that case it’s not a new one. Demolition Man? I’ve been in a retro phase and it looks like pure 90s action. Thought it might be up your alley.”
“Must have passed me by,” Johnny said with a shrug. “Put it in.”
Robby rolled his eyes at the outdated phrase and started the movie. He hesitated but he eventually sat down next to his dad. Though perhaps a bit awkward at first, the arrival of the pizza broke the ice. As the movie played, Robby asked a few questions and Johnny got into the zone of telling a few stories from his and Bobby’s youth. Bobby also asked what Robby was off too, surprised that he was really learning karate under Daniel LaRusso of all people.
Despite the near constant back and forth throughout the movie, they only dared to mention Kreese and their issues with Cobra Kai after the film was done and the pizza boxes empty.
Though it felt good to vent a bit, no new ideas really came from their conversation as they opened up to Robby and told him the truth. At least there weren’t any new ideas until Robby suggested one. Bobby’s eyes lit up in surprise.
“No,” Johnny said. “Absolutely not.”
Robby tried again. “Considering the people he knows, he could have access to the records that you—”
“I am not—”
“I think it’s a good idea,” interrupted Bobby as Johnny gaped at him. “What? We’re not eighteen anymore.”
“I don’t—”
“Dad,” Robby sighed, “I think a compromise could happen. Just trust me on this. I’ll warn him beforehand so you don’t surprised him but—”
“It could work,” Bobby finished.
“I…Christ. Are you two really talking me into this?”
Bobby grinned and looked over at Robby. “I think we are.”
At Johnny’s loud groan, Bobby and Robby laughed in response.