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“So? How do we wanna go out?”
Robby's words echo in Eli's head, ricocheting around with momentum and force he wasn't expecting.
Sam is right. This is the last time they'll all fight together. This is the last time they'll fight Cobra Kai together. Eli knew senior year was about endings, he just hadn't had to face one yet.
This is the end of a long, messy, life-changing, karate-filled journey.
Suddenly, all the petty arguing and paranoia seem frankly stupid.
"Eli."
It would be putting it lightly to say Eli's eyes snap up. The moment Demetri speaks his name–sudden yet unsure, quiet yet resounding, soft yet scared–Eli is looking at him.
Demetri's eyes are soft. The wall Eli's contently and safely built around himself since that day they fought in the woods crumbles. Eli thinks Demetri’s always been braver than him, speaking up first.
"How do we wanna go out?"
He's on his feet. Gravity shifts sideways and suddenly every inch of his body is being pulled towards Demetri.
It’s all bullshit. He feels like he’s been facing Demetri’s cold shoulder for months instead of weeks. They don’t have enough time . Soon the mats at the Sekai Taikai will turn into the graduation stage. Demetri will slip away from him completely–holding a grudge that will put an irreversible strain on their relationship until it fades away entirely.
It’s just- there's so much Eli wants to experience. The world feels crushingly big and Eli is infinitesimally small. He didn’t think he’d lose Demetri completely just because he changed his mind about his future. Leave no stone unturned. Leave no words unsaid. Leave no punch not thrown and all that shit. Live life to the fullest.
And yet, he still hasn't said enough to Demetri. There’s so much left unsaid with the guy standing in front of him.
And, oh- Demetri is standing in front of him. His eyes are wide.
There's so much Eli hasn't said.
"I'm really sorry."
Eli’s voice comes out gentler than he's heard it in a long time. Maybe gravity isn't an excuse for the way he reaches for Demetri as the words spill out of his mouth.
Demetri used to hold Eli when they were kids. Eli was never a touchy-feely kid growing up–unused to it coming so freely in his own house. Somewhere between the nightmares and the bullying, Demetri taught him the comfort of a simple hug.
So, when Eli reaches, and Demetri all but falls forward, yanking him tightly into his arms, the axis of Eli’s world, off-centered for weeks, clicks back into place. Demetri buries his face in his neck and all Eli can do is cling to him.
"I- I didn't mean to hurt you."
Again and again and again . Eli thinks, I didn't mean to hurt you again.
Demetri pulls back to look at him, Eli has to calm his erratic heart when he sees the regret, hurt, and longing swirling in Demetri's eyes. Demetri lets him go.
"I know you didn't. I-"
Eli feels his body sag in relief. The tension that has been throwing off his karate game seeps out of his muscles. He’s so relieved that he’s left completely defenseless to Demetri’s blunt honesty that comes sweeping in next, knocking him square in the jaw.
"I'm just scared of losing my best friend."
His erratic heart stops altogether.
Call him hypocritical, but Eli’s been terrified of that for a long time too. The thing is, he’s already experienced it. He’s already lost Demetri. And it was entirely his fault. And it sucked. He vowed to never let him go again after Demetri forgave him in the LaRusso’s house on December 19th.
It's the reason he holds himself back. It's the reason he has so much he wants to tell Demetri but has never let himself. He never wants to lose him. How ironic it is that Eli keeps managing to find ways to fucking push him away anyway.
His eyes search Demetri's face. The way he- his voice- all of it. Eli doesn't want to hope.
He just stares.
At Demetri's lips.
"How do we wanna go out?"
If Demetri doesn’t want to lose Eli, maybe they really can move past anything. Maybe everyone is right when they say that they come back to each other no matter what.
He glances up to Demetri's eyes. There’s something heavy there.
Demetri says, "I'm gonna miss you so much, man."
And, fuck if it doesn't crush Eli's heart.
He knew rationally that the reason Demetri lashed out at him was because he was hurt and because he cares about Eli and because a future where they aren't together practically every day is fucking terrifying. But it's different to hear out loud. And Eli reads between the lines.
This is a goodbye. Demetri is letting him go.
Eli can feel his heart in his throat. They don’t have enough time.
"Yeah," Eli whispers. He tears his eyes away from Demetri's mouth. He looks up and assures him, "But you're always gonna be my person."
His brother, his best friend, his family, his Demetri. No matter what form of love it is, there will never be a day when Eli Moskowitz doesn't love Demetri Alexopolous.
"How do we wanna go out?"
The corners of Demetri's mouth turn up slightly. Blame gravity, but Eli leans in.
Eli used to be the guy who prayed he'd get superpowers but only so that he could turn invisible and disappear from every problem in his life. Somewhere between the mohawk and the karate, he became the guy who never shies away from a fight. Eli strikes first. He's about to go onto those mats and fucking leave it all out there. Give it his fucking all until he bleeds. He wants it so bad. To be great.
He has other wants too, though. There's a soft part of him that just wants Demetri to believe he's great.
He could do it, just lean in, steal a kiss, steal maybe two. But he doesn't. Right now, he wants another goddamn hug from the guy who taught him what unconditional love is.
It's been weeks of Demetri ignoring him, chastising him, berating him, and Demetri just folded his cards. He laid himself bare for Eli. He's scared and he's given himself up. He’s giving Eli up. And for two people about to enter their last match of the karate tournament of their lives, they're both all out of fight.
He pulls Demetri flush against him in another hug and holds him. Demetri goes easily. Eli can feel him tuck himself into Eli’s neck, clinging tightly to the back of his gi. Miguel used to joke that the two of them have telepathy. Eli hopes that if Demetri can read his mind, he’s hearing the promises of never letting him go loud and clear. Demetri might be setting Eli free, but he better know Eli isn’t going fucking anywhere, not in the longrun.
He tucks his own face into Demetri's neck and inhales deeply. He wants to stay there forever.
But they don’t have enough time.
Sniffles and “Okay, enough. There’s no crying in karate,” from Devon bring Eli back down to earth. For a moment he forgot where they were. Forgot that their team–their family–just watched their entire exchange. Eli feels a blush creep up his neck. God is he glad he didn't lay one on Demetri in front of everyone.
Miguel pulls them both in for a hug. Eli's heart aches knowing their trio only has so much more time together before it everything changes.
"Who are we?"
"MIYAGI DO!"
Eli’s mind feels clear. Adrenaline rushes through him. It’s the same clarity he felt when he denounced Cobra Kai for good, took Demetri’s hand, and embraced the light side again. As he cheers and hollers with his team, he feels like he did right before he won his final All-Valley fight. He feels like he’s on top of the world. He feels like there’s nothing he can’t do.
He feels like doing something impulsive.
It happens in the hallway outside the locker room.
Eli brings up the rear as the team pours out of the locker room, following their senseis back to the mats, still whopping and yelling at the top of their lungs. As Demetri goes to follow, Eli grabs his wrist to stop him. He turns, confused, still smiling, but subdued. His eyebrows knit together as he glances from Eli’s hand to his eyes.
The air is humming with adrenaline and the energy from their team. Eli feels like he could run a marathon, take on any fighter out there, climb a mountain, leave some things a little less unsaid. His eyes find Demetri’s lips again on their own accord.
“How do you wanna go out?” Eli blurts out.
Demetri quirks an eyebrow. He glances around the hallway. “Um. Through the doorway?”
Eli lets out a startled laugh. “No. No. What Robby said. This is it. How do you want to go out?”
Demetri’s expression softens.
“I feel like it was pretty obvious in the locker room there,” Demetri jokes, trying to lighten the tension again.
Then, he’s quiet. Demetri swallows, and Eli’s eyes follow his Adam’s apple. When his eyes find Demetri’s, Eli is met with a fondness that he’s grown used to but has been missing for weeks.
“Same as always,” Demetri says softy. “By your side. On your side.”
Eli doesn’t need any more convincing. He already made up his mind.
Demetri continues. “This whole epic karate journey has been far more transformative for you than it ever was for me,” he gestures dramatically at Eli’s entire being, and Eli laughs again. “How do you wanna go out?”
And as if Eli was waiting for Demetri to ask (and he was), he takes a confident step forward and grabs the front of Demetri’s gi.
Demetri’s lips are soft. Eli thinks absentmindedly that Demetri is much taller than the last time they did this, all awkward and pre-growth spurt middle schoolers desperate to get a first kiss out of the way. Eli remembers how he cried to Demetri after being called “Shit-Lip” in front of the entire eighth grade. The first who would ever kiss that ? sent him into a spiral that led to believing he’d die alone. And, if a girl ever did kiss him, she’d probably be revolted by not only his lip, but the fact that he doesn’t know how to kiss.
“Well, we could practice?” Demetri had suggested. “No, no, hear me out. Then, when someone does finally kiss you, you’ll flip their world upside down with your impeccable makeout skills.”
He couldn’t stop thinking about kissing Demetri again for a long time after that. Now that he’s finally doing it, he doesn’t know why he hasn’t been from the very beginning. He wonders if Demetri’s world is right-side up or not. He hopes it’s not.
After a moment of shock, Demetri relaxes against him. And then, he kisses Eli back. With reinstated confidence and determination, Eli pulls him even closer. Demetri’s hands find his waist and he all but clings to him, the same desperate grip as their hugs.
The kiss is bruising. Eli takes this as his opportunity to convey all his feelings. He doesn’t want Demetri to let him go. Eli needs Demetri to understand just how important he is to him. He’s not going anywhere. And by the way Demetri eagerly responds to Eli’s tongue tracing his lips, parting his lips with a soft noise, Eli hopes that the message is received.
“Holy shit,” Demetri murmurs in-between kisses. “This- this is- shit, Eli, I never thought-”
“Do you ever shut up?”
Eli’s hands twist into his hair and pull him down for another kiss. From the way Demetri hums into it, it doesn’t seem like he is complaining.
Eli wishes he could say that he doesn’t give a shit about the Sekai Taikai, that he would stay in this moment forever, kissing Demetri as hard and desperately as he can. But, he does give a shit. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. He cares a lot. And he knows Demetri does too, as much as he tries not to let on. And their team is probably waiting for them.
When Eli pulls away, releasing Demetri from a near-death grip, Demetri looks dazed. They’re still so close. Demetri’s hands encircling his waist feel like they’re burning through his gi. His lips look pinker now. Eli wants to kiss him again.
It takes Demetri a minute to get his bearings, blinking rapidly. His eyes soften, and his confusion returns.
He searches Eli’s face, analyzing for some kind of answer, “What-”
Eli answers the question before he can ask it.
“That’s how I wanna go out.”
Maybe they would’ve had some dramatic confession if they had more time, and maybe they wouldn’t have. Before Demetri can say anything more, Miguel’s turning the corner of the hall, his jog coming to a halt as he spots them. He shouts,
“Guys!”
Startled, they spring apart in an instant. Demetri nonchalantly tries to lean an arm against the wall of the hallway, undershoots by a foot, and nearly topples over. He catches himself and straightens, looking down the hall to Miguel. Eli bites his lip trying not to laugh.
“What’s the hold-up? The match is about to start! Get your asses out there!”
“We’re coming,” Eli calls. He smirks deviously and looks at Demetri. “Demetri was just apologizing to me for ripping ass all week in his sleep.”
Demetri sputters, “For the LAST TIME, it wasn’t me!”
Eli grins and shrugs. As he sets off for Miguel, he turns. Taking in Demetri’s exasperated expression, Eli winks at him.
As he jogs towards Miguel, Eli hears Demetri sigh and quietly mutter, “I’m gonna kill him.”