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Robby isn't really all that surprised when he and Tory don't even make it to Thanksgiving as a couple.
The thing is, they were closer than ever when school started up again. Robby was doing a GED study continuation from when he was in juvenile hall, and it was easy to fit his schedule around hers, spend as much time together as they wanted. But their time spent together started to change sometime around Halloween. They rarely kissed, and if they did, it was more like a comfort, a reassurance that the other was there. They didn't seem to be attracted to each other romantically the way they had been before their summer break up.
Robby was the first to realize it, he thinks, but it's Tory who eventually addressed the elephant in the room and suggested the breakup.
And going into the holidays, they had no problem adjusting to being best friends instead of more. If anything, it felt like it took a weight off their shoulders, and they were able to talk to each other about anything at all without the pressure of their old relationship and its baggage.
Robby is surprised, however, when further into the holiday season, some of the other couples around them break up, namely Eli and Moon.
Robby and Eli's complicated past has been left exactly there. In the past. They've become close quickly, Eli hanging out with him and Miguel whenever he wasn't with Moon, Yasmine, or Demetri.
So when Eli comes over the night before Christmas Eve and tells Tory, Miguel and Robby that he and Moon broke up, Robby is surprised when he feels a sense of joy and relief at that. He sits in silence as Tory and Miguel talk with Eli about the mutual breakup. He can't think of anything to say, to be honest, because he's a little confused about why he's happy that Eli is hurting.
And then it hits him.
He's happy about the breakup because it means that Eli isn't with someone that isn't him.
He's had a crush on Eli this whole time. He can't pinpoint when it started, but he always gravitates to the mohawked man's side, especially these past few weeks. He thinks about Eli a lot, thinks about how kind and caring the once monstrous teen is, and Robby feels a little silly that he hadn't realized he had these feelings before this moment.
Tory catches Robby's eye when she and Eli leave at the same time a bit later, and he thinks she might be able to read minds because her eyes flick to Eli and then back at Robby with a suspicious smile.
Miguel, thankfully, doesn't notice a thing, and Robby is left to retreat to his bed for the night so he can ponder how he ended up with a crush on Eli Moskowitz.
Robby spends the next week blissfully pretending he isn't head of heels for a guy who Robby is pretty sure isn't even into dudes. It's easy to push to the back of his mind while hanging out with his family. It's their first Holiday season together as a mix of houses, and even Shannon comes by for a day with a bunch of presents for Carmen and the baby. Rosa sends her home with a week worth of tamales.
But New Year's eve comes quickly and Robby can't avoid his feelings as easily.
Eli picks Miguel and Robby up at just before nine for the party and immediately starts talking about the new laptop he got for Christmas. Robby just watches him from the backseat. The way he talks with his hands, the way his hands are absolutely gorgeous wrapped around the steering wheel, the way his eyes crinkle at the corners when he laughs.
"You're quiet back there."
Robby takes a moment too long to register that Eli is saying the words to him .
"Oh yeah, I'm just tired." Robby dismisses the observation as they pull up to Yasmine's mom's house.
Miguel, who's been politely listening and responding to Eli the whole drive, is now buried in his phone, texting. As soon as Eli parks, he's out of the car without another word.
Robby climbs out slowly and shuts the door behind him. He groans as he feels the chill of the breeze.
"What's wrong?"
Robby turns to see Eli waiting for him, while Miguel has already walked off toward the noisy house.
"Forgot my sweater. It's fine." Robby shakes his head.
"Here, take mine." Eli's eyes light up and he tugs the green hoodie over his head. He's wearing a soft-looking form fitting henley underneath it that Robby hasn't seen before, probably something he got for Christmas. Robby kind of wants to reach out and touch it. Eli shoves the hoodie towards Robby with a smile. "Yasmine definitely will have an extra jacket of Demetri's inside somewhere if I really need it, but that would probably be way too big for you."
Robby takes the sweater and hesitates for a second before pulling it over his head. He smells the cologne that Eli usually wears when they go to parties or restaurants with their friends. Robby hadn't realized he knew the smell so well. He runs a hand through his hair to straighten it after he gets the sweater on.
"I'm not that much smaller than you." Robby arches an eyebrow.
"You're not smaller than me at all, jesus, you're like twice my size, big guy. I just have longer arms and a longer torso." Eli shrugs and steps a little closer. "And okay, I've definitely got like at least three quarters of an inch of height on you these days."
Robby knows he is just comparing their heights but having Eli standing so close, saying something so flirtatious, makes his brain go a little haywire.
He reaches out and touches Eli's stomach, right over where his shirt covers his obliques.
"Huh. It is as soft as it looks." Robby says. More to himself than anything.
Eli laughs loudly, his muscles jumping under Robby's fingers, and when Robby looks up, Eli has this wild, excited look in his eyes.
"Come on, let's go inside." Eli tugs at the front pocket of his own sweater and then steps back and leads the way up Yasmine's front lawn. When they get to the door, Eli moves aside and guides Robby inside first by placing a hand on the small of his back. "I'm gonna find Demetri, you wanna come with?"
Robby shakes his head.
"I'm gonna go find some water and see where Miguel got off to." Robby has to raise his voice since they're walking past the music setup.
"K, I'll come find you." Eli smiles at him and the hand on Robby's back disappears just before the person it's attached to.
Robby finds the kitchen and a water bottle with no problem, and that leads him to observing Miguel, standing outside having a serious looking conversation with Sam. He doesn't want to get involved in whatever that is, so he heads back to the living room to chat with some of the other Miyagi-Fangs.
A few minutes later, he's leaning against a bookshelf and texting Tory about the general mellow vibe of the party.
"Hey is Tory coming?" Eli gestures to the phone Robby is holding as he walks up.
"Dunno," Robby says honestly, pocketing his phone. "The dude she's been dating, sort of, wants to go to a different party. He lives down in Huntington."
"Gross." Eli scrunches up his nose.
Robby rolls his eyes and swats at Eli half-heartedly. Eli just continues making a face and then props himself against the bookshelf as well leaning into Robby's space, their arms brushing anytime they move.
"He's nice. I met him a couple weeks back." Robby shrugs, focuses on the conversation to calm his nerves about the way Eli is constantly touching him. "Seems smart, apparently he's from Texas. Doesn't really have a strong accent though."
"Well, I think it's cool that you guys are friends with each other still, after everything." Eli grins. "Moon and I are cool and all, we just… aren't really friends anymore. Not that much in common except for YasMetri. To be honest, they're probably why we stayed together as long as we did. It was just convenient."
"First of all… Please tell me they don't actually call themselves that." Robby laughs.
"No, they hate it, I specifically call them that because they hate it." Eli smirks, looking very Hawk-era for a split second.
"Okay, then second, Tory is my best friend." Robby shrugs. "I can't imagine not hanging out with her all the time. I just… Don't like her like I thought I did, y'know?"
" Totally ," Eli says, staring into Robby's eyes as he smiles and nods. He stares a little long, and silence falls between them as he does so. It makes Robby look away, the pressure too intense for him.
"I uh, I found Miguel and Sam, they seem to be talking outside." Robby makes a face.
"Yikes." Eli hisses and grits his teeth. "What do you think that's about?"
"Probably something to do with how Sam never came over on Christmas or Christmas eve, despite being invited." Robby shrugs. "Miguel went over to the LaRusso's in the morning on Boxing day. I think they're fine, I just also think Sam doesn't feel comfortable having a meal with Carmen and Rosa while I'm right there too. She's self conscious about how much they knew about all our drama before they got to know her. But it's gonna have to happen sooner or later. I can't keep conveniently having plans when Sam's coming over."
"Well, that sounds mildly entertaining." Eli snorts, eyes wide at the info dump. He reaches out and taps the back of his knuckles to Robby's chest. "You should invite me to dinner when it does happen. I love Carmen and Rosa's cooking. Rosa makes bomb brownies dude."
"Yeah, I accidentally ate a weed one though, like a month ago." Robby winces. Eli throws his head back and laughs. "Dude, I have never been that high in my life, it was terrible . I couldn't tell what direction was up. Poor Carmen was so apologetic afterward, because apparently she'd been the one to put them out, Rosa had stashed them hidden in the back of the fridge with writing on the box and everything."
"I've never been high at all, so I can't even imagine. But I'll trust you and make sure I always ask before eating Rosa's brownies." Eli smiles fondly.
"Oh yeah, she's not allowed to make them anymore, according to Carmen." Robby laughs and shakes his head. "I told her later she could sneak over to our place anytime and make them in secret."
"I've heard you're getting really good at Spanish." Eli raises his eyebrows. "You're doing it just so you and Rosa can talk about your dad and make him mad, aren't you?"
Robby grins and shrugs his shoulders exaggeratedly. It makes Eli laugh again and Robby feels a warmth in his chest at the sight and sound of it.
"Hey, uh, we're still staying here tonight, right? You wanna get a drink?" Robby gestures toward the kitchen where the liquor and champagne is.
Eli leans away a little bit, a mischievous look in his eyes. He bites his lower lip and stares at Robby for a second before shrugging.
"Nah, I don't need to drink to pretend to be cool."
Robby shuts his eyes and a smile works its way onto his face despite his best efforts.
"I had that one coming, didn't I?" Robby sighs and opens his eyes again to Eli looking at him with amused satisfaction. "So, for real, though. You want a drink? Other than…"
Robby holds up his water bottle and offers Eli some.
"Considering Demetri and Yasmine are drinking, I should probably stay sober, just in case something happens." Eli shrugs and takes the water, drinking the other half of the bottle than Robby had left. Robby watches the line of his neck the entire time, and when he looks back up to Eli's face, he thinks the smirk on it is because Eli caught Robby staring.
"On that note," Robby says with a nervous huff. "Where can I find a bathroom?"
Eli's smirk stays in place as he gives Robby directions pointing down a hall just past with Yasmine and Demetri are cuddled together on the end of the couch laughing happily. Eli then heads off to the kitchen, telling Robby he's gonna try and check on Sam and Miguel.
When he comes back from the bathroom, Robby doesn't see Eli, or even Demetri and Yasmine for that matter. He takes the couple's vacated space on the end of the couch next to Little Red and watches as some of the younger dojo members start a dance off in the space that they'd been playing twister before he left.
Robby takes out his phone and takes a video to send to Tory. She responds with a crying face and Robby takes that to mean she and her new boyfriend-or-something are not coming to the party. Robby sends a shrug emoji back and tells her to have fun.
Eli appears just as Chris and Nate start a little dance off. He squeezes onto the sofa in the very narrow space left, pressed as close to Robby as he could possibly be without sitting in his lap.
"Hey, wanna hear a secret?" Eli turns and asks, right into Robby's ear. The music is louder than before so no one else would hear them anyway.
"I bet you're gonna tell me anyway." Robby teases, without even turning to look at Eli.
"Chris just asked if I'd mind if he made a move on Moon." Eli lets out what sounds like a stiffled giggle.
Robby furrows his brow and turns his head toward Eli, and they're so close he almost goes cross eyed.
"You're cool with that? This soon?" Robby asks, searching Eli's face and finding nothing but amusement.
"Yeah! Nah, I think they'd be cute together. They're both sort of stoners, so they've got that in common." Eli snorts, turning back to the people dancing quickly and then grabbing Robby's thigh and tilting his head toward him again. "Wanna go see if we can get next for a game of pool?"
"Sure." Robby agrees easily and finds himself being dragged by the hand to the game room.
Eli turns around when they walk in and drops Robby's hand to gesture at the far wall.
"I would've challenged you to darts, but Yasmine locked those away because she decided that would be far too dangerous to have around this crowd."
"She's right." Robby nods enthusiastically and they both laugh.
"What's up Robby?" Sam's voice makes Robby turn around and he sees Miguel and Sam approaching, apparently having talked out their issues. The latter moves in for a hug.
"Hey Sam." Robby returns her usual quick greeting hug. He squeezes her bicep once before letting her go. "I know I already texted you guys, but seriously, thank you for the Christmas present. I really needed an upgrade. It was the most thoughtful thing."
"Oh, of course Robby. You're like family!" Sam swats him. "But I can't take the credit, I asked these two for help and Hawk said you needed new headphones because you had been frustrated a lot with one of them cutting out and nothing would fix it."
Sam smiles knowingly at the way Robby's face goes blank with surprise.
"Eli is an observant man." Miguel claps his suspiciously quiet close friend on the shoulder and shakes him gently, fondly.
Eli just shrugs his shoulders and then scratches at his eyebrow.
"It's no big deal. I honestly was gonna get them for you for Christmas, but those ones are pretty fucking expensive." Eli chuckles and brings his hand up to rest on Robby's back again, looking past Miguel and Sam at Demetri and Yasmine playing a game of 8 ball against a couple people whose names Robby hasn't learned yet, but he vaguely recognizes. "But uh, yeah, we were gonna say we got next. Unless you two are-"
"No, we're just watching." Sam laughs. "Miguel says he sucks at pool and doesn't wanna play."
"I do suck!" Miguel laughs.
"Dem! You better be winning. We're next and I need Payback for last time!"
Eli's shout comes right before Demetri misses his shot and lets out an anguished cry. Eli goes over to him, laughing and patting his best friend's back in sympathy.
"Thank god." Yasmine groans and slides up next to Robby. She leans in and winces. "You do not want to see them play on opposite teams. It gets very messy, very fast."
"I'll keep that in mind." Robby huffs out a laugh and narrows his eyes as Yasmine just continues looking at him. "What?"
"Just picturing something. Couldn't see it before, but I do now." Yasmine says with a shoulder shrug. "Anyway, we should get to know each other better, we're probably going to spending a lot more time together."
"What?" Robby frowns in confusion, but Yasmine doesn't get to answer because Eli is calling him over to play the game.
Robby hasn't played much pool but he does well enough and they end up winning one and then losing the next. When they give up the table, Eli gets called away to help Yasmine with something and Robby wanders around chatting with people here and there, even stopping to say hello to a very happy looming Chris and Moon out by the firepit outside.
He loses track of time listening to Chris tell a hilarious story about Mr. LaRusso from sometime when Robby was in Cobra Kai, maybe. Before he knows it, someone is starting a countdown and people are starting to trickle outside.
Robby moves over away from the fire pit and stands alone near the side gate, staring around the large backyard at all the happy, karate-drama free faces. There's a lot of laughter and kissing right as people hit the end of the countdown and shout out salutations.
Robby briefly looks over his shoulder and wonders where Eli is and what he's doing right now.
The fireworks are typical. Beautiful but nothing too exciting. Robby has seen plenty of them in his nearly 18 years in the LA area.
Suddenly, there's a warm body attaching itself to Robby from behind, and only the immediate familiar scent prevents him from throwing the person off. Robby looks down briefly as strong, large hands tuck themselves into the front pocket of the hoodie. A smooth, sharp jaw brushes against his ear.
"Happy New Year." Eli practically presses his mouth to Robby's jaw as he says it. "Much colder out here."
Robby's heart thunders in his chest, so hard that he's sure Eli must be able to feel it where his chest is pressed to Robby's back.
"That your way of saying you want your sweater back?" Robby tries to sound just as teasing.
"Nah. We can share." Eli presses his hands against Robby's stomach through the thick fabric of the hoodie. "This works for me, if it works for you."
Robby swallows down the lump in his throat and nods.
"Yeah, it's… it's nice."
Eli makes a sound of contentment as Robby finally relaxes a little and leans back into the other teen's hold.
They watch the fireworks like that.
When they're over, Eli extracts his hands from the sweater pocket and rubs Robby's arms a little to warm him up.
"They're gonna put a movie on in the theater room, you wanna go see if we can get a good spot?"
Robby spins around, eyes wide and amused.
"There's a theater room?"
Eli cackles and drags Robby along by the hand.
Robby loves the feel of the smooth, long fingers against his more calloused ones. He holds on tightly and follows.
They manage to get the last couch in the room, toward the back, and they settle in the already dim room just as Mitch puts on the movie Four Rooms.
Robby spends the first few minutes of the movie focused on the way Eli is still holding his hand.
Eli is slouched on the loveseat, watching the start of the movie with seemingly rapt attention, but he's holding Robby's hand in his own and rubbing his knuckles idly with his thumb. It's almost mesmerizing, and the constant soothing has Robby closing his eyes and just relaxing into it.
Eli nudges Robby with their joined hands and Robby blinks his eyes open. He sees completely different people on the screen than before and he turns to Eli in confusion.
"You fell asleep." Eli whispers, the corner of his mouth turning up. "Why don't we go crash? Haven't you been up since like 5?"
"Yeah but it's New Year's Eve." Robby whispers back.
"Technically it's New Year's day. And you look exhausted so let's go. Come on."
Eli lets go of Robby's hand finally and leads the way out of the theater room, back up to the still crowded kitchen and dining area. There are loud games and dancing and drinking competitions out on the patio, but overall it's a little less rowdy than it was at midnight. Robby checks his phone and sees that it's after one in the morning. He fell asleep for a bit longer than he thought.
Eli grabs a bottle of water and makes sure Robby is following before he heads upstairs. There's a long hall in one direction and the other direction is what must be a master bedroom. Eli heads toward the double doors and takes out a small metal stick from his pocket.
"What're you doing." Robby deadpans as Eli puts the metal stick in the hole on the door and releases the lock.
"Yasmine said I could have her mom's room for the night." Eli opens the door and reveal the large sparse room with a king sized bed in the middle. "The sheets are clean and her moms never here anyway. Basically moved to New York with her boyfriend I guess."
Robby hears the door lock behind them and turns to face Eli with a raised eyebrow.
"For the next hour or two there are going to be drunk teenagers trying to find a place to sleep or hook up." Eli explains. That's why half the doors are locked. "Hopefully they're not familiar with the safety release mechanism on this door."
Robby laughs and starts taking off the hoodie.
"You should keep that sweater." Eli says, watching Robby with a small smile. "It looks better on you."
"Y'know what?" Robby sends Eli a smug smile. "Maybe I will. God knows you have 17 more."
Eli throws his head back and laughs. He turns and heads for the en suite.
"I mean… that's probably lowballing it." Eli shrugs, grin fixed in place. "But seriously, man. Keep it. It suits you. Brings out your eyes."
Robby doesn't have to worry about Eli seeing him blush because the door to the en suite shuts.
Robby kicks off his jeans and turns the sheets down, running his hand along their softness and wondering if he'll ever sleep in a bed this fancy again. He finds himself wondering about Eli's bed. He's only been to the Moskowitz house once, and they stayed downstairs in the den the whole time.
The door opens and Eli walks out, shutting it again behind him.
"You can still hear the party pretty loudly while you're in the bathroom, but not out here." Eli frowns and looks at the walls. "That's some pretty fancy soundproofing."
"I keep forgetting you're such a nerd about buildings and architecture shit." Robby laughs fondly and slides in the bed. He groans as he relaxes into the sheets. "Yeah, this is the best bed I've ever experienced in my life. This should not exist, it feels too good."
Eli takes his shirt off and leaves his joggers on. He laughs as he watches Robby shift onto his side and pet the soft sheets.
Robby startles a little as the light turns off and then he debates turning to look at Eli who he can feel sliding into the bed behind him.
There's a moment where it's quiet and Robby wonders if he should turn around, or maybe say goodnight, but then Eli starts moving again and there's a hand on his arm before his whole body goes warm.
Eli tucks himself right behind Robby in the bed. He pulls up the blanket over their hips before his bare arm is wrapping around Robby's front, effectively spooning the ever so slightly shorter man.
"Is this okay?" Eli's words are whispered into the back of Robby's neck, and Robby wants him to keep his lips there, grazing his skin and setting his insides on fire.
"What is this?" Robby asks instead, pressing back into the warm body wrapped around him as a confirmation that the embrace is welcome.
"It's whatever you want it to be." Eli's soft, raspy whisper makes the butterflies in Robby's stomach return, tired as he is.
"Eli… You just broke up with your girlfriend." Robby sighs.
"Yeah, well… I knew I liked you months ago," Eli says with a heaviness to his tone, like he's been desperate to say the words for a long time. "I know I should have ended it with Moon back then, but to be fair, we were technically in an open relationship. She hooked up with a couple girls on her end of summer trip to San Francisco. So I mean…"
"Back up." Robby frowns in confusion and wiggles around to face Eli, who keeps the arm around his waist. "You said months ?"
"Yeah, man." Eli frowns through soft laughter. "During our training for the sekai takai, and then when you and Miguel said that I should fight, I just started seeing you differently. I knew for sure that day of the exhibition fights, and it… It took me a while to accept, I'm not gonna lie-"
"Have you ever even been with a guy?" Robby interrupts, his hands pressing against Eli's ribs lightly.
Eli laughs and buries his face into the pillow a little before answering.
"Robby, I haven't been with anyone but Moon. Unless you count the time when Demetri kissed me when we were twelve because he wanted to know what it was like."
Robby isn't necessarily surprised , it's just baffling to him how a boy so attractive doesn't have more of a romantic history.
"Yeah? Demetri was your first kiss, huh?" Robby laughs a little and Eli rolls his eyes.
"Yeah, okay, but I don't really count it, it wasn't a kiss as much as him smashing his mouth against mine for a second."
"That's cute." Robby smiles, wishing he could see Eli better, because he's probably blushing in embarrassment. "My first kiss was some girl whose name I don't even remember, so at least you have a good story."
"Fair enough." Eli hums contentedly. His arm moves up and he rubs Robby's back slowly. "Can I kiss you? I wanted to kiss you at midnight, but I couldn't find you in time, and then it kind of felt like I'd missed the whole romantic moment chance."
Robby hesitates, but he lets one of his hands creep up Eli's chest to rest against the side of his neck.
"How did you know?" Robby asks. "That I was into you too, I mean."
Eli lets out an amused huff.
"Once I looked a little harder, you're actually sort of obvious about it…" Eli teases, and Robby rolls his eyes. "But I wouldn't have looked harder if Tory hadn't said something."
" Fucking… of course." Robby snorts. "I didn't even tell her she was right when she asked if I liked you. She's so nosey."
"Yeah she gave me a shovel talk too." Eli scoffs. "She tried to be pretty scary."
"That's fucking embarrassing, man." Robby smiles, wondering if Tory had stayed away tonight because she knew if she wasn't there it would leave more time for him and Eli to spend together.
"I'm glad she did say something, though." Eli whispers, humor gone from his voice now. "I really want this. If you do, too?"
Robby is close enough that he can see the earnestness in Eli's eyes, even through the dark.
Of course he wants this.
He wants an infinite number of days like today, with Eli's hand in his, or arm pressed against his. He wants to listen to Eli talk about all the nerdy things he gets so excited about, he wants Eli to hold him when it's cold out. He wants to have late night talks like this, he wants to-
Robby picks up his head off the pillow and closes the distance between them.
Eli makes a satisfied noise in the back of his throat and tightens the arm around Robby's waist. Robby holds him back just as tight as they lose themselves in the long awaited kiss.