Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Johnny Cage was in trouble. Jonathan Carlton, on the other hand, didn’t care. 

Now Johnny found himself pleading with his assistant, desperate to be assigned anything other than the terrible punishment he was being (supposedly) subjected to via his boss. 

“Tell him I’ll do community service. Tell him I’ll praise God if that’s what he wants, Tomas, but I am not—“

“It’s already decided, sir,” his assistant replied rather timidly. “He says this is a form of community service.”

“Johnny, Tomas. And who am I serving exactly? This benefits no one except for Liu Kang. It fulfills no one’s needs except his need for me to be out of his sight.” The appalled bull rider threw his hands up in exasperation and flung his feet off of the cushioned stool they’d been resting on in order to wring his hands through his hair dramatically. Tomas took a cautious step closer and tapped his clipboard nervously with his pen. 

“I think really he just wants this to be a learning experience for you, sir—“

“Just Johnny.”

“—I don’t think he means anything by it. Besides, maybe you’ll have fun.”

Johnny knew, regardless of how insistent he was in his protests, that he had no choice. He was going to be shipped off to middle of nowhere Montana, in the summertime no less, when he was supposed to be having the best bull riding season of his life, all because of one sly remark he’d made that his hillbilly fans were unhappy about. 

Don’t get him wrong— he loves his fans. He cherishes the energy they put into supporting him and he definitely loves the way the cowgirls line up at the barricades to swoon over him in their crop tops and hats. Being the number one bull rider in the states comes with its perks. 

He just…doesn’t indulge in their lifestyle. 

Sure, Johnny Cage is a cowboy. Johnny Cage is a bull riding extraordinaire. But Johnny Cage also lives in a modern mansion worth millions of dollars. Johnny Cage is a superstar. He’s suave, he’s sexy, and most importantly, he’s clean. 

But now, he was being sent away to live on a small town ranch, look after farm animals, (“Cows, Tomas? I ride them for a living, not groom them, who does this guy think I am?”), and rot away by himself. 

It was unfair. He was a grown man being punished for not enjoying the outdoors. Well, sure, for verbally stating that anyone who lived an actual ranch life or anyone even farmer adjacent was “incompetent and dirty,” but that had been said in the heat of the moment. Could you blame him?

He recalled the moment that he’d made the remark vividly. He still felt as though he was in the right. He had retaliated when a member of the press had asked him a rather disrespectful question about why he, as a “blinged out, city boy millionaire,” was “invading” the sport they loved. And if there was one thing Johnny hated more than the idea of living on a farm, it was being shunned from the thing he cared most about because of his background. So what he was from Malibu? So what he covered himself in diamonds and glitter and faux fur and the occasional cow-hyde vest that pissed off the masses? 

He loved bull riding just as much as them. He worked hard to make his way to the top. And if he rode a bull and made 90 points doing it and then went home to the place he felt most comfortable, who was anyone to question him for that? 

Perhaps he could have handled the question better. Declined to answer or kindly explained how he lived. But he was angry and very tired of explaining himself to people that didn’t deserve it. He didn’t have time to dumb it all down for grown people who couldn’t grasp the concept of a city boy with a love for rodeo. 

“Tomas, can you believe the life I live?” Johnny whined, finally acknowledging the awkward man that stood near to him again. 

Tomas nodded empathetically. “It seems terrible. Downright awful. You must feel so much trepidation right now, sir.” 

“Alright, no need to be a smartass.”

Tomas straightened out his back and Johnny caught on to him faking a cough into his arm in an attempt to suppress a chuckle. A couple of years around Tomas and you discovered that not only was he a terrible liar, but he could also be a bit funny when he wanted to be. Johnny liked having him around. 

“Just to be clear, you can’t go?”

“No, sir. But we do have to have weekly calls. And you have to text me updates. And send me photos. And…well, really, I just have to keep watch on you from here in Houston while you stay out there. But I’m sure if I tell Liu Kang you’re doing alright out there, he’ll let a few days without updates slide…”

Johnny grinned and stood up out of his chair with more enthusiasm than he really felt.

“Fake it till you make it, sir.” 

Johnny took a glance at his assistant and his smile grew wider. “You’re the best, Tomas. Make sure you look after yourself while I’m gone, okay?”

“I will,” he assured. 

Johnny slung his bag (it was not a purse, he made that very clear) over his shoulder and made his way to the exit. He stopped on his way there to ruffle Tomas’s gray hair and as he reached the entryway, he paused. He admired his favorite arena one last time. Inhaled the dirt he was familiar with and watched as the sky burnt orange and the sun hid away. He wondered if the view would be the same in Montana.

“It’s getting late, sir. You really should get home,” Tomas suggested. 

And so Johnny left to enjoy his last couple of days of freedom before Montana beckoned him. 

—

Johnny awoke with a start on Friday morning at 7 AM to the sound of his alarm blaring far too close to his ear. 

“Ouch,” he muttered. He rubbed the side of his head and pushed back his hair with the same hand, exhaling loudly. He made a mental note to stop sleeping with his phone on his pillow and forced himself out of bed.

Today was the day. He was heading off on a plane to Montana at 2 PM. 

And he hadn’t packed a thing.  

He begrudgingly encouraged himself to head to the kitchen and make himself some breakfast before heading out and preparing for the day. He was expecting to find an abandoned living room when he left his bedroom, lights off and no noise to be heard. But instead what he heard and saw were voices coming from his couch and three heads popping up over the top of the cushions. And he’d recognize those voices and heads of hair anywhere. 

“Kung Lao, Tomas, and is that Kuai Liang ? It’s been so long!” he called out. “Give me just a second.” He rushed back into his bedroom and tossed on a dress shirt and jeans, leaving the shirt unbuttoned as he slid on his comfortable and fashionable boots over his black socks. He placed his cowboy hat on his head and when he found himself back in the living room, his friends were waiting expectantly and had spread themselves out in the room. 

Johnny held out his arms in welcome and plopped down on the couch in between Kung Lao and Tomas, spreading his legs and leaning back to get comfortable. “How long have you been here?”

“Have you packed a single thing, Johnny?” Kuai Liang inquired.

Johnny hated how well his friends knew him. He also loved that they were there for him, though.

Kung Lao he had met in the business, and at first they didn’t get along too well, but now he was the only farmer Johnny could tolerate. Probably because he complained actively about being sick of it. They were the best of friends. 

Kuai Liang he hadn’t seen in a while, but he was the brother of Tomas. Tomas was his assistant, sure, but before that they’d become acquaintances through Kuai Liang. Tomas was a bit of a fan at first, but Johnny had come to see him as a little brother. 

His three favorite people surrounded him and he was more than happy to see them. He hated that he’d have to leave them behind for a month. 

“Well, why don’t we all go grab some breakfast before we talk about that?”

“You have no time for that,” Kung Lao stated bluntly. 

“We need to get you packed, sir,” Tomas added.

“We’re not at work, Tomas, you don’t have to call me that. And even at work you don’t have to. I really wish you wouldn’t.” But his friends ignored him and stood, bullying their way into his bedroom. He followed close behind.

He reclaimed his couch position, except this time on his bed, and laughed. “What would I do without you guys?” 

“Be out of a job, that’s what,” Kung Lao replied, rolling his eyes and shoving Johnny’s hat down over his face. 

Johnny's many suitcases were open and ready on the floor, but barren. “You better get up because you know well enough that if we do this you’re gonna be unhappy with our clothing choices. Can’t believe you got yourself in trouble again. And bad this time,” the farmer continued. 

“Only Johnny could manage,” Kuai Liang offered, carrying out a mass amount of bathing supplies from Johnny’s master bathroom in his muscular arms. He dropped them into a suitcase carelessly and disappeared back into the room he’d been in. 

Johnny finally stood up, flicking his hat back in place, and decided it was best to start in the closet. He tossed the items he was taking onto the bed and hummed a tune to himself. 

“Do you really need to take every coat you own?” Tomas asked genuinely.

“Yes!” Johnny declared. “Are you crazy? They’re a fashion necessity, Tommy.”

“For who to see? The chickens?” Kung Lao teased. 

“Alright, alright! I’ll leave a couple behind.” His mood changed instantaneously as he fully processed what their impromptu packing process meant. “I don’t want to do this,” he complained. “I’m 29 years old. Why does Liu Kang have me doing this instead of just putting out an apology?”

“Why does Liu Kang make us do anything he comes up with?” Kung Lao said. 

“You’ll be okay, Johnny,” Kuai Liang offered. Apparently he’d made his return from raiding Johnny’s bathroom. “Liu Kang does what he does for a reason. I think he just wants you to be able to rise to your full potential.”

And that’s what everyone was telling him. That Liu Kang wanted the best for him. The worst part was, he believed it. He just didn't know how this trip would possibly teach him anything. He knew not to do something like that again. He understood that he’d overreacted. 

So what was his boss thinking?

Whatever it was, he thought as he folded up his button-ups and slacks and placed them carefully into the nearest suitcase, he was not excited to find out.  

Chapter Text

Getting off of the plane in Montana was one thing. 

Johnny was willing to admit that it was perhaps…pretty. 

The tall, chocolate-brown mountains loomed over the horizon and the clouds drifted lazily across the baby blue sky. The grass grew tall, but appeared to be drying out in the intense summer heat, and the breeze was crisp and gentle. It was quiet and peaceful, nothing but the background noise the insects produced and the chirps of the birds flying through the sky at a pace that implied they had nowhere else to be.

Johnny had heard tales of grizzly bears and cougars that were the size of mammoths, roaming the forests and the crop lands from Montana all the way down to New Mexico. They’d snatch up unsuspecting cattlemen in the dead of night when they tended the cows and fetched the chicken eggs and take them back to their dens, stowed away in the shadows. 

Of course he knew they were just children’s stories- folklore in what he considered to be his hometown of Houston, narratives that the elderly cowboys concocted to frighten the youngins. But deep down, the child in him still believed in the tales. Now, in the unknown wilderness, they frightened him. 

Being in a new place was never scary for Johnny. He traveled around the U.S. plenty for rodeos and for recreational purposes. But he’d never been up north. He never roamed near the Dakotas, or Idaho, or Minnesota, or god forbid, Montana. And sure, he wasn’t even near his ranch yet. He was still in the city, surrounded by the revving of car engines and the street lights. But fear of what was to come always haunted Johnny.

8 year old Johnny, who moved to Texas in mid spring in his 2nd grade year, longed to be home. He longed for the arenas he loved so dearly, the Sienna sky and the milky white moon. 29 year old Johnny longed for familiarity. For his California King sized bed overlooking his hillside view, atop the rocks and the water and the greenery. His idea of home had changed drastically in the 2 decades of aging. 

He pondered all of this while piling his previously retrieved bags into the rental Liu Kang had prepared for him. The power his boss had sometimes scared him. Even Johnny couldn’t have a car specially prepared for him that quickly by his own command. Tomas would find a way for him, though, he thought. 

While on the topic of Tomas, Johnny realized that not having Tomas by his side was already becoming irritating. Why on God’s green earth was Johnny placing his own bags in the hatch of a Honda accord? Why wasn’t Tomas fitting them into the back of his Lamborghini like Tetris blocks, perfect, precise, and most importantly to Johnny, without him lifting a finger? 

He groaned and whined as he filled up the space. His luggage wasn’t heavy by any means, and it wasn’t all too tedious, but Johnny was, if nothing else, a drama queen. Finally finished making a fuss, he climbed into the driver's side. It had been a while since he’d driven anywhere.

Tomas would pick up his groceries. He would take flights out to different cities, never roadtrips. He was dropped off at and escorted to every rodeo by a bodyguard or Tomas or Kung Lao. 

He forgot how much he loved the feel of the leather under his fingertips and the control that driving gave you. You had one destination, but you chose how you got there. 

He took one last look at the airport parking lot and the city he had landed in. He imagined the modern buildings being replaced by worn down cabins and chicken coops and the smell of gas and fresh air replaced by manure and pine trees. He scrunched up his face at the possibility- no, at the reality that was to come- and considered turning around. Using his millions of dollars to book a flight back home, staying in a hotel for a couple of nights with at the very least, decent room service, and then pretending like nothing ever happened. Debating with his boss and finding a compromise. 

But he couldn’t. Not now. He had a point to prove. Even though he wouldn’t like it, he would survive. He could manage a month away from what he knew. Certainly he could. He didn’t know whether he was convincing himself or attempting to telepathically send the message to everyone who doubted him, but either way, it was true. 

So he put the car in gear, pulled his sunglasses down from his head and pushed them up his nose, and prepared himself for a month of everything he’d never wanted.

“Ranch life,” he whispered to no one in particular, “here I come.” 

— 

The car ride was only 2 hours, a quick journey for anyone accustomed to driving, but Johnny, after so long of being handed help on a silver platter, had struggled. He’d made too many wrong turns for his comfortability level and had been honked at one too many times. To anyone else, it surely looked like he shouldn’t have been allowed on the road. 

Finally, after the 120 minutes, and an extra 30 for Johnny’s lack of road awareness and behind-the-wheel-skill, he found where he was supposed to be. 

And it was terrible. 

He stood, awestruck, in front of the small building. It was made of what appeared to be the dead trunks of many redwood trees and was square, no fancy jutted out areas or architectural wonders, except for one simple bay window that was visible in the front of the house. The rectangular porch had rounded out railing boards and tall columns connecting its outer corners to the slab that Johnny supposed would be called an awning, which was decorated with the same ash gray shingles that covered the houses roof. 

Johnny made his way around the back, and the yard was humongous in comparison, however Johnny supposed it couldn’t really be called a yard. It was just…a never-ending field. A never-ending field that came accompanied by so many cows he felt like he was seeing stars, and on top of that, there was the chicken coop he dreaded so much. There was a small building, that to Johnny looked incomplete, but he was knowledgeable enough to know that it was the place where the cows fed, were milked, and so on. 

His examination was cut short by a kindly sounding man. Johnny jumped nevertheless and spun around, raising his eyebrows and looking over the top of his sunglasses. 

“Ah, you must be Johnny Cage!”

“Yes, I am. And you must be a mammoth-cougar if you’re out here,” Johnny cracked. He realized his mistake instantly as the puzzled man shook his head. “Not from my part of Houston, huh?”

The man ignored the question and continued his introduction. “I am Raiden. I own this land, but my good friend has requested I let you look after it until the end of July. I am here to introduce myself and then I will be on my way.” 

“Ah…well, good to meet you. Want an autograph while you’re here?” Johnny winked and bared his teeth to one side. 

“Mm…no thank you, Johnny. Please enjoy your time here. I am only a few miles out if you need help, working at and residing in the market, but your closest neighbor is Kenshi Takahashi. He is south of you and will assist you. Don’t take anything he says to heart.” Raiden chuckled and offered his hand. Johnny shook it firmly and a feeling he wasn’t expecting to grow to know here crept into his belly— ease. 

“Thank you, Raiden. Cool hat. I’ll keep you and…Kenshi…in mind.” He grinned and Raiden nodded, making his exit without another word. He quickly returned, though. 

“Johnny, I can’t take the vehicle if you don’t remove your personal items from it.”

Johnny paused. The ease he felt before left. “What? Take the car?”

“Yes. Liu Kang has requested I take it for you and you will ride the Quarter Horse, Stetson. He’s a nervous creature, but he’ll warm up to you.”

Johnny's mind was running at a million miles an hour. Horse riding wasn’t his job, it was bull riding. He had more luck on a bucking bull than he would on a ‘Quarter Horse.’ He couldn’t believe Raiden was smiling. Why was everyone so okay with this arrangement? 

“I…okay.” He had no fight left in him for the day. Not after the plane ride, not after the driving incident, not after seeing his new living quarters. He felt like he wasn’t Johnny Cage at that moment. It made him ever so slightly nauseous. 

He reluctantly made his way to the Honda and unloaded his bags with the help of his newfound friend.

— 

“Tomas, I’m so serious,” Johnny laughed out. 

He was lying on his stomach on his small full-size bed, his belongings thrown recklessly around aside from his hat, which hung on a small hook on the inner door. He was dirty and unhappy and entirely too exhausted, but he was laughing with his friends and it was okay…for now.

Kung Lao shoved his face into frame, pushing Tomas’s head down and he was laughing so hard Johnny thought he might fly back to Houston just to punch him. 

“It’s not funny!”

“You let a chicken beat you in a fight,” Kuai Liang sounded from somewhere off camera. “It’s definitely a little funny.” 

He groaned and rolled over, but he was laughing. 

“Y’know, I’m just grateful Liu Kang likes me enough that he sent me somewhere with service. How is there even service out here?”

Tomas shook his head, unsure. “I don’t know. You’re Johnny Cage, sir, of course that’s possible for you.”

The reminder left a pang in Johnny’s chest. He was Johnny Cage. Popular, envied, admired. And now he was…alone. And he was peculiar, with his slacks and button-ups, and even his cowboy hat didn’t disguise his differences. “How’s the season going?” he asked quietly. 

“Not as great without you,” Kung Lao said in a rare moment of sincerity. “It’s okay, but…y’know, I can’t carry the sport all by myself,” he joked. 

Johnny nodded, body language softer than usual. 

“You’ll be back in time for finals, sir,” Tomas encouraged him. But it was no good.

“Yeah, but I’ll have missed so much time…I won’t be allowed to compete in them.”

The truth hurt a great amount. It had only been a day, and he was already struggling. His head hurt and he hadn’t genuinely interacted with the animals other than a very stubborn chicken who didn’t want to eat the food Johnny was sprinkling on the ground and instead wanted to eat him. He was sure half of the cows were practically dying because he didn’t know how to wrangle them in order to do the nightly check in with them and their health that was on “Liu Kang’s List of Bullshit for Johnny.” 

He was having a hard time. He’d never admit it, but they all knew. 

“You should ask your neighbor for help.” It was like Tomas could read his mind. “I’ll tell Liu Kang you did fine today, and tomorrow you can get some advice.”

Johnny nodded, but the truth was, that made him nervous. Surely any traditional cowboy had seen his frankly offensive public statement and he wasn’t looking to pick a fight on his second day on the farm. 

It was looking like his only choice with the way things were going, though. So he agreed, bid his friends farewell, and shut off his phone for the night, preparing himself for the horse ride in the morning, just like he’d prepared for the afternoon plane ride before today.