Work Text:
A few weeks had passed since the All Valley tournament. A few weeks since LaRusso's legendary victory, since Johnny’s near death by Kreese and Mr. Miyagi’s aid to him. After that night, Johnny and Cobras had left Cobra Kai for good and became just a regular group of teenage boys. They had stopped bullying, pushing people around and Johnny most certainly stopped doing silly things to earn Ali's attention. He was just going to his classes and hanging out with his friends. He was not even interested in LaRusso anymore.
Daniel, on the other hand, was not much different than usual. Him and Ali had decided to end their romantic relationship after dating couple of weeks and oddly enough, Daniel wasn't heartbroken. He liked her more as a friend anyways. The moment their lips touched, Daniel had felt awkward, it just didn't felt right. Ali was now dating another red-haired boy from the choir.
Daniel's knee hadn't been healing very quickly, he was still struggling to walk on one leg, grimacing at times from the pain. Strangely enough, at times like these, he always caught Johnny's eyes on him. However the blond boy wasn't wearing his usual gruesome triumphant grin, but an almost guilt-ridden expression on his face. Daniel didn' thought much on it, just minded his own business.
It seemed like LaRusso and Lawrence had signed a sort of unspoken peace treaty. They didn't talk, they didn't fight, they just greeted each other with a simple nod. It was basic, human, civilized and simple, the way they had never treated each other in the past. But they gotta admit, it was better than all those fighting. So they just avoided each other, at least until that evening.
Johnny was studying late at the library to complete his research paper, and the whole school was quiet, just like his brain. After missing classes for three years, it wasn't easy to try to put things back on track in his last year, just as it was not easy to find a resource on the Epic of Gilgamesh.
God he was a complete idiot, he really was. It was just one simple book, how hard can it be to just read and write a few sentences about it?! It was hard, so hard. He couldn't understand those fancy poetic lines, what the mentioned dreams represent and why the hell this Gilgamesh guy was always always fighting with someone? Like why this dude couldn't just calm his ass down.
Johnny drew in a breath and scribbled a few sentence for the first part of assignment, summary.
Once upon a time in the city of Uruk lived a king named Gilgamesh, who was as cruel as he was powerful.
King Gilgamesh would abused his people and ruled his kingdom with ruthlessness, regardless of the cost.
"That's dumb." Johnny muttered and closed his notebook.
This was a waste of time, he could never write a good paper on this book, hell he couldn't even make proper sentences. And still there he was, spending his entire evening in a library like a nerd, still not being able to write a single damn thing. He got up and left the library full of a feeling, mixture of anger and disappointment. A feeling that rarely left his side those days.
As he was walking towards the parking lot, he heard a sound. It was something in between groaning and writhing, it sounded like someone was needing help. At first, he didn't care, why should he care? It was none of his business. But leaving Cobra Kai and realizing the Kreese's mistakes had made him a bit of pussy... and almost human. Not much, just a little bit. Still enough to change his way from parking lot to this sound, to help.
There was a person, Johnny saw from the distance. Lying on the stairs, struggling to get up. A scrawny, dark haired boy... Wait, it was not just any scrawny, dark haired boy... it was his scrawny dark haired boy.
“LaRusso?”
Daniel squinted his eyes and looked over him with a smile as if everything was alright.
“Johnny, hey, hi man.”
"What are you doing here?"
"Me? I was walking down the stairs and wanted to get some rest. And said 'This is a great place to just lay down and relax.' What do you think man? I fell. Because of this damned leg.”
Johnny made a displeased expression and continued to watch LaRusso struggle to get up on his feet while standing unbothered with his hands in his pockets.
“I thought nothing could break your balance. What was the name of your movement again the… stork or was it the sparrow?”
“You know it's a crane.” Daniel groaned, finally giving up and throwing himself to the ground, where he would die in such agony.
Johnny sighed and grit his teeth at the guilt he felt. As much as he was making fun of LaRusso, he didn't want that, he didn't want him, in this state. It was all Kreese's fault, he thought but still a part of him didn't believe it and probably never would. It was his fault too, for being so stupid to fulfilling every order from his ex sensei without questions. For being too blind.
He took his hands out of his pockets and bent over LaRusso.
"Let's go."
Daniel, on the other hand, was staring at him in surprise as Johhny’s hoarse voice was soft in a way he hadn't heard before. He suddenly felt Johnny's hands on his waist, and just as he was about to open his mouth to protest, he instantly found himself on his feet. Daniel looked at him with angry eyes and pink cheeks.
“Thank you Johnny for your help, but I could have handled it myself.”
“Yes, yes I am sure. Come on, let me drive you home."
“No need for that man, I'll go myself. I don’t need your-” Daniel took a step forward and immediately lost his balance as the sharp pain from his ankle spread to his whole body. Daniel jumped in pain and found himself grabbing the collar of Johnny's shirt and holding onto him.
"help." he finished his sentence, but Johnny wasn't listening.
“I think you had sprained your ankle.”
Daniel breathed out of his nose, arms still on the other boy's chest as he tried to stand up straight.
"You think ha? Yeah, another limb that I cannot use for a lone time, it’s not a big deal for me."
Johnny sighed and cursed himself. He didn't want to deal with LaRusso, especially not when he was being a sarcastic little shit. But his guilt was pushing him into this, he couldn't just leave him alone after breaking his one knee.
“How will I get home?” he heard Daniel mutter as he tried to get back on his feet.
"I have a car, I'll drive you home."
"I don't think I can even walk to the car."
Daniel bit his lip and his shoulders dropped with a hopeless sigh. Johnny's stomach made a funny thing right then, he had to make this better. He didn't want to see LaRusso like this, this hopeless. That kid didn't lose his hope even when they beat him to death, that little bastard still pranked him and fought back. This acceptance was not suiting him.
The brunette's eyes widened with fear as Johnny looked at him with cloudy eyes, lost deep in his own thoughts. Johnny was now so much bigger and stronger him, he looked scary.
“Are you planning to beat me up?” Daniel asked, trying to sound sarcastic, but it sounded more like he was scared.
Johnny made an expression which looked like he was offended.
“You're kidding, right? What am I? A bully that beats people who are in pain even from walking?”
Daniel raised an eyebrow and Johnny averted his eyes. He really was that kind of a bully.
"Come on, it's going to get dark." said Johnny trying not to sound bitter.
"I told you, it hurts, I can't walk."
“What will you do then?”
"Leave me here and go. My mom will come to look for me when I don’t show up and-”
Johnny rolled his eyes.
“For God's sake LaRusso, why do you have to be so dramatic?” he said, and he suddenly took the scrawny boy in his arms.
Daniel squeaked and grabbed his neck as Johnny carried him in bridal position. Great, thought Daniel, it was wonderful. The only thing that he didn’t experience in life was getting carried by Johnny Lawrance.
“Put me down! Are you out of your mind man?!”
“Can you calm down please? Just hold on and keep quiet or I'll drop you."
Daniel shut his mouth instantly. But the silence only gave him more time and clearer mind to process the situation, so naturally his cheeks went darker. Johnny Lawrence wasn't exactly high on the list of people he liked, but he still wasn't going to deny that the boy was as handsome as the devil himself. And he had a beautiful body and also strong arms. Strong arms wrapped around Daniel’s body.
Daniel's heart was beating fast like a race car, but that was normal right? After all, it wasn't every day that someone carried him in their arms. And it was quite normal for his stomach to feel slightly jittery when his lungs were filled with Johnny's usual pungent perfume.
And Johnny was just trying to ignore how LaRusso's body fit in his arms. Like not in a weird way, it just... drew his attention.
“You can get some rest if you want, put me down for a while.” said Daniel innocently.
Johnny grinned.
“To rest? LaRusso, you're lighter than some of the things I lift at the gym."
Daniel frowned.
"That’s not true."
"Yeah, you’re like a bird."
Daniel rolled his eyes.
“Anyways, this bird beat your ass.”
“More like crane.” Johnny said, and screeched like a dying bird.
Even though Daniel was angry, he couldn't help but grin. He was uncomfortable in the arms of his ex-arch nemesis and joking around was making this a little bit less awkward. Daniel was trying real hard to not look him in the eyes because he knew he was going to blush like girl with a crush if he did. So he looked over Johnny's shoulder.
“I feel like your girlfriend.” confessed Daniel and Johnny grinned.
“Watch out, many get addicted to this feeling.”
Daniel rolled his eyes.
"Yeah sure, that's why you're single, right?"
“Shh, are you being mean to your boyfriend?”
"Okay, stop it." Daniel snapped which made Johnny laugh.
When they finally got to the car, Johnny took a look around. He didn't want to be seen like this; If anyone saw him carrying LaRusso like... that, they might get the wrong impression. The last thing he needed was a stupid rumour. Confirming that no one was around, he dropped LaRusso gently to the ground.
"Get in."
And they set off. Neither of them said a word during the ride. It wasn't strange though, they barely even spoke before that. There was no need to start now. Besides Daniel still hasn't recovered from getting carried by Johnny Lawrence, while Johnny was battling the guilt that gnaws at his heart and the burden of his responsibilities at the same time.
“What were you doing at school at this hour?” Daniel finally asked.
Johnny squinted his blue eyes so that the setting sun wouldn't affect his vision.
"It is none of your concern."
Daniel didn't answer, just nodded. He wasn't upset, he was just hurting. He rubbed his knee involuntarily and a small groan escaped from his lips.
Johnny swallowed, he might have done some serious harm to the boy. It was killing him, knowing LaRusso’s pain was because of him.
“I got an assignment for some extra credit, I was trying to do it.”
That caught Daniel's attention.
“I didn't think you were the type to worry about much extra credit.”
Johnny grit his teeth.
“I'm just trying to graduate with a mediocre GPA, and this assignment was supposed to make up for the years gone by. I have to get this done so I can get into a mediocre college and live a mediocre life.” Johnny said and instantly regretted, why was he saying all these?
“So how did the research go?”
When Johnny glanced at the brunette in anger, he saw his doe eyes shining with curiosity. He wasn't making fun of him, no. He was really asking him with a sincerity he hadn't heard for the longest time.
He took a deep breath and steered towards the road to Reseda.
“Like shit.”
"What's the topic?"
“The Epic of Gilgamesh.”
He felt Daniel fidget with excitement.
“I had read it.”
"Really? Good for you."
“I mean I can help you.”
When they arrived Daniel’s house, Johnny suddenly stopped and fixed his sardonic gaze on the boy.
“I don't need your help, LaRusso.”
"I know you don’t, but I can help if you want…"
Johnny tightened his chin. Why was LaRusso behaving that way? He was making it hard to hate him.
“Why do you want to help?”
Daniel shrugged.
“Because I can. Because you deserve to graduate with a mediocre GPA and go to a mediocre university and live the life you want.”
The blonde laughed bitterly, as if the boy had just told him a joke.
"I don't deserve shit."
“You're a better man than you think, Johnny.”
Johnny swallowed slowly and looked into Daniel's eyes. He wasn't really kidding.
“Even after I made you this way?” Johnny asked as the guilt pooled in the back of his throat and made his voice hoarse.
“There are no bad students, there are bad senseis. And man, yours was like the hellhound you know?”
He was right, Johnny hated how right he was. The only father figure in his life, the man he trusted the most had turned him into a ruthless person. He had tried to strangle him to death because he got the second place, because he lost. As far as Johny knew his punishment for losing had to be death because there were no defeat in that dojo. But there was also no Kreese anymore, no Cobra Kai. There was only Johnny and Daniel.
“Thank you for the help Johnny, see you soon.” said Daniel and reached for the door, but Johnny made a sudden decision to stop him.
“LaRusso, wait.”
Johnny felt strangely safe and warm as Daniel looked at him with his big brown eyes. He looks cute, thought Johnny as smiling with a regretful expression.
"I’m sorry you know?.. For the fights and all that stuff."
Daniel smiled and nodded.
“I know. It's okay, it's all in the past now. And to be honest… I actually kinda miss it.”
Johnny laughed till he realized LaRusso was not kidding. Then he raised an eyebrow at him, not believing that he heard it right.
“You miss our fights?”
“Not fights specifically… I don't know. I guess I miss having some kind of communication.”
Johnny smiled as Daniel's cheeks flushed. That boy was a complete idiot, a very cute idiot with big doe eyes and rosy cheeks.
“Stop talking like a girl LaRusso, if you want to talk to me, come over. I'm not going to bite you."
Daniel rolled his eyes.
“Easy for you to say, your so called 'Cobras' are impossible to approach. Dutch looks like he's going to rip my head off, the others hate me, and you…”
Johnny grinned.
"What am I?"
Daniel bit his lip.
"Nothing."
“Are you too shy to come and talk to me?”
“I couldn't have known your reaction, man! What if you were thinking our hostility had never ended?”
Johnny nodded and smiled slyly.
“If you miss me that much and my friends are bunch of unapproachable creepy watchdogs… then I guess I have to come to you.” he said as Daniel rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, I'm sure you would do that."
Johnny grinned when he saw that the brunette boy wasn't taking him seriously. Okay LaRusso, he thought, I guess I have to show you then. Daniel opened the car door and unbuckled his safety belt.
“Drive carefully, Johnny.”
“See you tomorrow, LaRusso.”
Johnny couldn't help but stare as Daniel got out of the car with a shy smile and walked on his now stronger ankle, over to his mother who had been waiting for him on. When he finally threw himself safely into his mother's arms, Johnny realized that the he was fine, and stepped on the gas pedal with a self-satisfied grin. He had a new addition to his paper in his mind.
Unable to endure the horrifying actions of King Gilgamesh any longer, the gods sent a creature as powerful as him to earth to put Gilgamesh back on the right track. Enkidu was the name of this man who was wild enough to be called as a creature. Enkidu was the one who was supposed to make Gilgamesh a better man.
------
The next day, Johnny drove his car to school. Normally he liked to go with his motorcycle, but maybe he would get another chance to drive LaRusso back to his home. So he took his car. It was no big deal, just being prepared.
As soon as Johnny arrived to school he found his friends talking over the lockers and went over to them. The Cobras, on the other hand, fell silent when they saw him approaching.
“Gossiping, ladies?” Johnny teased, scanning the crowd with his eyes.
"Don’t be silly, it's not a big deal!" Jimmy muttered to Tommy, and Johnny turned his attention to him.
"Don't." snarled Tommy, but Johnny was already curious.
"What's going on?"
“It's nothing Johnny-”
“These losers went and talked to LaRusso, Johnny.” squealed them Dutch.
Johnny frowned.
"What?"
“It's not like we're betraying you man, it's just that the kid looks so battered. Ever since we left Kreese, we've been questioning whether what he taught us was true, and… we thought apologizing to LaRusso would be a good start."
Dutch spoke with rage.
“What about the things he did to us? The boy is a pain in the ass, he deserved it!”
“The kid can't even walk properly, Dutch.”
There was a short silence as Cobras examined Johnny, trying to guess his reaction but Johnny's eyes were busy looking over that one specific boy in the crowd. Yes, Johnny's eyes had found LaRusso in the crowd. He was walking slowly, alone, with a few books in his arms, pressed tightly to his chest.
“Johnny, man are you angry?”
Johnny licked his lips.
"No, no. You're right actually, I should go… and talk to LaRusso too." he said, then got up from the wall he was leaning on and started walking.
He was like a cheetah approaching its prey, at least that's how he felt. He ran his fingers through his golden locks and straightened his red leather jacket. Even without looking, he knew a few girls in the hallway were watching him. He didn't care, his eyes were on LaRusso.
A small smile appeared on Daniel’s lips as his eyes caught him. Johnny replied with a grin.
“Good morning Johnny.”
“Good morning, LaRusso. May I?”
Without realizing what was happening, Daniel watched as Johnny took the books he was carrying to one arm.
“Johnny?”
The blonde simply extended his other arm to him.
“Come on, you walk like a wounded baby gazelle. What's your next lesson? I’ll walk you there."
"P-physics."
"Let's go then." said Johnny, pointing to his arm.
Daniel bit his lip, but he was in no condition to refuse. He took Johnny's arm and started walking, drawing strength from him.
Daniel's heart was beating, so so fast. His arm was wrapped around Johnny’s muscular one and he felt like he was burning up. Come on LaRusso, stop acting like a freak. The envious glances and giggles in the hallway made Daniel's cheeks darker as if it were possible.
“So LaRusso, don't you want to quench the longing?”
"Don't make me regret that I said that."
"Okay okay don’t get mad."
Daniel rolled his eyes at the giggle of a girl that just walked past them.
"Wonderful. And now the whole school sees me as your girlfriend.”
“Well, I carry your books and walk you to your class. And also your arm is wrapped around mine so there seems to be a similarity between them.” teased Johnny.
Daniel huffed and after a short silence he spoke again.
“The Cobras came by this morning and they … apologized to me for bullying me.”
“Yes, I knew that.”
“You didn't have to do that, Johnny. Thank you anyway.”
Johnny laughed.
“You think I made them apologize to you?”
"Didn't you?" Daniel asked with a hint of surprise in his voice.
“No LaRusso, it was entirely their decision.”
Daniel's face froze in surprise and then he smiled. Johnny grinned, LaRusso had an alright smile... probably nice, even beautiful. Was it weird that he was noticing that? No, he thought, it was what normal friends did. Dutch... had a nice smile too? Johnny made a slightly disgusted face with that thought, okey maybe it wasn't that friendly.
When they finally got to the door of the physics class, Johnny handed the books to Daniel.
"Come to the library after school, we'll do some research on your homework." said Daniel, his eyes still gleaming from his smile a few seconds ago.
Johnny gulped, was LaRusso suddenly started to look prettier? Shit shit shit.
"O-okay, see you then." he was blushing, great.
"Bye!" Daniel smiled innocently and he entered the classroom while Johnny watched him go.
------
“Sorry, the biology teacher kept us late, honestly I was never more bored in my life before. I guess medicine is not going to be my career choice. Which is fine, I don't want to touch a strangers organs for living anyway, they are way to squishy... Did you start?"
Johnny opened his eyes at the voice of Daniel. He was lying on a beanbag in a corner of the secluded library, in front of a window, closing his eyes to suppress the awful pain in his stomach. LaRusso's doe eyes widened even more as he saw him.
“Johnny? Are you okay?" he said and knelt down beside him.
The blond boy hummed.
"You have a stomach ache, don't you? I actually have my painkillers with me, it's for my knee but I guess it'll work for you too." Daniel said as he rushed to his backpack and took out some pills, Johnny moaned but he still took them and swallowed them dry.
A few moments passed and Johnny was still waiting desperately for the relaxation feeling. When it hit him he groaned and lied back, that's when he felt LaRusso's tiny hand on his stomach, caressing and massaging him gently. Johnny grimaced and blushed, and Daniel was just looking at him with worry.
"You've got fever?" Daniel asked and Johnny knew he shouldn't be looking at his lips right now but he found himself doing that exact thing.
"I don't have fever LaRusso, and I don't have a stomach ache. Do I look like a girl from over there? I probably just pulled a muscle while training." Johnny said but didn't make LaRusso take his hand away.
Daniel rolled his eyes.
“Stomach ache isn't just for girls, you don't look like a girl either. My stomach aches time to time. My ma massages there and I just become fine, there is nothing to be ashamed." the brunette grinned.
"Of course you have stomach aches, you're practically a girl." Johnny muttered angry with the pain slightly coming back.
Daniel grinned, Johnny honestly thought for a second that LaRusso would be insulted and leave him alone there in pain but the little bastard was actually finding all these funny. He continued to massage his stomach, the warmth and the gentleness of his hand made Johnny want to cry in relief and go to sleep in his lap.
"Yeah, I thought we've already agreed on I was the girlfriend here.” teased Daniel, Johnny grinned.
“Yeah, you got the legs for that.”
“Well, I didn't know you liked my legs Johnny, thank you.”
Johnny's eyes darted on Daniel, frustrated.
"I didn't say I like your legs, I just said they looked like girls’ legs."
Daniel raised an eyebrow.
“Don't you like girls' legs?”
"Well…Yeah."
“And you said my legs look like the type of legs you like. So... you like my legs.”
Johnny felt his cheeks turn red. Of course LaRusso had nice legs, the boy was like a model. It wasn't crime to acknowledge that. But he didn't mean it in that way, and he wasn't going to back down.
“It was an insult. I was trying to humiliate you by comparing your legs with girls legs.”
Daniel tilted his head, he was looking like a confused little puppy. A very cute confused little puppy.
“Are you trying to insult me by comparing my legs to something you love? Stupid me, how could I not catch that?”
Johnny rolled his eyes.
“You talk too much, LaRusso.”
“Don't be shy Johnny, I love your legs too and your hair is nice to look at.” snickered Daniel, he still hadn't take his hand of Johnny's stomach and the blond boy was sure that if LaRusso was going to talk a little bit more he was going to feel the butterfly-thingies that was fluttering in there.
“Let's read LaRusso, I have homework to complete.”
Daniel grinned.
“Yes Sensei.”
------
Days and weeks passed, Johnny and Daniel, two boys that were once enemies were spending more and more time together. Even one time, all the Cobras had gone to talk to Daniel during a recess.They just talked and laughed, without fighting. So it was a very big achievement for them.
It didn't go unnoticed that Johnny spent much more time with Daniel than the other cobras did. They teased him about having a crush on the brunette boy nonchalantly. Johnny always rolled his eyes, silencing them without giving them the sweet pleasure of annoying him.
But the truth is, he was confused. He hadn't even noticed when Ali passed in front of him with her new boyfriend. Because he was too busy watching LaRusso trying to stuff his books into his locker. Honestly, he didn’t care about Ali anymore. He didn't want to get her attention, she wasn't even part of his dreams that he dreamt before going to sleep anymore. He was over Ali, he didn’t know how but he was. And he was more than glad with that.
And the project on The Epic of Gilgamesh was going better than ever. They were progressing in a speed and quality Johnny could only dream of if he would have tried to do this homework alone. He had nearly a month left to turn in the assignment, and they were almost done.
If Johnny got to be honest, this assignment wasn't like any other homework he had done before, it was… fun. And he was pretty sure it was LaRusso who made it that way. They discussed hours and hours over just one paragraph and raced in the halls of library to find out who finds another source first. It was fun, real fun. Watching LaRusso biting his lip while he was thinking… It was very also fun.
They were working on the assignment in the library on another rainy Thursday evening. There was one last chapter left to write, one last chapter to be written.
The relationship of Gilgamesh and Enkidu
The teacher specifically requested that part, she wanted him to interpret the relationship that was told in the whole epic. It was hard because it wasn't just one part of the book, it was the whole book, it was the main element of the book.
“Most sources say they have a homoerotic relationship.” Daniel said as he flipped through the pages, and Johnny raised an eyebrow.
“Homo- what?”
“Homoerotic.”
Daniel rolled his eyes when he saw that Johnny still didn't understand.
“They are gay Johnny.”
A confused expression appeared on Johnny's face.
"Are you serious?"
“Many sources say so. Do you remember the dream he told his mother? He said that he caressed Enkidu like a wife or something like that. Well it didn't sound very straight to me either."
“If you say so we should add that to the assignment.” Johnny said with an understanding nod.
Daniel watched him with a little smile as Johnny continued to read and write with the raindrops hitting the window, under the dim light and surrounded by the smell of old books. There was a safe, peaceful environment. Without realizing what he was doing, Daniel began to speak.
“Johnny?”
The blonde lifted his blue eyes from his notebook and Daniel just blurted out.
“I think… I-I think I'm gay.”
Daniel didn't know why he was saying this, he just needed to share. And strangely Johnny was the person he trusted the most right now. The blonde's unresponsive stance was about to give him a heart attack.
Johnny was stunned. He didn't know much about these sorts of things, but now that Daniel had told him that, he knew he trusted him too much. And strangely, his heartbeat quickened. He wanted to smile, why did he want to smile?
“You’re into dudes?”
"Yeah."
“But… Ali?”
Daniel shrugged.
“I don't know, I really liked her. She had a beautiful smile and fluffy hair. I wanted to be with her. You know, as a friend, but everyone got it wrong. I-I tried to handle the situation, you know trying to show her I’m friendly but she kinda had a crush on me so eventually I started to play along. But from the very first kiss I knew it wasn't right.”
Johnny harshly closed his notebook and looked in disbelief at the brunette boy.
“Then why did you mess with me that day at the beach?”
“I thought you were bothering the girl, and also you broke the radio. You got on my nerves, man."
Johnny sighed.
“Those fights between us… could never have happened.” the blonde muttered, and Daniel smiled.
“Are you really thinking about that right now?”
“What was I supposed to think?”
"I don't know, I thought you'd hate me already." said Daniel, averting his eyes, but Johnny frowned.
"Why?"
“Because I like boys, Johnny!”
Johnny shrugged.
“Why does it matter who you make out with as long as they’re hot? That's what everybody thinks."
Daniel paused for a while.
“No, not everyone thinks that way.”
Johnny tilted his head to the side.
"What?"
“Straight men don't want to make out with other men... no matter how hot they are.”
Johnny narrowed his eyes and shrugged. Daniel was looking rather pleased.
“Life is too short to decide which gender you wanna make out with, LaRusso. Come on, let's finish this paragraph, I'm about to die of exhaustion."
------
They had gone according to plan, after a long one month the homework was finally finished and it was great. Like real great, nothing like Johnny had ever succeed before. He had also invited Daniel to meet with him at the beach on Friday night so they could read the assignment together one last time before handing it in.
Daniel didn't want to meet at the beach at first. These days, he was having trouble attending parties and keep up with normal teenager stuff because of his aching knee and of course there was going to be a party at the beach on Friday. There would be people calling them over, and he would eventually push himself too hard.
“I'm not sure man, it will be crowded.”
“If you don't want crowds, I can take you to a place I know. It’s a calmer part of the beach. It would be just you and me.”
When he said that, Daniel blushed and nodded. Johnny didn't understand why he blushed at first. Later, when Johnny told this dialogue to the Cobras, they burst out laughing.
"What? What are you laughing at?"
“You’ve just asked him out, idiot!” laughed Tommy, and Jimmy mimicked.
"It would be just you and me."
Johnny didn't mind their words,there was no way LaRusso thought that Johnny asked him out. He hadn't thought that it was a date… had he?
Friday evening finally arrived and Johnny found himself staring at his closet, not sure what to wear, like a girl. He styled his blonde hair and wore a black trousers, a T-shirt and of course his usual red jacket. He got into his car after he made sure that he had picked up his backpack which contained his very precious homework and drove to LaRusso's house.
He couldn't help but smile on his way to Reseda and he didn't try to stop. He was excited. Like really really excited. It was irrational, he was just meeting LaRusso. It was what he always did for the past month. But still something felt different, almost special.
When he came in front of the house and saw the brunette boy watching the road with the sweetest expression in the world, his heart seemed to flip over. Dressed in a red, short-sleeved shirt and black shorts, he waited for Johnny to arrive. He smiled when he saw the car and got in as Johnny approached.
"Hello." said Johnny, smiling.
“Hi.” Daniel was blushing, Johnny cleared his throat nervously.
“So, are you ready to have fun?”
Daniel nodded and fastened his belt. They started to make their way towards the beach.
The atmosphere was tense. Johnny couldn't understand why, but they didn't seem to have anything to talk about or they were too nervous to talk about what they were thinking, just like-
just like a date.
Johnny chased the thought out of his mind and reached for the cassette player.
"Music?"
Without waiting for an answer, he pressed the button and instantly the sound of Careless Whisper filled the car.
Damn.
Yes, he was going to kick Cobras' asses, he was going to sweep their legs.
He turned off the cassette player and looked overt Daniel, who was giggling. His anger seemed to fly out of him.
“Glad you thought it was funny." he said, trying to sound angry but failing terribly.
“I didn't really think you listened to this kind of music.” said Daniel, his cheeks rosy and eyes were glistening.
Johnny swallowed, the boy looked absolutely gorgeous. It should be illegal to be this pretty when you were annoying as hell.
“The cobras did it, it’s a prank..”
"But why?"
"Nevermind."
Luckily, Daniel didn't push further. Johnny didn't even want to think about what he was going to say if Daniel had chosen to push further.
They're making fun of me for asking you on a date accidentally. Oh by the way LaRusso, do you want to make out?
What the hell Johnny, he thought, scolding himself. What was up with the last part? His subconscious was a real bitch sometimes.
When they arrived to the beach, he did not stop. He continued to ride parallel to the sea, they passed a few parties full of teenagers and in a few minutes they came to a very secluded part of the beach where tall trees were coming out of the sand.
"Come on, let's go." Johnny said, and Daniel jumped out of the car with grand curiosity.
There were sharp rocks by the sea and the waves were bigger than the popular corners of the beach. The sky was the prettiest shade of orange, the trees had thick trunks and seagulls' cries were wild.
“This place is perfect.” murmured Daniel, and Johnny couldn't help noticing how cute his impressed look was.
“Come, sit here.”
Johnny grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him under a rooted sycamore tree. They were close to the sea but also out of sight of strangers. The thick roots of the tree seemed to be just right to sit there.
“This is my tree.” Johnny said proudly, and Daniel felt his heart literally melt.
“Your tree is very pretty.”
Both teens were smiling naively and their hearts felt as light as a bird. They just stared at each other for a while, holding the comfortable eye contact. Until the moment was spoiled by the cry of a seagull just passing by over their head. Johnny cleared his throat and Daniel averted his eyes, blushing.
"Let's sit." Johnny said and they did, the tree was indeed very comfortable.
So they began to read the assignment one last time. After half an hour they agreed that they had indeed done an excellent job.
"Johnny that's really good, like one of the best papers I’ve ever read. You totally deserve that extra credit you gonna get."
“Couldn’t have done it without you LaRusso, thank you.” Johnny said with a sincere smile.
Daniel continued to speak as Johnny carefully put the assignment back into his bag.
“You know, what you did is very honorable. I mean, your father could have gotten you into any university by flooding them with money, but you chose to earn your gain.”
Johnny felt a tiny pang in his heart and smiled bitterly.
“That is also a factor of course, but the thing is… I didn't want to be indebted to him.”
Daniel tilted his head.
"How so?"
“My father died when I was very young, LaRusso. I don’t have a rich daddy, I have a rich step-daddy. A step-daddy that treats my mother and I like shit. My mom married him just so I could have a better life, and I… didn't want to owe him anything that big.”
Daniel's eyes were wide with that sad expression again, but there was no pity in them, just understanding.
“Johnny…”
“Motorcycles and cars, karate lessons… these were his pay to shut me up. It won't be any more, especially not for the university."
Daniel smiled with a bittersweet expression and nodded.
“Your father… would be proud of you, Johnny. You're a good man."
Johnny's cheeks flushed and he looked over the sea. It was the first time he had told someone so openly about what he was going through and how he felt. He trusted Daniel, just as Daniel trusted him. He felt his guard finally going down, and it was a good feeling.
Suddenly Daniel sneezed, it was cold. Johnny instantly went into his gentleman mode and took off his jacket.
“Oh no man, don't do that. We've lived through enough high school sweethearts cliches in a month."
Johnny grinned.
"You shouldn't have come to the beach like this, LaRusso, you'll be sick." he said, placing his leather jacket on the brunette boy's shoulders.
Daniel’s cheeks couldn’t have got any darker. Johnny's jacket on his shoulders and the expensive perfume that filled his lungs were doing strange things to his heart. Now the blonde was sitting across from him again, black T-shirt tight around his muscles, and Daniel licked his lips.
"I need to tell you something.” Johnny said and Daniel nodded.
“I told you the Cobras put that tape in the car to make fun of me."
“Yeah."
“Well... earlier this week I told them about our… plans to meet here, the way I asked you to come here. And they said that I asked you on a date. You know, with the phrasing and the words... I made it sound like it was a date. That’s why… they pranked me. They thought I accidentally asked you on a date.”
He expected Daniel to be angry but he started laughed. Showing off his dimples in the most graceful way. Oh he had dimples too, it was impossible for a human to be this beautiful.
“But it’s obviously not a date?” Daniel said, with a slight questioning in his voice.
Johnny smiled.
"Would you like it to be?"
Daniel laughed.
“Well… I mean we flirted, like a lot.”
“A lot.” Johnny nodded while grinning.
“And you like my legs too.”
"More like love them." he didn't even care how stupid he sounded, he was just grinning like an idiot.
“The whole school is already gossiping about us being together.”
"Definitely."
“And neither of us are dating someone or straight.”
“Definitely not.”
Daniel's smile got so big that he almost pushed Johnny away and laughed his ass off as the blond approached him. But that didn't happen, they slowly stopped giggling and Johnny leaned forward, Daniel found himself doing the same thing.
Their noses bumped, and Daniel could have sworn that he saw the most beautiful waves of the wildest oceans in Johnny's eyes. With a soft movement, Johnny put one hand on his waist and the other just above his dimple. It was a strange that the hands that once tried to break him could hold him so gently. Daniel swallowed and touched Johnny's hand on his cheek. Their eyelids slowly closed as Johnny made the first move.
He took LaRusso's lips between his’ with a softness that contradicted to his tough self image, the image he tried to keep around everyone. Everyone but Daniel, everyone but his scrawny, dark haired boy. He kissed him so gentle, Daniel could cry. It was like nothing in his life, it was… it was right..
“Johnny…” Daniel muttered as Johnny ended the little kiss.
The blond boy lowered his hand from his cheek and placed it on Daniel's knee, caressing it gently, as if he was trying to mend all of the damage that he had caused before.
“Danny.” whispered Johnny, and their lips connected again.
Daniel felt his heart fill with happiness as Johnny said his name for the first time. Danny, he liked that, he could get used to that.
And Johnny was drunk with the warm feeling pooling in his heart. He felt like a lion, roaring with the joy of his victory. He was happy, happier than ever. Happy, safe and very in love.
Johnny deepened the kiss slowly, and Daniel had no complaints. Johnny was strong, very strong, and Daniel would definitely thought that it was unfair if he didn't find it so damn hot. The hell with all the karate stuff, he loved feeling so small and fragile under Johnny’s strong touch. He loved the way his body fit in Johnny’s big hands. Johnny had nice hands too.
His thoughts were interrupted when Johnny bit his lip gently, Daniel moaned. His fingers were tangled in Johnny's golden locks, little moans and sounds escaped from his lips time to time. He let the blonde boy pull him into his lap and kiss him with passion, placing his hands in the hollow of his waist and stroking him, as if he weighed nothing.
When they finally parted, they were both out of breath and also grinning.
“Johnny?” Daniel said mischievously.
"Yeah?"
“I feel like I'm your girlfriend.” he said with a laugh, and Johnny smirked, burying his lips in his neck.
“How about feeling like my boyfriend, LaRusso?” he muttered, a glimpse of nervousness could be read in his eyes.
Daniel smiled. He’d like that, he’d like that very much. Being Johnny’s boyfriend, holding his hand, walk with him to his classes, placing a kiss on his cheek after saying goodbye. He’d like all of that.
"Yes please."
Johnny leaned in and placed a kiss on his dimple and Daniel’s smile grew bigger. That’s it, he thought. He was a badass karate champion and had California's hottest blond as his boyfriend. He nailed the highschool experience, he nailed this life.
They kissed again and again, strangely it was the first chapter of the Epic of Gilgamesh assignment that echoed in the back of their minds.
Once upon a time in the city of Uruk lived a king named Gilgamesh, who was as cruel as he was powerful.
King Gilgamesh would abused his people and ruled his kingdom with ruthlessness, regardless of the cost.
Unable to endure the horrifying actions of King Gilgamesh any longer, the gods sent a creature as powerful as him to earth to put Gilgamesh back on the right track. Enkidu, was the name of this man who was wild enough to be called as a creature. Enkidu, was the one, who was supposed to make Gilgamesh a better man.
Gilgamesh and Enkidu began to fight from the moment they first met each other. The city of Uruk was trembling with the power of their fists and they continued to fight for the longest time.
But in the end of the great fight, there was no victor as both of them were equal in strength. And eventually the two stopped fighting and fell wearily into each other's arms. And in this way, they become friends.
From that day on, Gilgamesh did not abuse his people, and Enkidu learned everything about the earth he had just born into. In the battles that followed, they were always back to back. Protecting each other, fighting for each other. Every victory they had, every loot they gained, it belonged to both of them.
For Gilgamesh and Enkidu, were now on each other's side.