Chapter Text
“Something on your mind, Johnny?”
Johnny Lawrence sighed and leaned back into the couch, letting Carmen snuggle closer to him. Something on his mind, huh? Sure, one could say that. There was so much going on that he could barely focus on the movie playing out in front of him. Or really enjoy the beer he’d been nursing for the last half an hour.
First, there was LaRusso. Working with him wasn’t going as well as he’d hoped. Sure, he’d put the past in the past, but there was simply too much about the guy that bugged him. From his long-winded moral lessons to his insistence on doing things his way… it was a wonder that their little alliance hadn’t fallen apart yet.
Then there was Miguel. He was worried about the kid… like, really worried. Sure, his recovery had been nothing short of miraculous, but the kid had this tendency of pushing himself way beyond his limits. As if he was desperate to prove something.
And then there was Kreese and all the shit he’d been up to…
But the thing on Johnny’s mind right now…
“Johnny?” Carmen prompted, giving him a worried glance.
“It’s no big deal.” Johnny replied, knowing that she wasn’t going to take no for an answer. “I got a call today… my dad’s sick.”
“Oh… I’m sorry.” She bit her lip, trying to think of something to say. “But… he’s rich, right? I’m sure he’s getting the best care there is.”
Johnny frowned at her, confused. He was certain that he’d never actually talked to her about him. And then it dawned on him…
“No - not Sid. Sid’s my step-dad.” Johnny clarified. “I’m talking about my real dad. He’s… sick.”
“Your real dad?” Carmen sat up, pausing the tv and putting a comforting hand on his knee. “Your… biological father?”
“Everyone has one of those, right?” Johnny chuckled in response. “And apparently mine isn’t gonna last long.”
“Johnny...” Carmen wasn’t sure of what to say. “I’m… sorry.”
“I’m not.” Johnny shrugged. “I mean, the guy’s old. Everyone’s gotta die some time.”
What was she thinking? Did she think he was a monster for caring so little about his own father? And was she right?
“When… was the last time you saw him?” Carmen asked, and Johnny could practically hear her trying not to judge.
The last time… that was a memory he really didn’t like to visit. It’d been years since he’d actually thought about it. But today, he couldn’t get it out of his mind.
“When I was thirteen.” Johnny replied. “Sid was… being a real pain. And I thought that… maybe… living with my dad would be better. So I ran away from home. Found his address on one of my mom’s old child-support cheques and tracked him down.”
“And he turned you away?” Carmen asked painfully.
“He didn’t have to.” Johnny shook his head. “When I got there, he was playing in the yard with two kids - a boy and a girl. He saw me standing there and just… waved. He didn’t even know who I was...” Johnny sighed, rubbing his temples. “That was the worst part, you know? It’s one thing thinking that your dad just isn’t interested in being a father. But seeing him there like that… with them… it was like, it was just me he didn’t want to be a dad to. Like I wasn’t good enough to be his son or something...”
There… just like that, it was finally out. The big secret he’d carried with him all these years. The thing he’d told no one - not even his own mother. He’s come home that night, feeling hopeless and ashamed and gotten grounded for being out past curfew… and he’d buried the incident deep, deep inside of him.
“I’m sorry...” Carmen wet her lips and there was genuine sympathy in her voice. “Johnny, you know it wasn’t your fault, right?”
But Johnny Lawrence didn’t need anyone’s pity.
“It was a long time ago.” He shrugged. “Yeah - that really pissed me off and I really hated him for it, but I learned to live with it. So it really doesn’t matter anymore.”
“He never tried to reach out until today?”
“He did. Once. When I was… twenty?... I think.” Johnny replied. “Called me out of the blue and said how sorry he was for never being there for me. How much he regretted it and how he’d like to try to better...” He chuckled at the memory. “I told him to fuck off. He wasn’t there for me when I needed him to be… so he doesn’t get to be there when he needs it.”
“Still...” Carmen sounded uncertain. “If he was willing to try...”
“He wasn’t, alright?” Johnny scoffed. “It was just some half-assed bullshit to make himself feel better. If he was really interested in having a relationship, he’d have tried harder. Like… a lot harder.”
And that was that.
Johnny had debated talking about it. Wondered if he wouldn’t simply reopen the old wounds. But talking to Carmen and actually vocalizing his feelings had given him some clarity on the matter. He had no reason to feel guilty or ashamed about this. That asshole was the one who’d abandoned him and his mother and Johnny didn’t owe him anything.
“So… what did he have to say today?”
“It wasn’t him. It was my… half-brother...” Johnny smiled at the notion. “He said that dad was not long for the world. That the thing he regretted most in his life was abandoning me. And that if I could let him make amends… if I could… visit him and tell him that I forgave him...”
“Maybe you should.” Carmen suggested. “You don’t have to mean it… just give the dying man some peace of mind. It’d be the kind thing to do.”
Johnny shook his head. “I can’t leave. There is too much going on here. The tournament’s in just a week and - ”
“Daniel can handle it.” Carmen interrupted. “And I’m sure everyone would understand that this is important.”
“But it’s not important.” Johnny argued. “Being there to support my students - that’s what’s really important right now. Not traveling halfway across the country to talk to some guy I haven’t even thought about in years.”
“Johnny… this could be your last chance.” Carmen tried again.
“And that’s fine with me.” Johnny shrugged, confused at why she was fighting him so hard on this. “Why do you care anyway? You don’t even know the guy.”
“I care about you.” Carmen snapped, exasperated. “I don’t want you to regret this later. I don’t want you to miss this chance because of pride… or spite… or whatever...”
Johnny leaned back, thoughtfully sipping his beer. She meant well… he could see the concern on her face in the TV’s dim light and she wasn’t entirely off base here. Johnny had a long history of making dumb decisions out of anger that he came to regret later.
But this wasn’t one of them. He didn’t feel happy to find out that the old man was dying. It gave him no joy to know that his father had regretted abandoning them. Nor was there any lingering desire to get to know the man. No matter how much he tried, he couldn’t bring up an ounce of emotion about the whole thing from inside of him.
“I won’t.” Johnny replied calmly. Confidently. “Look… I know it sounds spiteful or whatever, but honestly, I just don’t care about the guy. And I definitely don’t owe him anything. Everything’s that’s actually important to me is right here and it’s happening right now. Missing that… that’s what I’d really regret.”
“Then why has this been bothering you all day?”
So she’d noticed it after all. Johnny had tried pushing it to the back of his mind every time the thought had come up, but something must have shown in his face anyway.
“It doesn’t bother me… and that’s what bothers me.” Johnny sighed. “Like you said - he is my dad, right? Maybe… it should mean something to me. And if it doesn’t then… what does that say about me?”
No… that wasn’t it. Or atleast, not all of it.
There was something else about the whole thing that had unsettled him. A sense of unease… of foreboding… one he simply could not shake. It felt like the universe was setting him up for an ugly joke and if he could only see the punchline coming…
The ringing phone saved him from thinking about it further and Johnny picked it up in annoyance. Who the hell thought it was a good idea to call at this time of the night?
“Johnny?” Carmen asked with a concerned look on her face when she saw the confused one on Johnny’s. “Who is it?”
Not someone he’d expected to call him at all. Definitely not at this hour.
“Johnny?”
“It’s Shannon.” Johnny replied, wondering if he should just let it go to voicemail.
Shannon Goddamn Keene…
She always found a way to ruin his day, didn’t she? Well, not like he was doing much, but she didn’t know that, did she? He could’ve been in the middle of a date for all she knew. But she didn’t care that she could be messing up something good for him. Not when it came to her needs and her demands…
And what the hell was she doing in a bar anyway? Wasn’t she supposed to be clean? The glass of Sangria in front of her definitely didn’t look AA compliant.
“How many of those have you had?” Johnny asked, testily.
It figured she’d call him of all people after getting wasted. She was probably too ashamed to face anyone else in her life. Well… no matter. He could put her in a cab and call LaRusso in the morning to -
“None.” Shannon replied, stone-cold sober. “Yet.”
So what the hell…?
“I’ve been staring at that drink for almost an hour now.” Shannon went on without looking up from the glass. “And it’s taking everything I have not to down it. I can’t… I can’t do this alone.”
“So you called me to stop you from drinking?” Johnny asked, incredulously. “Me? Shan… you always said I was the one who drove you to drink. And I’m not exactly good at getting people not to drink.”
“There was no one else...”
“What about LaRusso?” Johnny shrugged, annoyed. “Or… what is it called? Your life-coach.”
“Dammit, Johnny - I don’t need platitudes right now.” Shannon snapped. “I don’t need someone to tell me to be brave, to be strong… to have hope. That’s what I’m gonna get from them. What I need is someone… someone who’ll give it to me straight. Someone who can give me a real reason not to drink...”
And that’s supposed to be me?
This was a shitty deal… a real shitty deal. It was like his ex was setting him up for failure just so she could blame him afterwards. But he had to try and there was only one thing he could think of doing.
“Alright.” Johnny cleared his throat and sat up on the bar stool straighter.
“Get your act together, Ms. Keene!” He started, sharply. His voice was up a few decibels - enough to make some of the other patrons turn and look at them curiously. “This is pathetic! You are pathetic! Are you gonna let a glass of some pussy wine kick your ass? Now show me you got some balls and throw that glass away!”
The whole bar was staring at them by now… half of them were probably concerned about a guy yelling at a chick in public and getting ready to call the cops on him. While the other half were enjoying watching him make a fool of himself. But that didn’t matter because Shannon was staring at him dumbfounded and if this worked....
Shannon laughed.
And then she laughed harder… and kept laughing while Johnny grew redder and redder with embarrassment.
“I’m sorry… is that how you teach at your little karate dojo?” She asked, wiping tears of mirth from her eyes. “Did you really think that drill sergeant act was gonna work on me?”
“You’re the one who said...” Johnny started. Then shook his head, exasperated. “Screw this. I’m clearly not the one who can help you. I’m calling LaRusso and he can deal with your drama.”
Yeah, that was a good idea. That’s what he should’ve done from the start instead of coming there, trying to be the “nice” guy. Being a nice guy was for suckers and that was Daniel’s job, not his.
Johnny took out his phone and started scrolling down the saved numbers trying to find the guy on the list.
“I went to see Robby today.”
He stopped.
“Daniel told me about Robby joining Cobra Kai.” Shannon continued. “And he told me about… Kreese. About what kind of person he is. It’s all true, isn’t it?”
“Yes.” Johnny replied, tonelessly. Whatever LaRusso had told her, it had to be true. “Even Daniel doesn’t know the half of it.”
Shannon nodded. “I wanted to get him out of there. I wanted him to come back and live with me. For us to… start over...”
Despite himself, Johnny could feel his hopes getting up.
Don’t be a dumbass, Lawrence. She’s here, isn’t she? About to break her sobriety? She wouldn’t be here if it’d actually worked.
“What did he say?” Johnny asked, dreading the answer.
“That people don’t change. That I wasn’t going to change.” Shannon replied. “He said that I was lying to myself that I could do this. That sooner or later, I was gonna fall off the wagon and things would go back to how they used to be. That he was done letting me screw up his life. And...” She let out a sad laugh. “The fucked up thing is, I’m here right now, about to prove him right.”
Dammit, Robby. Why would you…?
“Don’t listen to him, okay? This isn’t him talking. This is Kreese.” Johnny told her. “This is what he does - he gets in your head and twists you up from inside. The Robby I know would never say something like that.”
“Then you don’t know him at all, because this is exactly the kind of thing he would say.” Shannon sighed. “This is what Robby does… he gets angry and he lashes out. He hones in on your weakness, your worst fears and uses them to tear you to pieces.”
That… was true. Johnny had been on the receiving end of that biting tongue too many times to deny it.
“I don’t know how to get through to him.” Shannon went on. “I… tried but… It’s not like I don’t see where he is coming from. I’ve failed him so many times… why would he trust me again? But he needs to get away from Kreese, doesn’t he?”
“Yeah, he does.” Johnny agreed.
“I want to help him but… I’ve given him no reason to even believe that.” Shannon laughed sadly. “It’s funny if you think about it… I wasn’t there for him when he needed me… and now that I need to be there for him, he wouldn’t let me.”
The words hit Johnny like a bag of bricks. He stared at Shannon, blinking and speechless, as they sunk in.
The silence rode on, prompting her to turn and look at him.
“Johnny?”
Johnny snatched the drink in front of her and drank it all in one go.
“Hey!”
“What?” Johnny snapped back. “You wanted me to stop you from drinking, didn’t you? That’s one way to do it.”
This was it - this was what was behind the unease he’d been feeling all day. All of Robby’s life he’d been so afraid of being a father like Sid - or worse, Kreese - that he’d turned into…
Oh God, what did I do?
He’d failed his son.
No - he was failing his son - present tense. He was so afraid of letting him down that he was letting him down by not being there when he needed him. All that rage and anger and hatred Johnny had felt towards his own father, Robby now felt towards him. And he deserved it.
So did he deserve the same fate too? Was that where his life was headed?
Would he carry this regret with him the rest of his life as well? Would he end up like him - a dying old man, begging his son for just one visit? Only to get a cold shoulder and casual indifference in response?
“No… I won’t let that happen.”
“What?” Shannon frowned at him.
He could still fix this. There was still time for him to fix this because… because Robby still needed him. He needed him to save him from Kreese, to put him on the right path, to help him get his life back together. And if Johnny could do that… if he could be there for his son through all that…
“Johnny, what’s going on?” Shannon asked, snapping her fingers in front of his face.
“We’re gonna help Robby.” Johnny replied, sitting up straight. “We’re gonna save him from Kreese. From Cobra Kai.”
He got an exasperated look at the proclamation.
“Weren’t you listening?” Shannon said. “I tried, but he is not listening to me...”
“Then I’m gonna do it.” Johnny said, determined. “We have a plan, alright? To shut down Cobra Kai and get rid of Kreese for good. And it won’t be long now.”
“The tournament?” Shannon stared at him confused. “Daniel told me the same thing… but how the hell is that supposed to help Robby? He’s gonna fight for Kreese - you get that, right? If your students beat him, he’s gonna hate you for that.”
“Shan - ”
“I want to keep him out of this, alright?” Shannon snapped. “This whole karate war… this is your mess. He got caught up in it, he got hurt because of it and now you are planning to hurt him even more?”
“This is the only way.”
“That’s not good enough.” Shannon said angrily.
“Well, that’s all I got.” Johnny snapped back. Then he took a deep, calming breath like LaRusso had taught him. “Listen… If I could think of any way to keep him out of this, I would. But Kreese has gotten into his head. And...” Johnny sighed. “And that’s my fault too. Robby was hurting and alone and… I wasn’t there for him. He needed someone in his corner… someone to tell him it was gonna be okay… and I… That’s how Kreese got his claws into him and this is where it has led. And if there was anything I could do to change that...”
Johnny shook his head in regret before continuing. “But what I can do is be there for him from here on out. Kreese… he’s just using Robby to get back at me. And if Robby fails him… if he lets him down… Kreese will abandon him like he abandoned me. He’ll turn on him.”
“And that’s supposed to be a good thing?” Shannon asked.
“Yes. Because… I’ll be there to protect him.” Johnny replied. “I give you my word, Shan - I’ll be there for him this time. No matter what, I’ll be there for him and then he’ll see who really cares about him. Who is really on his side.”
Shannon sat there, quietly staring at the empty glass.
“But you need to be there too.” Johnny went on. “When I bring him back home, you need to be there and you need to be sober. You get that, right? You just need to hold on for a few more days.”
He wondered if she was actually listening. The way she was staring dead ahead, it didn’t look like she’d heard a single word.
But then she nodded.
“You promise?” Shannon asked, her voice barely above a whisper. “I have your word that you’ll fix this?”
“Yes!” Johnny replied, firmly. “I give you my word… I won’t let Robby down again.”
He’d let his son down way too many times… and too many times he’d hid behind his past failures to rationalize not trying again. No more… this time, this was one promise he was going to keep.