Work Text:
Daniel knew there was something a little different about Robby, but he didn't know what that something was.
See, Robby was a master at masking it. He needed to get by- His mom had been disappointed as all hell when he'd gotten diagnosed, and from that moment on, he knew that he had to be as not Autistic as he could manage in order for her to care for him... Not that she ever did anyways. But, it didn't matter either way. Because, when she wasn't around, the guys he got roped in with were no better. Hell, they were worse. If they knew the truth, they'd surely beat him into oblivion and call him a few slurs while doing it.
No, it was a matter of safety for Robby, and so he built up a list of rules in his head because clear-cut rules were easier to follow if he had them mapped out as opposed to just hoping to get by. Be mindful of your facial expressions. Maintain eye contact unless it's someone safe. Don't complain about your clothes or your food. Don't ramble for more than 2 sentences. Don't mess with your hands. If something is too loud or bright, just grin and bear it. The list went on for a while.
He followed it pretty closely, too. It helped him get by. No one suspected a thing. They left it at the mask and never bothered to look deeper. And that's what made Mr. LaRusso so scary to Robby.
He looked deeper.
The first thing that immediately stood out to Daniel upon the kid moving in was his food patterns. While Robby would eat anything you set in front of him, whenever he had the choice he always wound up choosing Pops cereal. Always. Without fail. That's part of why Daniel promised himself to pack a lunch for the kid when school started back up, just to make sure the kid didn't live off of Pops.
That was decidedly not normal. Neither was the constant, subtle fidgets the kid would do, like bouncing his leg or fiddling with his fingers when he thought no one was looking. Daniel recognized that pretty quickly due to him having similar mannerisms because of his ADHD. So, that's what he wrote it off as. The kid probably just has ADHD he thought to himself, content with his answer until the cracks in the façade continued to pile up in ways that could not be written off as 'just ADHD'
He didn't know what to do, though. Clearly the kid was putting forth substantial effort to hide whatever it was that made him different, and Daniel didn't want to upset him by prying. Besides, it's not like it caused him enough trouble (at least that Daniel could see) to be worth poking at. So, Daniel left it. He accepted all of Robby's quirks along with the rest of him. It didn't make much of a difference.
Well... Until it did.
It had been a normal day until Johnny showed up at the LaRusso household to ask about the logistics of Robby starting high school. He just wanted to see if Daniel needed any paperwork, stuff like that. He may not have been an active father but he wasn't entirely absent either. However, Daniel was in the bathroom, Amanda was at the dealership, and Sam was in her room calling Moon, so Robby was the one to answer the door.
As soon as he saw his dad, something inside him snapped. He'd been harboring so much stress from all his masking for the past month-ish, and the emotions his dad's sudden appearance brought up were the last straw (straws?)
His eyes widened as he averted his dad's gaze, eye contact suddenly jumping from uncomfortable to painful as he stumbled back onto the ground. Johnny looked down at him in surprise and shock as he started to hit himself in the head, a low whine emerging from his throat. He'd worked so hard to hide this side of him, and now it was breaking out in full force, pretty much entirely beyond his control because his fucking dad decided to show up without warning.
It was then that Daniel left the bathroom, quickly rushing over when he saw the state Robby was in, not even paying mind to Johnny as he kneeled down to try and calm the teenager. Sam peeked downstairs to see what all the commotion was... She didn't know what to make of what was happening with Robby, but he was clearly already overwhelmed so she ducked back into her room. I can ask him later
"Robby, look at me" Daniel said softly. Robby shook his head violently, and Daniel sighed. "Okay, that's okay" he said reassuringly. "I just need to know you're listening. You're okay" he continued soothingly, reaching up and putting his hands under where the blonde was repeatedly beating into his own head, cushioning the blows to ensure he didn't seriously hurt himself. "What do you need, kid?"
"L-Light" Robby muttered out, embarrassment filling him in waves as tears started to streak down his face. Daniel nodded, looking up at Johnny and gesturing for him to turn out the lights, which he did in confusion. Robby seemed to relax slightly as the room darkened, rocking slightly less.
"You're doing good" Daniel praised. "Do you wanna try to breathe with me?"
"O-Okay"
"Alright, so we're gonna breathe in for 1... 2... 3... 4... 5... Good, now hold for 1... 2... 3... Yup, now exhale. 1... 2... 3... 4... 5... 6... 7... 8... You're doing so good. Let's do that again, yeah?"
Robby sat across from Johnny and Daniel at the dining table, awkwardly sorting through his brain to find the words he wanted to say. He owed them an explanation at the very least.
"Um..." he started uncomfortably, rubbing his thumbs over his knuckles and looking down at the table. No point in hiding it now. "When I was ten, I was diagnosed with, um... Autism" he admitted, wanting to cry again but shoving that down. Johnny still seemed lost- He knew that was something that had happened, remembered the frantic call from Shannon the day it had happened, but Robby just seemed so normal that he never thought about it much. Daniel, however, opened his mouth as it all clicked together. THAT'S what it was.
"Oh, kid" he said with a warm smile. "Why didn't you say something earlier?"
"I didn't want you to kick me out" Robby admitted, still not looking up at him. Daniel swore he felt his heart rip in half at that.
"Robby, why on Earth would I kick you out?"
"It's just unnecessary stress for you" Robby insisted, memories of his mom flooding his mind. Every little thing he did had always stressed her out so much, and she could never understand why her kid couldn't just be normal, even though he tried so hard to be normal. "I didn't want to stress you out. It's okay, though! I have it under control"
"Robby, you just had a meltdown so bad you could hardly even breathe" Daniel replied. Johnny said nothing, processing the situation. He was realizing that shit. I really don't know anything about this, do I? Wondering how he could help be a better father to Robby. A better teacher to Hawk, as well. He'd written off that kid's Autism so quickly, but now seeing it from the perspective of it being his son... Well, he had things to think about.
"It won't happen again, I promise!" Robby told him, feeling frantic. He didn't want to get kicked out of the LaRusso household, and he didn't want to live with his dad. "I'm sorry that I slipped up like that"
"Woah, hey" Daniel soothed. "I'm not mad, and you got nothing to apologize for"
"He's right" Johnny finally interjected, catching the others off guard. "Look, I know I haven't been much of a father to you, but I really would like to try" he continued. "I won't pretend I know much about this Autism thing, but I can look into it. I probably should regardless, since one of my students also has it" he added, sighing in disappointment over his past actions. "I'm sorry I left and I'm sorry if I made you feel like you need to hide it"
"Not your fault" Robby admitted, avoiding his dad's gaze. Johnny's stomach clenched in anger as he pieced together that it was probably Shannon's fault, but he shoved that down. Now is not the time to get angry he told himself. "So... I'm not getting kicked out?" he asked, turning back to Daniel.
"Of course not" the man reassured him. "And, since I know now, we can order you some of those fidget toys or stuff like that- Just, things to make it easier for you" he added, and Robby looked about ready to cry. His mom never bought him anything, not seeing it as necessary. To her, getting him things like fidget cubes or noise canceling headphones would be a waste of money and 'accepting defeat'
"Thank you, Mr. LaRusso"
"No problem, kid"
"And, um..." Robby swallowed, looking back at Johnny. "Thanks for... Thanks"
"Yeah" Johnny replied solemnly. He leaned over and muttered for Daniel to call him about paperwork and promptly excused himself, leaving Daniel and Robby behind at the table.
"You're taking it easy for the rest of the day" Daniel told him firmly. Robby nodded. He had no complaints there. "Do you want me to make you a bowl of Pops for dinner? You're already stressed, so-"
"I'd love that" Robby replied with a smile. "Thank you, Mr. LaRusso"