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Daniel wasn't sure when he knew. Maybe he always did.
He'd gone to Johnny's apartment so he would beat him up. So they could fight, throw punches, kick as hard as they could, smash each other's faces into the wall, whatever. He was so angry, so torn—he just wanted to hurt someone and have someone hurt him. And who better than Johnny Lawrence? Who better than the one man who would never back away from a chance at getting another chance at revenge against Daniel?
And yet Daniel didn't count on Johnny actually seeing through him for once. Seeing through him and seeing him. Like no one else ever had.
He was there for him. He opened his heart to Daniel and let Daniel do the same. Comforted him, sympathized, cared—things Daniel never thought were possible to expect from the man.
Their relationship had changed drastically in the past years. From loathing rivals to....good friends, Daniel didn't quite know how it happened. Or maybe he did. Maybe it was just the goodness of Johnny's heart. Sometimes Daniel wondered if he shared the same goodness.
At the club, that flashing, electric club that Louie brought them to, Daniel felt the booze overwhelming his senses and emotions. His fingertips were tingling and his head was both light and heavy at the same time.
He remembered dancing, then his feet carrying him closer and closer to Johnny until he stumbled and Johnny grasped his upper arm, steadying him and leaning close to quietly ask, "Alright, LaRusso?"
Daniel couldn't even manage a reply, Johnny's voice and eyes and touch and presence were all too intoxicating. More than the alcohol. He gave an airy laugh, gaze drawn to Johnny's mouth, wondering what it'd feel like. Taste like.
But they pulled away from each other before Daniel could find out.
Everything happened so quickly after that. The limo, the drive, the fight, Silver, his kids. All the kids.
And then Johnny was there again.
Johnny, beaten and bloody and smiling. And they were grabbing at each other, holding each other, both so elated that the other was alive and okay. So proud that the other won their respective fight.
Daniel and Amanda brought almost everyone home to their house that night so they could recover and patch themselves up. Including Johnny.
He remembered offering ice and bandages to the kids as he wandered around his own home, and the way he always looked back to Johnny. Every time, he recalled the tension in his throat and chest and stomach when he realized Johnny, Chozen, and Mike left to fight the ruthless snake. It was almost surreal seeing him there, sitting awkwardly on one of Daniel's now-bloody couches, holding a bag of frozen peas to his face. Daniel realized it was relief he was feeling. Pure relief.
When the kids trickled out, Daniel finally tended to his own wounds. He washed his hands in cold water, refusing to flinch at the sharpness he felt in his cut knuckles. He hated the blood, the bruises, the grazes that were all from Silver. It wasn't as bad as the first time, the second time, any of the times with Silver before. But it still snapped him back to the past. To what the blood meant. To what it did to him.
Daniel didn't even realize he'd been rigidly rinsing his knuckles for minutes on end until there was a soft knock on the bathroom door. It was like he came back to himself, a shiver running down his spine as he shook his head, glancing to the source of the noise.
Johnny surveyed the sight, from Daniel's trembling hands to his wide, unsure eyes. Again, he asked, "Alright, LaRusso?
He wanted to reply. To shake it off with a careless laugh, turn away, dry his hands, and leave as he patted Johnny's back good-naturedly.
But Daniel just stood there, blank and cold and wondering what if he or Johnny or the kids or Chozen or any of them had gotten more hurt than they already were? What if Silver struck again and Daniel hadn't been able to stop him? What if he came back?
And then Johnny was stepping forward. He turned off the faucet and wrapped Daniel's hands in a warm, soft towel, holding it tight with his own larger, bruised hands.
"You're okay, Daniel. It's okay."
And Daniel felt like, against all odds, Johnny was right.
It wasn't easy after that. Rebuilding and recovering from Silver's seemingly irreparable damage. But the kids were tougher than he thought, more motivated than he knew. They were fixing the relationships further strained by Silver and his cronies, and Daniel was so proud to see Sam and Tory actually getting along for once. Their smiles were proof of a friendship beginning to blossom. Daniel had even heard from Robby—who was now on good terms with him again—that Kenny was coming around too. He hoped things would work out with the kid and Anthony—Daniel had enough of painful rivalries that always ended up hurting both parties.
And speaking of rivalries, he and Johnny had seemingly left all of that pain and strife in the past. For good. They were close now.
They spent the majority of their days together, either training, helping the kids, or just spending time in one another's company. There was that subtle, looming threat of what Kreese could do, and Daniel worried incessantly in his own time, but when he was with Johnny, he felt safer than ever.
And he could tell Johnny felt the same.
They watched the sunset one afternoon together on the beach, throwing back beers and talking occasionally about past events and what was to come. Perhaps it was the alcohol, or just the comfort of each other, but Johnny ended up admitting the extent of his fear of Kreese.
How the trauma of Kreese's training never quite left him, and instead, returned full force once Kreese turned on him, joined up with Silver, and used his own students, including his son, against him. It was this unescapable control that Johnny wasn't quite sure he'd ever get rid of.
Daniel found himself understanding, feeling the same exact way with Silver. He comforted Johnny, reassuring him that they were strongest together, and Kreese wouldn't be able to touch any of them now that they and their students were united.
Johnny was clutching his beer so firmly, so tightly, that Daniel was afraid the glass would shatter in his grip and cut his hand.
Before he even knew what he was doing, his hands were all over Johnny's, pulling his calloused fingers free of the dark brown bottle.
"It's okay," Daniel mumbled quietly. "I won't let him touch you."
And when he finally freed the bottle from Johnny's grip, Johnny wrapped his hand around Daniel's, interlacing their fingers before Daniel could pull away.
Not like he would.
His face burning from the heat of the alcohol—and perhaps something else—Daniel held Johnny's hand back. And that same feeling, that same question came back to him. The question that never seemed to quite leave, the question that originated when Daniel first met the blonde he hated so viciously. A hate mixed with a love that matched.
The sunset glowed on their faces as Daniel managed to keep his gaze on Johnny's face, watching his eyelashes flutter, beautiful and golden in the light of the fading day. His eyes were so intensely on him, like they always were, like they always would be, and Daniel forced himself to muster the courage to stare back and not look away.
"Thank you."
Daniel smiled softly, wondering just what Johnny was thanking him for. He didn't need to. He never needed to.
"Yeah, yeah," Daniel finally replied, giving up and tearing his gaze away as a rapid blush spread across his face. He heard Johnny chuckle quietly and pick up the beer Daniel had put down. Daniel grabbed his own drink, trying to force his heart to slow as he took a sip. They watched the remains of the sunset in silence, never once letting go of the other's hand.
Kreese did come back. Full-force with the wrath of the devil behind him. They were ready, but it was still hell, and after blood was drawn and the fight ended, everyone was left a bit scarred.
They managed to put him away for good, and at the end of the day, the kids were finally free of the villains of Daniel's past. There was a sense of victory tinged with exhaustion that everyone was feeling, in addition to the absolute pride that filled the senseis' hearts.
Daniel was left a bit numb after it, numb and joyous, but just overall beaten by Kreese's hell. After tucking Sam and Anthony into bed and making sure they were truly alright, he headed back to Miyagi's dojo.
The backyard was quiet, with the ambient sounds of crickets and trickling water, illuminated by the soft lamps that decorated the yard.
Daniel walked slowly through, feeling the presence of his former sensei filling the place. He wished Miyagi could be here. To see him, see his children, see everything they've done and accomplished all because of him.
Before he knew it, Daniel was lowering himself into the koi pond, letting the cool water wash over him as he shivered for breath. The fish swarmed to the other side and Daniel was too pained to laugh at how ridiculous this all was.
As he dipped his head under the surface, the sounds fell away to a quiet, overwhelming stillness.
He emerged, gasping for small breaths and realizing he was crying.
He should've felt overjoyed. Relieved. And he was...but it was just shadowed by a dull heaviness. And unlike the rest of his battles, he couldn't beat this one.
"What are you doing?"
Daniel jerked back and twisted to see Johnny staring at him across the quiet yard. Daniel blinked, wondering if this was an apparition—and honestly hoping it was—but Johnny grinned in his signature slightest way, and Daniel knew it wasn't.
"Don't you have a pool at home?"
Drips of water fell down Daniel's face as he grappled with what to say. He didn't know how to throw Johnny out or to explain he was just—he was just...meditating?
"Leave me alone, Johnny," he managed to finally blurt. But it wasn't firm and dismissive like he planned, just weak and vulnerable and oddly defensive, and Daniel saw something switch in Johnny's expression. Damn.
But then Johnny was stepping forward through the yard and before Daniel could get out or yell at him some more, Johnny was right beside him, stepping into the pond as well.
And then they were standing beside each other, drenched and freezing, in the middle of Miyagi's sacred koi pond. Daniel wanted to laugh and cry at the strangeness of it all.
Johnny stared at him, from his clenched fists to his hard eyes, and he softened.
"I'm fine," Daniel retorted in a burst of hostility. He didn't actually want Johnny to leave. He never did.
"Then why aren't you celebrating?"
"Why aren't you?"
"Because you're not!" Johnny huffed, splashing his hands around in the water and sinking lower. He shivered at the sudden coolness and in that moment, Daniel was suddenly touched by the move of companionship that Johnny had done for him.
Remembering Johnny's severe relationship with Kreese, Daniel softened too and sank with Johnny.
"Are you okay?" He asked gently, ignoring Johnny's look of confusion. "After everything?"
There was a moment of quiet between them, allowing only for the sounds of their breathing and the trickling of water from the filters. Daniel watched Johnny's face twinge in thought, the way his light blue eyes flickered around.
"I will be. I don't know, I don't really believe it's true yet—that we beat him. But I'm glad. For the kids' sake."
"And for your sake."
Johnny dipped his head under and then resurfaced, wiping his eyes and pushing his hair back out of his face. Daniel stared, nearly mesmerized.
"Yeah." And Johnny smiled, a real one. Daniel found himself smiling back, and the burden that had been weighing him down was slowly ebbing away. "For me too."
"Good," Daniel breathed, relieved that Johnny was alright.
"C'mon, LaRusso, I didn't come here for me."
"Yeah, why did you? And how did you know where to find me?"
Johnny splashed some water at him, and Daniel threw his hands up with a laugh. He splashed him back, and they engaged in a little game.
"You think I don't know you? After all this time? I already went to your house and Miyagi's grave!"
Johnny was still smiling, but Daniel was so struck by his kindness, his care, that he stopped his splashing. "What? Really?"
Johnny paused. He shrugged carelessly, wiping some droplets that rolled down his forehead. "Sure. I remember you mentioning it. What, you think I don't listen to you when you talk, huh? So typical, you know—"
"I love you."
And there it was. The answer to the question he'd always been trying to answer. The thing he knew, but not really, but always.
Johnny stood there, blank and wide-eyed and frozen to the spot, staring at Daniel like he'd never seen him before. Daniel wondered if maybe he shouldn't have said anything, maybe he never should've, maybe it would've been better if he—
But then Johnny was kissing him. And Daniel didn't have to think anymore.
When they finally pulled apart, panting and shaking and grinning from ear to ear, Johnny looked at him carefully through golden lashes dotted with drops of water.
"Alright, LaRusso?"
"Alright, Lawrence."