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Johnny opened his eyes. He had been sleeping on the sofa, having fallen asleep in front of the TV. He heard a sound and realised what had woken him up. Someone was in the apartment.
It was dark and he listened. He could hear someone shuffling around in the kitchen.
Johnny sat up slowly, trying not to make a sound. He looked around in the darkness and his eyes fell on a long thin glass vase with a slim neck. He picked the vase up, holding the neck, ready to hit whoever was in his apartment.
He crept closer to the door. He could hear the person enter the hallway. Johnny pulled the door open and raised the vase over his head.
‘Holy fucking shit!’
Johnny was face to face with Daniel, who Johnny had just scared out of his wits.
‘Jesus, LaRusso!’ Johnny breathed as he lowered the vase. ‘What the hell are you doing home so early, and creeping around in the dark like a fucking serial killer’
Daniel turned the lights on. His bags were next to the door. He was still wearing his coat and was wet from the rain.
‘Sorry, Johnny, I thought you were asleep and didn’t want to disturb you’
Johnny’s heart was still pumping from the adrenaline. He placed the vase on a side table.
‘Well consider me well and truly disturbed’
Daniel smiled. Johnny’s bad mood evaporated, and he smiled back. Johnny moved towards his partner and kissed him. Daniel kissed him back.
‘I didn’t expect you until Thursday’ Johnny said as Daniel kissed his jawline.
‘Mmmm’ Daniel hummed into his skin. ‘I decided to cut it short. There are only so many days I can spend surrounded by other car salesmen. It’s exhausting. I just wanted to come home to you’
Johnny smiled and moved away from Daniel to collect his bags. Daniel waved a hand dismissively. ‘Leave them. I’m tired. Let’s just go to bed’
Johnny started towards their bedroom. He heard a voice behind him.
‘Were you going to hit an intruder with the vase my mother gave us?’
**********************
Daniel was stretched out on the sofa, Milo, their miniature schnauzer, sleeping on his legs. Daniel knew Johnny’s routine like the back of his hand. Classes at the dojo, followed by either a workout at the dojo’s gym or a swim at the local Y, depending on the day, and then, either AA or straight home. Johnny had followed the same routine for the last twelve months of their relationship. Daniel would never tell Johnny, but he could just about set his watch to him.
Which was why Daniel was trying not to be concerned as he looked at the clock. Johnny should be home.
Daniel knew he shouldn’t worry. Johnny was a grown man and was perfectly free to do what he wanted without checking in with Daniel. But Daniel would never be able to lose that fear in the back of his mind every time that Johnny was late home. That fear that Johnny was at a bar.
Johnny hadn’t touched a drink in a year. He kept going to AA and was still in touch with his sponsor, each passing week became easier and easier. But Daniel never stopped worrying.
Daniel jumped out of his thoughts as he heard Johnny’s keys in the apartment door. He tried to look relaxed as Johnny came into the room. Milo jumped off the sofa at the sight of him.
‘Hey’ was all Johnny said as he sat down on the sofa, perched on the end so as not to sit on Daniel’s legs. He stroked their dog, who was now sitting at his feet.
‘Hey yourself’ Daniel responded. He pushed himself onto his elbows and moved his legs to give the other man space. ‘You’re late’
Johnny ran his hand through his hair, leaving it sticking up. ‘Uh...yeah. I had something I needed to do’ He looked around, not at Daniel.
Daniel looked at him with curiously. ‘Are you OK?’
Johnny looked round. ‘Yeah, I’m good. Just tired. I think I am going to get an early one, you know’
Johnny kissed Daniel quickly and got up. Daniel watched him leave the room, Milo trotting behind him.
The last couple of nights Johnny had been distracted and quiet. Daniel tried not to question him, knowing that Johnny would not appreciate the questions, but he couldn’t help feeling uneasy. Daniel knew that Johnny was not drinking, he had been with the man long enough that he would know instantly if Johnny were coming home drunk. He just had the feeling that there was something he was not being told.
Daniel tried not to be anxious but since Johnny had stopped drinking and started looking after himself again, Daniel saw the difference in him. And more importantly, the way other people looked at him.
Johnny was weight training, swimming, and eating well. It showed. He had put on weight in the right places, grown broader and visibly stronger. Daniel watched people watch him, noticed men and women checking Johnny out. At first, he enjoyed the attention his partner was getting but now he had to admit it was starting to bother him. Johnny seemed oblivious to it.
And at the back of Daniel’s mind, as much as he would never have admitted it to the other man, was the fact that Johnny was a recovering sex addict. Daniel would tell himself that Johnny loved him and would never risk their relationship, not after everything they had gone through to be together. But then his gut would tell him that something was going on, that Johnny was coming home late and being evasive about where he had been.
There were also odd marks that Daniel had started to notice. Three nights ago, Daniel had noticed three thin bruises on Johnny’s arm, as if someone had grabbed him. A few nights before Daniel had seen Johnny had a scratch in his hip, that looked suspiciously like nail marks. When he had asked Johnny about them, he had quickly changed the subject and Daniel had not pushed it further.
‘Earth to LaRusso’
Daniel jumped as he realised that Johnny was trying to talk to him.
‘Sorry. What?’ Daniel said, snapping out of his thoughts.
Johnny tilted his head, his face curious. ‘Are you OK?’
Daniel nodded and jumped up. ‘Yeah. Just thinking about what we are eating, you want pizza?’
He walked quickly into the kitchen, leaving Johnny standing in the living room.
****************************
‘Ow! Shit...fuck’ Daniel muttered to himself, waving his burnt hand around.
‘Mum, Dad said fuck!’ Anthony shouted.
‘Sorry, sorry. Just burnt my goddamn hand’
Daniel was standing at the BBQ on the roof terrace of their apartment block. Everyone was there, Daniel’s kids, his ex-wife, and her new partner. Lucille was there and Robby and even Robby’s mum Shannon. Daniel was cooking while Johnny served (non-alcoholic) drinks.
When Daniel had suggested they all get together, Johnny had been sceptical. They had never hosted a family gathering and Johnny still expected it to be awkward. Now they were all there, he was having a good time. He was playing host while Daniel cooked, and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves.
Johnny and Robby had been getting on better than at any other point in their past and Johnny had developed a friendship with Shannon that had surprised them all. The AA meetings and therapy had helped him to take stock of his life and he had been making the effort to reconnect with people who he had hurt with his drinking.
Daniel had been enjoying himself, right up until he burnt himself on the grill. He turned back to the food, clutching his hand.
‘You OK?’
Daniel turned his head as warm arms wrapped around his waist. Johnny placed his chin on Daniel’s shoulder.
‘Yeah, I’m fine. Just burnt myself. Hurts like a son of a bitch’
‘Let me look at it’
Daniel held his hand up, a blister forming on his palm. He shook his hand in pain.
‘That’s nasty. Let me get you some ice’
Before Daniel could protest, argue that he was fine, Johnny disappeared and reappeared with some ice wrapped in a napkin. Johnny took Daniel’s hand and looked at it, before placing the ice on the burn. Daniel hissed out a breath of pain.
‘Better?’ Johnny said, looking up from Daniel’s hands into his eyes.
Daniel smiled. ‘Yeah, that feels better’
Johnny kissed him on the cheek. ‘How are the burgers coming?’ He asked.
‘I knew it’ Daniel laughed, snatching the ice away and holding it to his hand. ‘You were just worried the chief would be out of commission.’ He playfully smacked Johnny on the arm with the napkin of ice.
Johnny smiled his cocky grin. ‘Hey, we have hungry hoards here. You’re no use to us injured’
Daniel rolled his eyes and went back to the grill. ‘Food will be ten minutes. Think you can hold out without starving to death in that time’
Johnny kissed him on the cheek. ‘OK, but more than ten minutes and we may have a riot in our hands’
Daniel laughed.
The rest of the day went well. Amanda introduced them to her new partner, Greg, who seemed nice enough, if a little stuffy, as Daniel had commented to Johnny after they had left. Johnny had laughed, knowing that no one was ever going to be good enough for Amanda in Daniel’s eyes.
Sam and Robby seemed to be hitting it off. A little too well as far as Daniel was concerned but he had to concede that Robby was a good kid. It was nice to see him and Johnny bonding. Robby was learning to forgive his father for the years of neglectful parenting.
That evening, as they had cleared plates and glasses away and stowed the grill away, Daniel started to think about how lucky he was. He felt like his life had all come together. He had a wonderful partner who he loved, his family were happy and healthy, and his business was thriving. But something still nagged him.
Johnny was still being secretive. Daniel knew the man well enough to know when something was on Johnny’s mind. Daniel had noticed that Johnny would pick up the mail quickly, searching through it before discarding it, as if he was looking for something. He was still working odd hours. The bruises were not there anymore, and none had appeared in the last few weeks, but Daniel would notice that Johnny would come home and head straight to the shower. There was a shower that Johnny used at the dojo and he seemed nervous when he got home, as if there was something he didn’t want Daniel to notice.
Daniel was finding himself becoming genuinely frightened that Johnny was being unfaithful.
They still attended couples therapy once a month but even there Daniel feared bringing it up. He wasn’t sure what scared him more. That Johnny would deny it and lie to him, that he would become upset at Daniel for thinking it, would attribute Daniel’s mistrust to Johnny’s past addictions, or that Johnny would admit it, tearing Daniel’s life apart with it. So, he kept his fears to himself.
1 month later
Daniel heard a vibrating sound behind him. He turned and looked down at the Ericsson on the countertop. Johnny never left his phone unattended. Daniel looked up. He could hear the shower running. Daniel stared down at the phone.
There were constant reminders as to how much Johnny loved him, the small thoughtful things that Johnny did for Daniel every day, things that Daniel had never thought Johnny Lawrence was capable of. Running Daniel a hot bath when he was late home from work, knowing he would want to relax. Ordering food from Daniel's favourite sushi place, though Daniel knew that Johnny wasn’t a big fan of sushi. Despite all these Daniel knew something was off, he could feel it in his bones.
The phone vibrated again, and Daniel didn’t think, just grabbed it. He opened the screen. Two messages from a contact called Patrick. Daniel tried to open the phone and found it locked and needing a fingerprint.
Johnny had never had a lock on his phone. Daniel didn’t have a habit of looking at his partner's phone, only knew as he had lectured Johnny at length about having no security. At the time Johnny had just rolled his eyes and accused Daniel of being paranoid.
But now the phone was locked, and Johnny was receiving messages from someone called Patrick. There was no Patrick in their life. Daniel could think of no one with that name.
The phone vibrated again. That same name came up.
Daniel heard the bathroom door open and placed the phone down quickly. He turned towards the wall, pretending to play with the radio in front of him. He tuned the radio to a classic rock station. He put his hand to his mouth. Who the fuck was Patrick? Daniel wasn’t sure whether he was going to cry or lose his temper. He had his hands to his eyes as Johnny walked in.
‘Hey LaRusso. You alright?’ a voice said behind him.
Daniel took a breath and turned, a smile of his face. ‘Yeah. Just tired’
Johnny looked concerned. ‘Are you sure? You look pale’ he commented.
Daniel nodded. ‘Sure. I just need an early night’.
Johnny’s phone vibrated again and they both looked down at it. Johnny picked up the phone and unlocked the screen.
‘Someone’s popular. You phone’s been going off all night’ Daniel commented, trying to sound casual.
Johnny looked up from the screen and smiled. ‘Oh yeah. It’s Miguel. He’s having girl problems’ He laughed, Daniel could hear the nervousness in it. ‘Not sure why he’s asking me’
Johnny turned and left the kitchen with his phone. Daniel watched him leave. He turned towards the wall, a painful lump in his throat. Johnny had lied to him.
**********************
Daniel now knew he wasn’t being paranoid. Daniel sat on the sofa looking at the piece of paper in his hands. As painful as it was to admit, he knew that if he were to approach Johnny, the other man would lie to him. To hear Johnny lie to him would have been more than he could bear, so he had wanted to make sure that Johnny couldn’t lie. Daniel wanted proof when he spoke to Johnny.
He had been intercepting the post for days and now looked down at what he knew Johnny was trying to catch before Daniel saw it. A bank statement for an account in Johnny’s name. Not the account they used for bills and shared expenses and not Johnny’s personal account. A third account that Daniel had never seen before.
Two weeks ago the account had contained six thousand dollars and three and a half thousand had recently been transferred to a random account number.
Daniel knew how much money Johnny made, he was the one who managed all their finances and helped Johnny with Cobra Kai’s admin. He saw it all go in and out of the bank accounts. This money didn’t come from any of those accounts. Who had the three grand been paid to and why?
Daniel was sick with the thought of it. Where had Johnny gotten this money and why was he hiding it? Who was he paying and what for? Daniel felt tears in his eyes as he started to tear the statement into tiny pieces and let them fall onto the carpet of their apartment.
*************************
Two weeks had gone by since Daniel had found the bank statement and he was doing something he had never thought he would do. He had borrowed a car from the dealership, one Johnny wouldn’t recognise, and he was now parked on the street opposite Cobra Kai.
Daniel knew that classes finished at four. Johnny had warned him he would be late home that evening and when Daniel had pushed him about where he would be Johnny had been as evasive as always.
So now Daniel found himself ducking down in his seat, watching students leave the dojo. He glanced at the clock. Ten past four. He waited as the sidewalk started to clear and the kids made their way home. He waited.
Daniel turned the radio on and started to nod his head to some Bruce Springsteen. He glanced at the clock again. Four forty-five. He looked at the dojo. Johnny’s car was still outside.
Daniel tipped his head back onto the headrest. He was anxious. He knew something was going to happen, could feel it in his bones and he didn’t know if he could handle the fallout. Daniel sat and seriously thought about what he would do if Johnny were cheating on him.
Was it just sex? Was Johnny falling back into old patterns of addiction? Would Daniel be obliged to forgive him if that was the case? Daniel didn’t think he could. Did that make him a bad person? What if it wasn’t just sex? What if Johnny had fallen in love with someone else? That would definitely be worse.
Daniel started to get angry. He clenched his hands into fists, gripping the steering wheel so hard his knuckles were white. He started to fantasise about catching them, beating the shit out of whoever it was. Daniel smiled with the thought of it and then shook his head.
What was he thinking? He wasn’t going to hit the guy. And what if it was a woman!? Daniel knew he was more likely to burst into tears than start throwing his fists around.
He was brought out of his thoughts by movement in the corner of his eye. Johnny was leaving the dojo. Daniel watched him lock up and walk to his car. He ducked down in his seat as Johnny pulled out of the parking lot.
Daniel started the engine and watched the car pass him before pulling out, keeping at least two car lengths behind.
He followed the car a couple of miles before Johnny pulled over. Daniel pulled over up the street. Johnny got out and walked towards a coffee shop. Once Johnny was inside, Daniel climbed out of the car and walked towards the shop on foot. He stood on the other side of the street and looked through the window.
Johnny was making his way to a table. He sat down opposite a man. The man had light brown hair stylishly cut, good looking, significantly younger than them both. Johnny was talking to him. Daniel watched him. Johnny was smiling, really smiling. Daniel looked at his face. Johnny looked happy. Daniel knew Johnny, could imagine the sparkle in his eyes that went with that smile. Daniel wondered what the man had said to make Johnny smile like that.
Daniel turned. He could feel tears stinging his eyes, the lump in his throat painful. Whoever Johnny was with, he was happy.
Daniel walked back to his car and got behind the wheel. He needed a drink.
*************************
Johnny turned as he heard the door to the apartment open. It was late. He had called Daniel and had no answer. He got up off the sofa. Daniel was standing next to the door. He swayed slightly as he took his jacket off.
‘Daniel?’ He said
The man turned towards him. Johnny narrowed his eyes at him.
‘Are you drunk?’ Johnny asked.
Daniel started to walk towards the kitchen, a stagger in his step. He didn’t answer.
‘Daniel?’ Johnny put his hands on him and turned Daniel around, so they were facing each other. ‘You’re drunk’ he said.
Daniel shrugged him off. ‘So what. Just because you can’t handle your drink’, he said nastily.
Johnny stepped back, stung by his words. He followed Daniel into the kitchen. He was confused. Daniel was angry about something. He had noticed that Daniel’s behaviour had been off recently, but he had never been angry.
‘Daniel, what’s going on? Are you mad at me? Did I do something wrong?’ He said to Daniel’s back, still following him.
Daniel turned and looked at him. ‘I don’t know. Did you?’ He waited, still swaying.
Johnny was silent. ‘I don’t know what I’ve done’ he finally said.
Daniel laughed bitterly. ‘Fine. Suit yourself, Johnny’
He turned and left the room, slamming the door to their bedroom behind him. Johnny stared at the door.
*************************
Daniel left for work before Johnny was awake. He moved through his day like he was sleepwalking. He dreaded the thought of going home. He knew he would have to talk to Johnny. He had given Johnny the opportunity last night to come clean and now Daniel knew he was going to have to confront him.
The afternoon came and went. Daniel looked at his phone. Half past five. He sighed. He wondered how long he could drag it out. Daniel went back to his computer and started to sort through his email folders, as good time as any to organise his archived items.
Two hours later and Daniel knew he couldn’t hold it off any longer. He had to go home.
Daniel pulled up outside their apartment. He looked up. The lights were on. Johnny was home. Daniel walked slowly towards their apartment. He unlocked the door and stepped inside. Johnny was waiting for him.
‘Hey Daniel’ he said tentatively.
Daniel grunted in response.
‘Are you OK?’ Johnny said. Daniel could hear the nervous edge to his voice. The sound of it made Daniel angry.
‘No. No, I’m not’ he said.
Johnny paused. ‘Do you want to talk about it?’
Daniel just stared at him, amazed that Johnny had the balls to ask him if he was OK. He clenched his fist with anger. ‘What’s going on, Johnny? And don’t fucking lie to me’
‘What do you mean?’
Daniel had never seen Johnny like this. He looked nervous and he was wringing his hands, moving them from his front to his pockets and back again. He just looked so fucking guilty.
‘What do I mean? The late nights out. You have a secret bank account’ Daniel could feel himself getting upset. He turned away. ‘Just tell me, what was the money for?’ He turned back. ‘And who the fuck is Patr….’
He stopped. Johnny was down in front of him, on one knee, holding a red box.
‘What are you doing?’ Daniel said, his voice strangled.
‘I wanted to do this, and I didn’t know how, and you were starting to get suspicious. I didn’t know now to do it, how the fuck do you propose to a dude anyway?’ Johnny was talking fast. ‘I have a ring and I don’t know how to ask you. And then you got angry at me and I was worried that you were planning on leaving me, so I thought fuck it, you know’ Johnny suddenly didn’t seem to be able to stop talking.
‘What…. you….’ Daniel didn’t know how to respond. His emotions were all over the place. He had been so angry just moments ago and now Johnny was doing a really poor job at proposing. Daniel almost laughed.
Johnny took a deep breath. ‘Daniel, I love you so much. I just…. I want to marry you’
Daniel just stared at him.
‘I’m sorry I didn’t have a better speech prepared. I’m not good at this stuff’ Johnny said self-consciously.
‘You’re serious?’ he said.
Johnny huffed out a laugh. ‘Yeah, I’m serious. I got you a ring and everything’
Johnny stood up and opened the box. There was a white gold band inside. Johnny took it out, his hands shaking. Daniel took it from him. He gasped. The ring was engraved with the same lotus symbol that was on Daniel's precious headband that Mr Miyagi had given him all those years ago.
‘Oh Johnny,’ was all he could say.
‘I had it made specially, by a jeweller in Okinawa, where your Sensei came from’
Daniel just looked at it. He couldn’t breathe.
Johnny looked at him, watched his face. ‘I hope you like it. I didn’t know if I was supposed to get a ring, thought that might just be for chicks, but then I thought of this but I knew I would never find one, so I had it made, and then I didn’t know how to propose and….’
Daniel cut Johnny’s nervous ramblings off with a kiss. Johnny kissed him back.
‘Johnny, I love it. I will. I mean, I do. I mean, yes. Let’s get married!’ Daniel was smiling, suddenly so happy.
Johnny laughed and took the ring and went to put it on Daniel’s finger. He looked confused. ‘I’m sorry, I don’t even know what hand I am supposed to put this on’ he laughed.
Daniel pointed. ‘The left one’
Johnny smiled. He put the ring on Daniel’s finger. It fit perfectly.
They kissed.
‘You were planning this all along?’ Daniel asked.
Johnny looked sheepish. ‘Yeah. I was trying to save some money, I wanted to be able to do this properly. I started teaching extra lessons to some female police officers, self-defence, you know’.
‘The bruises!’
Johnny laughed. ‘Oh yeah. Those ladies are brutal and do not pull their punches’
‘Hmmm’ Daniel said, thoughtful. ‘And Patrick was the…?’
‘Jeweller. He helped me find someone who could make the ring’
Daniel felt suddenly very silly. He looked down at the ring. ‘God, Johnny. I was convinced you were cheating on me. The money, the late nights. I... fuck...I followed you. I saw you with him and you looked so happy and I thought…’
Johnny held his chin and brought his eyes up to him. ‘I was happy. I was planning on asking my partner to marry me’
‘I’m so sorry, Johnny. I can’t…. believe I thought you would…. because of your…’
Johnny looked at his feet. ‘Because I’m a sex addict?’ His voice betrayed his hurt.
‘I’m sorry’ Daniel didn’t know what else to say.
Johnny looked up at him, looking Daniel in the eye. ‘I would never, never cheat on you. I’m sorry, I wasn’t handling this as smoothly as I thought I was. It never occurred to me that you would find out. It does all look pretty suspicious now you put it all like that’
Daniel laughed. ‘We’re a nightmare. We deserve each other!’
‘Yeah. I think we do’ Johnny smiled and kissed Daniel.