[ (cw: father-son issues involving abandonment, swearing?? idk i'm bad at these )
This sucks.
This would be everything: The chill in the air made drearier from the decor on this side of town (seriously? eyes?); the wait for an inevitable that he's stuck in, the meeting he'd rather avoid; the fact he's planning to go through with it, and not just ditch this place, check his Omni for some form of GPS and get walking. Why not be more like what he's used to from certain others, and don't be around - don't show up?
...But he doesn't want to think like that, dig up old bitterness to chew on for flavour as he waits; even as his thoughts fight with some distant memory, a promise that things will be okay. And then over to the life here in Trench he hasn't been a part of, again, of the ones making him proud and happy.
He doesn't care. It was a long time ago. What if things will be different?
(What if they won't?)
--He hates this waiting around. He's got his eyes open, ears too, back turned to a lamp post that's the least creepy of nearby decor that keeps him out of people's way, the motifs of eyes all strongly ignored. His dress style makes him visible amongst the fashions of Trench, dressed in his green varsity jacket and jeans more suited for the Earth he's from.
And he waits, as he said he would. For whatever comes around the corner - for whatever comes next. ]
[Eventually something would come around the corner. Or at least a set of lights approached it and there was a bumping that could be heard along the cobblestone road. There weren't many cars in Trench but this one certainly stood out. It was Johnny's 2009 Challenger, refitted to work on the fuel sources available in Trench.
It came to a screeching halt just before the corner approaching the school.]
Get the hell out of the way, asshole! I'm driving here!
[The voice should be familiar enough to Robby. Despite being loud and annoyed, there was a tension that couldn't be ignore in it. The car approached the corner again and Johnny looked around the corner, his knuckles white on the steering wheel. It had been months since he last saw his son for real. Not a specter. Not a memory. The real flesh and blood Robby. ...He was also painfully aware he might not be the man his son remembers. That he was from a different time than both LaRusso and Tory and that was probably the same for Robby as well. He was absolutely terrified of fucking this up.
But he glanced over to LaRusso who was sitting in his passenger seat. It wasn't comfort he was looking for, it was an urge to prove to himself and LaRusso that he could do this. That he could be there for his son when he needed him. That's all he needed.
The car turned and bumped along the road toward where Robby stood. Eventually coming to a stop as Johnny killed the engine. There was a nervous pause as he sucked in a breath before opening the door and poking his head out.]
Robby.
Hey.
[His words come to him slow and a little shaky. But hey. He actually showed up.]
[ It's not like it's the first time sitting in a car next to Johnny without him being at the wheel himself - but it sure is exactly like the last time the two of them did like this, huh. Johnny driving like he's in some action movie. In a place where there aren't even any other cars than their two cars, so there's not even any reason for road rage.
He may have seen his life flash before his eyes at least three times during the ride, honestly. Can he go back and instead pick the demon that was chasing him and Robby back in those weird rooms? He'll take that, thanks. Sorry that he can't fully be your emotional support right now, Johnny, Daniel is too busy trying to not puke.
It's why he takes a deep breath when the car does stop. Thank god. He made it. He lives.
And even more fortunately, there Robby is. Just like they arranged over their texts. Robby didn't walk away this time - which must mean the other really is willing to make an effort.
(And he's looking like he's alright too, Daniel thinks, as he looks at him. He must have had the same exit as Daniel - which wasn't exactly comfortable, but at least also not lethal either. Another thing he's very glad for.)
He does get out of the car to try and get some feeling that isn't shaky adrenaline back into his body after that ride, but Daniel stays on his side of the car, not getting between Johnny's greeting to Robby just yet.
It's just like Johnny said, after all. This is about Robby. No matter how much Johnny has annoyed him to hell and back in this place, Daniel can be mature about this and at least allow the two to have this moment for Robby's sake without cutting in just yet. ]
There's a flinch at the noise, the speeding of a car that sticks out in otherwise engine-less streets. Not an unfamiliar sound, with it only being a day or two ago that Robby heard one - that exact one, speeding off by him. Oblivious, not unreasonable, but far more annoying at the time.
This round, it makes Robby swallow the dread in his throat, preparing for what's coming. Silencing his agitated brain better than his own attempts, apprehension twisting with something giddy, expectant. The other day isn't on his mind, the scene he saw there -- it's gone, replaced by a different reason his gut twists to see his father in the threshold.
Hey. ]
Hey. [ He's already got his hands shoved in the pockets of his jacket, balled up to stop them from fussing. His own reply cool, slightly detached, but in that teen, casual way. Robby's looking at his dad, eyes glancing over to Daniel when he steps out the car. Eyes catching, but Robby turns his gaze down to the ground.
For the record, he looks alright. Hair a little ruffled, but it wasn't much tidy in the first place. Closer to what Daniel will remember than Johnny, but still - he's Robby. ]
Tory told me you both were here. I showed up two days ago; I was trying to get a hang of the place. [ So. He speaks slow in his own way, eyes not particularly sticking still, but returning more onto his father - avoiding Daniel, for the time being. And this is an explanation that he feels his dad deserves more, even admitting: ] I was planning on getting in touch today or tomorrow.
[ There's a 'sorry I didn't' implied, if not said outright. ]
[Daniel's the furthest thing from his mind right now. He doesn't particularly care what his high school rival is up to at the moment. But lord knows once he says or does anything that Johnny's attention will rocket right back over there.
Instead he does his best to focus on what's important here. Robby was here. His son was here. He was so grateful for the chance to see he again and also absolutely terrified that anything, even a stiff breeze could drive a bigger wedge between them. His hand stays on the door of the car and he realizes he's lost feeling in it from how tight he's gripping the vehicle.
He's quiet and let's Robby say his part. There's an awkward pause before he finally realizes he should say something.]
Yeah. This place can be a little weird- I've been here for a few months now. I uh- get that.
[There's another pause. His eyes shift up to the sky and he adds in.]
Tory's a good kid. You uh ...staying with her?
[There's another shift. Johnny wants to say that the Dojo doors are open for Robby too. That he was welcome to stay with him if he wants.
The words don't make it out of his mouth. Instead replaced with an awkward cough.]
[ As Daniel watches the two, there's definitely a moment where it feels like maybe he shouldn't be here. Johnny seems to be behaving here, after all - for once in his life, the more sarcastic part of Daniel's brain adds to that statement. And Robby seems.. better. Maybe better is still slightly too big of a word for it, but he's actually reaching out a little, rather than shoving away. Daniel has absolutely no idea what made the other change his mind, considering all Daniel remembers is the tournament, but he's glad for it all the same.
.. even though Robby is pretty obviously ignoring his gaze there. Johnny's petty arguing from earlier doesn't quite get under his skin as much. The other could tell him to get lost twenty thousand times, and Daniel wouldn't go. Would perhaps even stay just to be petty about it. But if Robby wouldn't want to be here, would for whatever mysterious reason suddenly prefer to just have Johnny here.. then Daniel doesn't belong in this moment, huh. Maybe he'd just make things worse, and not even by doing anything in particular. Just by existing.
But he can't help but think back on everything. The moments they spent together before everything went so wrong. Calling Robby family, and still believing that, even now. Even after everything. Why else would he have kept reaching out while the boy was in juvie, or pick him up once he got out, or run to him the moment he knew Terry Silver was near him to warn Robby about it? Because even among the hurt, his feelings didn't change.
And he wants to be here.
So Daniel steps around the car until he's on the same side as Johnny and Robby. He figures he ought to tell the kid that Johnny is from a different point in time than them, but mentioning it right at a moment where the blonde is looking awkward is just asking for this to stupidly escalate. Maybe he can save it for another moment, especially while Johnny is.. doing his best. By Johnny standards.
Instead he tries to keep his tone light as he speaks, despite the heaviness in his heart. Robby asked to not talk about the past right now, so he won't. He'll shove it down. ]
Seems like she already helped you out.
[ Look, Daniel knows you're not getting those clothes anywhere in Trench. And he's pretty sure those aren't Robby's own he took with him from back home - so it doesn't take too long to connect two and two there. ]
I know it's probably not your first option. [ Look, he'll at least acknowledge that. Okay. He spent months with Robby not even wanting to look at the two of them with anything but an edgy bad boy look, let alone accept help from them. ] But if you need anything else, you know you can always ask us.
[ It's not quite as amicable as Daniel can sometimes be, too overly welcoming with a twinkle in his eye, but there's still a faint warmth surrounding the words all the same that can't help but leak out from them. M-Maybe he's just happy Robby is even just talking to him again, even just a little bit, okay. ]
[ The awkward end to his dad's question gets a small tug of his brief, confused. Was he (subtly, poorly) asking if they were a thing? -- but that's nothing to fluster him. ]
Yeah, I'm staying with her. [ The question of a love life isn't for today, the offer that wanted to be laid out completely missed. Eyes looking over again as Daniel makes his move over, but adding: ] She's got a place - there's room.
[ And he doesn't feel like he's intruding with her, though everything continues to be - strange. The distant between his...life before coming to Trench closing in, but the journey, the turbulent waves as real and clinging to him as the struggle to become was fresh in his mind.
But he shifts back to Mister LaRusso again when he speaks, cautious. Not avoiding his eye this time, but not solid, intense as he uses against his opponents on the mat. Never look away. It wasn't so long ago he had figured he was a delusion of that place, but the reality of him doesn't bother him. It's more everything about them, everything about him- even now, just so annoyingly... Mister LaRusso, in the way he speaks. Subdued, but no less offering his help.
It shouldn't annoy him on instinct, but it does. But Robby also takes the moment to think; knowing he doesn't want anything material from either of them, but: ]
That place... [ He looks at the both of them. ] Do you know what that was? Is that- normal? Ending up somewhere crazy?
[ He's been warned about Beasts. Nothing about horror movie sets. ]
[There's a shot of annoyance that runs through Johnny's very being. He tries to reign in it and mostly succeeds. It stings that Daniel beat him to the punch of offering Robby help. It doesn't help that Robby already has a place and turns it down, he still feels it was his place to ask first.
He lightly raises up a hand but it falls flat as he knows it wont do anything.]
Yeah... And the dojo's always open to you too.
[His tone is flat in delivery and trails off toward the end.
He listens between the both of them and shifts nervously. He's been spit out in a few weird places here but he certainly wasn't an expert.]
It's kind of normal. I wound up in a weird jungle once. Punched a giant frog in the face.
[ Daniel definitely hasn't been around for long enough to have experienced the frog punching jungle extravaganza, but for once he's willing to not chalk that story up as some ridiculous Johnny thing. It sounds like something that definitely could happen in this place. What happened to him and Robby just now was new to him, actually being dragged to some different place entirely, but it's nowhere near out of the realm of possibility with the things Daniel has already seen.
So he just nods at Johnny's explanation - sure, even at the frog punching part, though maybe not at the 'pretty cool' part, Johnny, please - and then adds: ]
I'm not sure what that place specifically was. [ Considering he actually saw it together with Robby. ] But it's probably like that jungle Johnny mentioned. Just other weird places we occasionally get dropped into with no explanation.
[ He sighs, clearly not entusiastic about the idea. But he's also come to terms it's just how things work here, and you've got to deal with it somehow. ]
You've got to expect the weird here. Constantly. I mean.. [ .. Daniel's voice trails off. Maybe this is a good moment to bring it up? If not now, then it's never going to be a good moment.
But Johnny hasn't punched him in the face yet, which is probably the best he's going to get, opportunity-wise. ]
For example.. I don't know if Tory told you, but not everyone arrives in place from the same point in time, even when they come from the same place.
[ See, he's at least nice enough to not mention who's the outlier here. Do you see what he's doing for you, Johnny? Giving you a chance to tell your son about it yourself! He's practically putting the ball in front of your feet, right in front of the goal. ]
[ His lips part after Johnny speaks; maybe for no reason, or maybe he sorta thought of something to say. It was the latter, since, hey, he got to hit a giant crab with a fire axe -- but it's Mister LaRusso who speaks, and so his mouth closes as he listens.
Okay, weird other realms are just a thing here too. Why not.
But it's not the weirdest information they have to share as LaRusso goes on, and Robby blinks, his puzzlement clear. None of that hesitance in his gaze as he looks between the both of them. ]
What?
[ --Does this have something to do with where his memories end? But he'll hold out on voicing that, waiting to see what they say first. ]
[Johnny had kind of hoped the frog story might lighten the mood and open up a more casual conversation, it hadn't really done that. Instead it opened the door to something he hadn't realized he was dreading talking about until it actually came up.
The fact that both Tory and Daniel were from his future. Or that he was lagging behind on the memory department. That- That meant Robby might knew more than he did too. His hair was certainly different. Johnny felt his knuckles tighten as another flash of fear and anger kicked up in him.
What if he screwed up worse with Robby since then? He had talked to Tory, he had talked with LaRusso. But he didn't know everything that had happened between them.
He flashes a quick glare Daniel's way.]
Why did you have to bring that up? Are you trying to rub it in my face that you-
["That you know more than me." He cuts himself off. Remembering what Miguel had taught him about holding in his anger.
He looks back Robby's way and tries to explain.]
What he's saying is-
That I'm wasn't brought here from the same time as everyone else.
The last thing I remember is the day I dropped you off at school.
Miss Nichols and LaRusso have told me a little about what happened after that.
I met Kreese's boyfriend too before either of them showed up. But he was pretty tight lipped about everything. He's not here anymore.
[ The moment Johnny glares at Daniel, Daniel is immediately ready to meet him with a look of his own. He doesn't even say anything, but everything he wants to say is right there in his eyes.
Not now!
Look, he gets lashing out at each other is their thing, but they're not going to do that right now. Not in front of Robby. Johnny may not remember the disaster that was the attempt of picking Robby up from juvie, but Daniel sure isn't eager to repeat that one all over again.
And Daniel is pleased enough with the fact Johnny does cut himself off before going too far, and actually saying what has to be said here without having to be forced even further to do so. It's an important thing to clear up before anyone gets the wrong idea here. Even though Daniel sure doesn't know about the last moment Johnny and Robby spent together from his point of view - if anything, he was just trying to explain why to either of them the other might seem more or less distant than before, given the way Robby only further drifted away from either of them as far as he knows.
He's pleased enough with it all to keep quiet, at the very least, first giving Robby a chance to process all this without throwing even more or something new out there. ]
[ The conversation threatens to veer off from where Robby wants it, but his dad holds his cool, actually answers the question. ...and doing nothing for the confusion muddying him. He's stuck in a silent pause, lips parted and his brow tight in the disbelief that neither are helping as he looks between them; brain trying to comprehend the incomprehensible, his gaze falls for a moment, but--
But he looks back, and this is still happening. This is--for real? ]
How? How... [ He trails, stopping himself, but not having anything to immediately follow. But- ] Is there anything we can do? That was nine months ago.
--For me. [ He adds that last part pointed at Daniel, not knowing their difference; but it's to his dad that he looks back to, lingers on. Nine months of time, and it's not hard to reflect on everything that his dad doesn't know, doesn't remember.
Most of it isn't even good; fuck, is any of it? Except the last memory he has, remembering what his dad said to him. Him believing it, wanting to.
And his dad doesn't know. His dad doesn't remember, and their conversation in that car -- it's been nothing but disappointments from there.
[Johnny feels like he's been pushed into a corner by talking about this. He gets why it might be important but he also knows he can't control it and that pisses him off more than anything.
And then he sees the way Robby's eyes trail down and he feels like he's let his son down all over again. He backs away a few steps and starts counting with his fingers.]
June, July, August... Look, Robby. It's been almost as long for for me. But different. And I don't know if it's something I can fix.
But- I've been trying to get by here. I have- And- If you want I can help you figure things out too.
[ Daniel gives Robby a small nod when the kid looks at him, managing to get it in just before Robby looks back at Johnny. It's just a small confirmation that he's from the same point in time as Robby - all those months ahead of Johnny. There was little doubt in Daniel's mind in the first place that the last thing the other remembered was the tournament in the first place, given Robby's hairstyle and the apology he gave before dragging him right along into that hole.
The apology he's still trying hard to not think about too much here.
Daniel is quiet, listening to the other two, glancing between the way Robby looks at the ground and the way Johnny genuinely seems to try to reach out to the kid. He unfolds his hands for a moment, slowly moving his fingers and then taking in a deep breath. ]
.. look.
[ A part of him feels like he ought to at least try to help breach this gap. Because Johnny is trying, for one. It'd be a different story entirely he was being a total ass, but it's clear that he just wants to actually connect with his son here. And it'd probably be good for Robby himself too - to know that there's more people he can count on here than just Tory.
Besides, isn't this what mister Miyagi would've wanted him to do here? ]
I get it. It's awkward. [ He can't be sure how exactly Robby feels about it, given the fact that he's only been privy to the relationship between these two as an outsider, but in Daniel's own experience the time gap has been very awkward. ] But it's also one of those things we can't change.
[ He sounds calm as he speaks. Maybe that deep breath really helped.
Or maybe it's that he's thinking back on a conversation that feels so very long ago at this point, back in that locker room. Your dad's not a monster. ]
This place.. it's dangerous. [ Daniel glances over at Robby as he says it. Even if the other is still looking at the ground. It's hard to not think about the way the other could have gotten hurt back in that weird place they were dumped into, after all. ] Everyone can use all the help they can get, regardless of those awkward complications.
I know I mean it when I say I'm always willing to help you out. And.. [ Look at him, putting on his big boy panties over here. ] .. it sounds like your dad means it as well.
[ Usually he'd hope that being a big boy here would mean he could count on the favour being repaid in the future.
Here, though? Daniel has no hope. ]
But the choice is always up to you in the end, Robby.
[ It can't be fixed. It's stupid, that he even asked in the first place, but it doesn't make his disappointment any less heavy in how it weighs. It's been a long time for the both of them, but it twists at his gut more than it had when he'd heard it from Tory. Had it been because everything was so-- new at that time? Where the news had been surprising, but easier to digest: they had all made the journey to this place, but their travel hadn't brought them here at the same pace, the same time.
He was glad for Tory, happy - that life was treating her well, even with all of Trench's oddities. And it shouldn't bother him, nine months of mostly nothing between them, and yet--
And yet he has to swallow against something hard in his throat as Daniel speaks. Upset, a frustration that he wouldn't voice even if he was given the chance. He knows too well about irrevocable disappointments to do that, and even how to nurse it well into suppression. This is what life is -- this is how it goes.
He's not twitchy this time at Mister LaRusso's voice of reasoning. And it's true, he knows, that it's not his dad's fault, his eyes flickering over to him at the remark, he means well. And by the time the ball is rolled into his court, that hard lump in his throat has softened, his emotions numbed.
His mouth tugs to a side, a twitch of habit. ]
Yeah, I get it. It's not your fault. [ Robby looks at his dad as he says those words; quietly, but without blame. He then shifts a little on the spot, gives his shoulders a roll. ] I just need a ride back into Crenshaw, or... a part of it I know. I'm doing alright - you don't need to worry about me.
I've been getting help.
[ It's not forced, or assertive. It's actually encouraging, aimed to be, the expression Robby gives them unwilling to drop from something neutral - which is a lot better than it could be, given how he looks in worse moods.
But Robby gets what his father was actually offering. More than just information, or some advice about this or that. Something akin to what he had been searching for in the last of his memories, gone to his dad for, and what he had accepted.
But this time, here - not now. He can't right now. ]
[Johnny is eager to try. And there's a part of him that wants to force his way in to do it. To make up for lost time because of his own poor choices back at home. To be the dad that he wanted to be and get some sort of approval from that he desperately craved. He didn't want to just back away but he was absolutely terrified of screwing things up again.
The tension finally starts to die down when he hears Daniel speak up a bit more in defense of his position. There's a brief moment where his expression actually softens just a touch. But it's only fleeting and he pushes those feelings down in favor of what he believes is saving face.]
Of course, I do. I just want to help-
[And he cuts himself before he tries to push for it again. Robby's offered him an olive branch and while Johnny absolutely hated the taste of olives he figured he might as well take it.]
-But sure.
If you need a lift. I- [And he actually glances over to Daniel. Thankful for the last effort he made, he's willing to throw him a bone too.] -We can give you a lift over there.
Look at that, big boy. Daniel looks visibly surprised to hear it from the other in a way he couldn't hide even if he would have tried - but he doesn't even try, not in this moment. Instead his eyes widen for a moment as he stares at Johnny, before his expression changes into something very, very vaguely amused.
He reaches out, giving the Johnny a manly pat on the back in recognition of the other trying his best here. Especially since he's not only trying his relative best with Daniel here - surprising, given their.. well, everything since the day Daniel showed up here - but also with Robby. Daniel can't bridge the gap between the other two more than he's already tried here, but he hopes that it helps them. It seems like something they'll have to work out later, anyway. Just like Robby told him he didn't want to talk about the past right now.
So if a lift is what they can help him out with right now-- ]
Well, what are we waiting for then?
[ Daniel walks back around the car, getting in on his passenger side seat once more.. even though he sure dreads Johnny racing through the streets of Trench once more, but he also doesn't want to start a fight as dumb as 'who gets to drive' in front of Robby. ]
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timeasmymeasure
also w/ daniel larusso, action, outside school of mutter
Date: 2022-09-05 06:47 pm (UTC)This sucks.
This would be everything: The chill in the air made drearier from the decor on this side of town (seriously? eyes?); the wait for an inevitable that he's stuck in, the meeting he'd rather avoid; the fact he's planning to go through with it, and not just ditch this place, check his Omni for some form of GPS and get walking. Why not be more like what he's used to from certain others, and don't be around - don't show up?
...But he doesn't want to think like that, dig up old bitterness to chew on for flavour as he waits; even as his thoughts fight with some distant memory, a promise that things will be okay. And then over to the life here in Trench he hasn't been a part of, again, of the ones making him proud and happy.
He doesn't care. It was a long time ago. What if things will be different?
(What if they won't?)
--He hates this waiting around. He's got his eyes open, ears too, back turned to a lamp post that's the least creepy of nearby decor that keeps him out of people's way, the motifs of eyes all strongly ignored. His dress style makes him visible amongst the fashions of Trench, dressed in his green varsity jacket and jeans more suited for the Earth he's from.
And he waits, as he said he would. For whatever comes around the corner - for whatever comes next. ]
no subject
Date: 2022-09-06 03:13 pm (UTC)It came to a screeching halt just before the corner approaching the school.]
Get the hell out of the way, asshole! I'm driving here!
[The voice should be familiar enough to Robby. Despite being loud and annoyed, there was a tension that couldn't be ignore in it. The car approached the corner again and Johnny looked around the corner, his knuckles white on the steering wheel. It had been months since he last saw his son for real. Not a specter. Not a memory. The real flesh and blood Robby. ...He was also painfully aware he might not be the man his son remembers. That he was from a different time than both LaRusso and Tory and that was probably the same for Robby as well. He was absolutely terrified of fucking this up.
But he glanced over to LaRusso who was sitting in his passenger seat. It wasn't comfort he was looking for, it was an urge to prove to himself and LaRusso that he could do this. That he could be there for his son when he needed him. That's all he needed.
The car turned and bumped along the road toward where Robby stood. Eventually coming to a stop as Johnny killed the engine. There was a nervous pause as he sucked in a breath before opening the door and poking his head out.]
Robby.
Hey.
[His words come to him slow and a little shaky. But hey. He actually showed up.]
no subject
Date: 2022-09-06 05:17 pm (UTC)He may have seen his life flash before his eyes at least three times during the ride, honestly. Can he go back and instead pick the demon that was chasing him and Robby back in those weird rooms? He'll take that, thanks. Sorry that he can't fully be your emotional support right now, Johnny, Daniel is too busy trying to not puke.
It's why he takes a deep breath when the car does stop. Thank god. He made it. He lives.
And even more fortunately, there Robby is. Just like they arranged over their texts. Robby didn't walk away this time - which must mean the other really is willing to make an effort.
(And he's looking like he's alright too, Daniel thinks, as he looks at him. He must have had the same exit as Daniel - which wasn't exactly comfortable, but at least also not lethal either. Another thing he's very glad for.)
He does get out of the car to try and get some feeling that isn't shaky adrenaline back into his body after that ride, but Daniel stays on his side of the car, not getting between Johnny's greeting to Robby just yet.
It's just like Johnny said, after all. This is about Robby. No matter how much Johnny has annoyed him to hell and back in this place, Daniel can be mature about this and at least allow the two to have this moment for Robby's sake without cutting in just yet. ]
no subject
Date: 2022-09-06 05:51 pm (UTC)There's a flinch at the noise, the speeding of a car that sticks out in otherwise engine-less streets. Not an unfamiliar sound, with it only being a day or two ago that Robby heard one - that exact one, speeding off by him. Oblivious, not unreasonable, but far more annoying at the time.
This round, it makes Robby swallow the dread in his throat, preparing for what's coming. Silencing his agitated brain better than his own attempts, apprehension twisting with something giddy, expectant. The other day isn't on his mind, the scene he saw there -- it's gone, replaced by a different reason his gut twists to see his father in the threshold.
Hey. ]
Hey. [ He's already got his hands shoved in the pockets of his jacket, balled up to stop them from fussing. His own reply cool, slightly detached, but in that teen, casual way. Robby's looking at his dad, eyes glancing over to Daniel when he steps out the car. Eyes catching, but Robby turns his gaze down to the ground.
For the record, he looks alright. Hair a little ruffled, but it wasn't much tidy in the first place. Closer to what Daniel will remember than Johnny, but still - he's Robby. ]
Tory told me you both were here. I showed up two days ago; I was trying to get a hang of the place. [ So. He speaks slow in his own way, eyes not particularly sticking still, but returning more onto his father - avoiding Daniel, for the time being. And this is an explanation that he feels his dad deserves more, even admitting: ] I was planning on getting in touch today or tomorrow.
[ There's a 'sorry I didn't' implied, if not said outright. ]
no subject
Date: 2022-09-06 07:17 pm (UTC)Instead he does his best to focus on what's important here. Robby was here. His son was here. He was so grateful for the chance to see he again and also absolutely terrified that anything, even a stiff breeze could drive a bigger wedge between them. His hand stays on the door of the car and he realizes he's lost feeling in it from how tight he's gripping the vehicle.
He's quiet and let's Robby say his part. There's an awkward pause before he finally realizes he should say something.]
Yeah. This place can be a little weird- I've been here for a few months now. I uh- get that.
[There's another pause. His eyes shift up to the sky and he adds in.]
Tory's a good kid. You uh ...staying with her?
[There's another shift. Johnny wants to say that the Dojo doors are open for Robby too. That he was welcome to stay with him if he wants.
The words don't make it out of his mouth. Instead replaced with an awkward cough.]
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Date: 2022-09-06 08:05 pm (UTC).. even though Robby is pretty obviously ignoring his gaze there. Johnny's petty arguing from earlier doesn't quite get under his skin as much. The other could tell him to get lost twenty thousand times, and Daniel wouldn't go. Would perhaps even stay just to be petty about it. But if Robby wouldn't want to be here, would for whatever mysterious reason suddenly prefer to just have Johnny here.. then Daniel doesn't belong in this moment, huh. Maybe he'd just make things worse, and not even by doing anything in particular. Just by existing.
But he can't help but think back on everything. The moments they spent together before everything went so wrong. Calling Robby family, and still believing that, even now. Even after everything. Why else would he have kept reaching out while the boy was in juvie, or pick him up once he got out, or run to him the moment he knew Terry Silver was near him to warn Robby about it? Because even among the hurt, his feelings didn't change.
And he wants to be here.
So Daniel steps around the car until he's on the same side as Johnny and Robby. He figures he ought to tell the kid that Johnny is from a different point in time than them, but mentioning it right at a moment where the blonde is looking awkward is just asking for this to stupidly escalate. Maybe he can save it for another moment, especially while Johnny is.. doing his best. By Johnny standards.
Instead he tries to keep his tone light as he speaks, despite the heaviness in his heart. Robby asked to not talk about the past right now, so he won't. He'll shove it down. ]
Seems like she already helped you out.
[ Look, Daniel knows you're not getting those clothes anywhere in Trench. And he's pretty sure those aren't Robby's own he took with him from back home - so it doesn't take too long to connect two and two there. ]
I know it's probably not your first option. [ Look, he'll at least acknowledge that. Okay. He spent months with Robby not even wanting to look at the two of them with anything but an edgy bad boy look, let alone accept help from them. ] But if you need anything else, you know you can always ask us.
[ It's not quite as amicable as Daniel can sometimes be, too overly welcoming with a twinkle in his eye, but there's still a faint warmth surrounding the words all the same that can't help but leak out from them. M-Maybe he's just happy Robby is even just talking to him again, even just a little bit, okay. ]
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Date: 2022-09-06 08:21 pm (UTC)Yeah, I'm staying with her. [ The question of a love life isn't for today, the offer that wanted to be laid out completely missed. Eyes looking over again as Daniel makes his move over, but adding: ] She's got a place - there's room.
[ And he doesn't feel like he's intruding with her, though everything continues to be - strange. The distant between his...life before coming to Trench closing in, but the journey, the turbulent waves as real and clinging to him as the struggle to become was fresh in his mind.
But he shifts back to Mister LaRusso again when he speaks, cautious. Not avoiding his eye this time, but not solid, intense as he uses against his opponents on the mat. Never look away. It wasn't so long ago he had figured he was a delusion of that place, but the reality of him doesn't bother him. It's more everything about them, everything about him- even now, just so annoyingly... Mister LaRusso, in the way he speaks. Subdued, but no less offering his help.
It shouldn't annoy him on instinct, but it does. But Robby also takes the moment to think; knowing he doesn't want anything material from either of them, but: ]
That place... [ He looks at the both of them. ] Do you know what that was? Is that- normal? Ending up somewhere crazy?
[ He's been warned about Beasts. Nothing about horror movie sets. ]
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Date: 2022-09-06 08:32 pm (UTC)He lightly raises up a hand but it falls flat as he knows it wont do anything.]
Yeah... And the dojo's always open to you too.
[His tone is flat in delivery and trails off toward the end.
He listens between the both of them and shifts nervously. He's been spit out in a few weird places here but he certainly wasn't an expert.]
It's kind of normal. I wound up in a weird jungle once. Punched a giant frog in the face.
...It was pretty cool.
[Yeah. He's working it here. He's sure he is.]
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Date: 2022-09-06 09:00 pm (UTC)So he just nods at Johnny's explanation - sure, even at the frog punching part, though maybe not at the 'pretty cool' part, Johnny, please - and then adds: ]
I'm not sure what that place specifically was. [ Considering he actually saw it together with Robby. ] But it's probably like that jungle Johnny mentioned. Just other weird places we occasionally get dropped into with no explanation.
[ He sighs, clearly not entusiastic about the idea. But he's also come to terms it's just how things work here, and you've got to deal with it somehow. ]
You've got to expect the weird here. Constantly. I mean.. [ .. Daniel's voice trails off. Maybe this is a good moment to bring it up? If not now, then it's never going to be a good moment.
But Johnny hasn't punched him in the face yet, which is probably the best he's going to get, opportunity-wise. ]
For example.. I don't know if Tory told you, but not everyone arrives in place from the same point in time, even when they come from the same place.
[ See, he's at least nice enough to not mention who's the outlier here. Do you see what he's doing for you, Johnny? Giving you a chance to tell your son about it yourself! He's practically putting the ball in front of your feet, right in front of the goal. ]
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Date: 2022-09-06 09:08 pm (UTC)Okay, weird other realms are just a thing here too. Why not.
But it's not the weirdest information they have to share as LaRusso goes on, and Robby blinks, his puzzlement clear. None of that hesitance in his gaze as he looks between the both of them. ]
What?
[ --Does this have something to do with where his memories end? But he'll hold out on voicing that, waiting to see what they say first. ]
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Date: 2022-09-07 01:44 am (UTC)The fact that both Tory and Daniel were from his future. Or that he was lagging behind on the memory department. That- That meant Robby might knew more than he did too. His hair was certainly different. Johnny felt his knuckles tighten as another flash of fear and anger kicked up in him.
What if he screwed up worse with Robby since then? He had talked to Tory, he had talked with LaRusso. But he didn't know everything that had happened between them.
He flashes a quick glare Daniel's way.]
Why did you have to bring that up? Are you trying to rub it in my face that you-
["That you know more than me." He cuts himself off. Remembering what Miguel had taught him about holding in his anger.
He looks back Robby's way and tries to explain.]
What he's saying is-
That I'm wasn't brought here from the same time as everyone else.
The last thing I remember is the day I dropped you off at school.
Miss Nichols and LaRusso have told me a little about what happened after that.
I met Kreese's boyfriend too before either of them showed up. But he was pretty tight lipped about everything. He's not here anymore.
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Date: 2022-09-08 07:42 pm (UTC)Not now!
Look, he gets lashing out at each other is their thing, but they're not going to do that right now. Not in front of Robby. Johnny may not remember the disaster that was the attempt of picking Robby up from juvie, but Daniel sure isn't eager to repeat that one all over again.
And Daniel is pleased enough with the fact Johnny does cut himself off before going too far, and actually saying what has to be said here without having to be forced even further to do so. It's an important thing to clear up before anyone gets the wrong idea here. Even though Daniel sure doesn't know about the last moment Johnny and Robby spent together from his point of view - if anything, he was just trying to explain why to either of them the other might seem more or less distant than before, given the way Robby only further drifted away from either of them as far as he knows.
He's pleased enough with it all to keep quiet, at the very least, first giving Robby a chance to process all this without throwing even more or something new out there. ]
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Date: 2022-09-08 08:08 pm (UTC)But he looks back, and this is still happening. This is--for real? ]
How? How... [ He trails, stopping himself, but not having anything to immediately follow. But- ] Is there anything we can do? That was nine months ago.
--For me. [ He adds that last part pointed at Daniel, not knowing their difference; but it's to his dad that he looks back to, lingers on. Nine months of time, and it's not hard to reflect on everything that his dad doesn't know, doesn't remember.
Most of it isn't even good; fuck, is any of it? Except the last memory he has, remembering what his dad said to him. Him believing it, wanting to.
And his dad doesn't know. His dad doesn't remember, and their conversation in that car -- it's been nothing but disappointments from there.
His gaze drops to the ground between them. ]
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Date: 2022-09-09 11:43 pm (UTC)And then he sees the way Robby's eyes trail down and he feels like he's let his son down all over again. He backs away a few steps and starts counting with his fingers.]
June, July, August... Look, Robby. It's been almost as long for for me. But different. And I don't know if it's something I can fix.
But- I've been trying to get by here. I have- And- If you want I can help you figure things out too.
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Date: 2022-09-10 09:08 pm (UTC)The apology he's still trying hard to not think about too much here.
Daniel is quiet, listening to the other two, glancing between the way Robby looks at the ground and the way Johnny genuinely seems to try to reach out to the kid. He unfolds his hands for a moment, slowly moving his fingers and then taking in a deep breath. ]
.. look.
[ A part of him feels like he ought to at least try to help breach this gap. Because Johnny is trying, for one. It'd be a different story entirely he was being a total ass, but it's clear that he just wants to actually connect with his son here. And it'd probably be good for Robby himself too - to know that there's more people he can count on here than just Tory.
Besides, isn't this what mister Miyagi would've wanted him to do here? ]
I get it. It's awkward. [ He can't be sure how exactly Robby feels about it, given the fact that he's only been privy to the relationship between these two as an outsider, but in Daniel's own experience the time gap has been very awkward. ] But it's also one of those things we can't change.
[ He sounds calm as he speaks. Maybe that deep breath really helped.
Or maybe it's that he's thinking back on a conversation that feels so very long ago at this point, back in that locker room. Your dad's not a monster. ]
This place.. it's dangerous. [ Daniel glances over at Robby as he says it. Even if the other is still looking at the ground. It's hard to not think about the way the other could have gotten hurt back in that weird place they were dumped into, after all. ] Everyone can use all the help they can get, regardless of those awkward complications.
I know I mean it when I say I'm always willing to help you out. And.. [ Look at him, putting on his big boy panties over here. ] .. it sounds like your dad means it as well.
[ Usually he'd hope that being a big boy here would mean he could count on the favour being repaid in the future.
Here, though? Daniel has no hope. ]
But the choice is always up to you in the end, Robby.
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Date: 2022-09-10 10:09 pm (UTC)He was glad for Tory, happy - that life was treating her well, even with all of Trench's oddities. And it shouldn't bother him, nine months of mostly nothing between them, and yet--
And yet he has to swallow against something hard in his throat as Daniel speaks. Upset, a frustration that he wouldn't voice even if he was given the chance. He knows too well about irrevocable disappointments to do that, and even how to nurse it well into suppression. This is what life is -- this is how it goes.
He's not twitchy this time at Mister LaRusso's voice of reasoning. And it's true, he knows, that it's not his dad's fault, his eyes flickering over to him at the remark, he means well. And by the time the ball is rolled into his court, that hard lump in his throat has softened, his emotions numbed.
His mouth tugs to a side, a twitch of habit. ]
Yeah, I get it. It's not your fault. [ Robby looks at his dad as he says those words; quietly, but without blame. He then shifts a little on the spot, gives his shoulders a roll. ] I just need a ride back into Crenshaw, or... a part of it I know. I'm doing alright - you don't need to worry about me.
I've been getting help.
[ It's not forced, or assertive. It's actually encouraging, aimed to be, the expression Robby gives them unwilling to drop from something neutral - which is a lot better than it could be, given how he looks in worse moods.
But Robby gets what his father was actually offering. More than just information, or some advice about this or that. Something akin to what he had been searching for in the last of his memories, gone to his dad for, and what he had accepted.
But this time, here - not now. He can't right now. ]
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Date: 2022-09-10 11:29 pm (UTC)The tension finally starts to die down when he hears Daniel speak up a bit more in defense of his position. There's a brief moment where his expression actually softens just a touch. But it's only fleeting and he pushes those feelings down in favor of what he believes is saving face.]
Of course, I do. I just want to help-
[And he cuts himself before he tries to push for it again. Robby's offered him an olive branch and while Johnny absolutely hated the taste of olives he figured he might as well take it.]
-But sure.
If you need a lift. I- [And he actually glances over to Daniel. Thankful for the last effort he made, he's willing to throw him a bone too.] -We can give you a lift over there.
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Date: 2022-09-13 08:26 am (UTC)Look at that, big boy. Daniel looks visibly surprised to hear it from the other in a way he couldn't hide even if he would have tried - but he doesn't even try, not in this moment. Instead his eyes widen for a moment as he stares at Johnny, before his expression changes into something very, very vaguely amused.
He reaches out, giving the Johnny a manly pat on the back in recognition of the other trying his best here. Especially since he's not only trying his relative best with Daniel here - surprising, given their.. well, everything since the day Daniel showed up here - but also with Robby. Daniel can't bridge the gap between the other two more than he's already tried here, but he hopes that it helps them. It seems like something they'll have to work out later, anyway. Just like Robby told him he didn't want to talk about the past right now.
So if a lift is what they can help him out with right now-- ]
Well, what are we waiting for then?
[ Daniel walks back around the car, getting in on his passenger side seat once more.. even though he sure dreads Johnny racing through the streets of Trench once more, but he also doesn't want to start a fight as dumb as 'who gets to drive' in front of Robby. ]