#louie x anoush

[zappedbyzabka]

Louie/anoush

I honestly thought it was canon when Louie caught him at the club and they locked eyes in season 5. It’s a nice side pair (for me.)

[billhader]

[isildurreborn]

anoush x louie

[pilvimarja]

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY, COBRA KAI FANDOM - fanon edition ❤❤❤

[gayshipsandanxiety]

alright who else thought louie and anoush were gonna kiss

[eaglelarusso]

Louie: I asked a girl out

Anoush: oh I'm sorry

Louie: why?

Anoush: well I assume she said no

Louie: no she said yes

Anoush: oh, I'm sorry for her

[bananaramacobra]

No one can convince me otherwise that Anoush didn’t followed his boss’s example and got himself his own big dumb boyfriend in the form of Louie Larusso, Jr. Those two are so much more than best friends, they’re practically attached at the hip.

This was a couple I’d never considered before, but I was reading a Lawrusso story and wanted to see what else the author had written, and amongst their collection were some stories for Anoush/Louie and that’s just wild.

Could you imagine how we would react if Johnny and Daniel acted around each other like those two did? Absolute chaos, that’s what I'm saying!

I like to imagine Louie took one look at his cousin making heart eyes at the blond pretty boy and decided to get a pretty guy of his own, cue Anoush. And Louie’s just like “hey, if Daniel can have a boyfriend, then I can have one too” and pesters Anoush until he agrees to go on a date with him.

[aestheticsuwu]

🎄That Damn Misletoe 🎄

Daniel LaRusso x Johnny Lawrence

Christmas au

Side Pairings: Carmanda,Roug,Elimetri,Samiguel , ToryxSam(if you squint),LouiexAnoush .

....

If Johnny would ever admit to anyone that he felt really happy that he could cry like a little girl it would be today, Christmas just around the corner. But he's not going to because he's a man, a tough alpha man - One of the many reasons Daniel secretly loves about him .

He hopes .

Everyone agreed it was better for the LaRusso's to host because he had the space and the man like to go out with the whole holiday . For once LaRusso didn't whine just smiled proudly for being chosen .

LaRusso wanted his students to be there-Not only Miguel but the two classes- What a mother hen he is , can't even go a second without his kids.

The tiny man can't even deny it at this point

Amanda tried to convince her ex-husband how the kids had famillies of their own, making his excited bubble deflate , until Daniel came up with an idea at 6:am to invite the students anyway-He knows because the damn punk rang him up like an over-excited child .

And he was also roped into helping in decorating the whole house , Larusso,Sam and Robby were bonding over decorating the tree , while he and Anthony grumbled over the tangled lights for being a grinch.

But he admits that the place look nice with all the colorful lights and ornaments over the walls and the big ol' tree looking tall and mighty with the shiny star at the top.

Tables were out filled with drinks and snacks and sweet pastries and others had the adult stuff in which he didn't hesistate to get his hands on .

He simply stood with a beer in his hand looking at the kids just messing around. No one was fighting or scheming an evil plan just laughter . Or at least that’s what he thought.

Robby is laughing at something Nichols said , guessing by the face of mini LaRusso she might've said something she didnt like but then Sam lets out a laugh that she couldn't held in .

Then suddenly the kids started a commotion and started chanting 'Kiss, Kiss, Kiss'.

Wanting to see what was happening ,he went closer and saw Amanda and Carmen standing closely . He didn't understand why the kids were being pervs until his eye caught the sight of the mistletoe that wasn't there a few hours ago when they decorated the place.

" Its the rules , you gotta kiss ." Hawk yelled out , the rest of the kids agreed including Miguel who was way to happy . Maybe Johnny should check what they were drinking.

" Rules are Rules Mandy." LaRusso simply raised his glass of wine at Amanda's raised eyebrow .

" Oh what the hell ." Amanda smiles before swooping in to kiss Carmen who looked happily surprised. 

" Wouldn't mind meeting you here again , babe." Amanda pulled her charming smile on and Carmen winked back .

Johnny didn't know why but he clapped along with everyone .

It was hot but he wouldn't want to watch the two ladies kiss again or anyone . But he should've known that was the opposites of the kids idea.

Johnny eyes followed Daniel walking around greeting everyone and talking to them with his expressive hands . He found himself smiling over dumb LaRusso until he catched movement of red dye hair quickly, sprinting over the other side.

Robby making a display of exaggeration of needing help with something and Louie being to dumb to see through it , while Hawk and Miguel pushed Anoush through the small crowd over the destination-The Mistletoe.

"Payback is a bitch." Robby smugly smiled at Louie looking baffled of being fooled. Miguel and Hawk highfived Robby and laughed at the two men looking like they wish the ground could swallow them up.

" They don't pay me enough. Im not kissing you , not in this life or the other ." Anoush huffed.

" What's wrong with kissing me, People would die to able to kiss me . I don't want to kiss you ."

" In your dreams maybe because i don't see anyone lining up ."

" Cuz back me up here . Tell him im a real catch ." Louie glared at kids cackling at him .

The dude with stupid vest tried to make a run for it but Hawk and Chris blocked him and Robby and Rickenberger along with Nichols didn't budge an inch away from Louie.

Johnny laughed at their horrified expressions. Looking to his right , LaRusso hid his smile behind Johnny's shoulder and Johnny's heart beat a bit faster just by the slight of him , LaRusso looked handsome with his pristine suit and fluffy hair made him feel all gooey inside jut making him want to wrap his arms around Daniel.

"Funny as this is , i really hope they don't kiss . I will probably vomit in my mouth."

"Usually i would disagree with you but i not this time.Im guessing it wasn't your idea by the face you make everytime someone gets near it."

"The stupid leaves ,No. No it wasn't me . The kids for sure are guilty, they been making plans to choose their next victims ."

"Hope they go easy on us "  Daniel smiles at him .

Hope they choose us.

"Alright!, Alright !"Louie yells at the teenagers bustin' his balls to kiss the another guy.

Wincing at the two men peck eachother and running away in gay panic like Miguel had told him what those words meant.

"I need another drink ."

Daniel just laugh but followed closely and Johnny use that opportunity to slip his arm around his waist and slightly pull him in closer.

He hopes this overpriced black button up is doing him favors. Who is he kidding he totally is .

One second nobody stood or went near the damn leaves ,then Robby and Rickenberger were under the Mistletoe loony way too happy.

Robby blush at the attention of everyone, kept biting his lip but he couldn't prevent the giggles escaping . Rickenberger made his kid look like a small kid with him overtowering him but as big he looks , he was smiling at Robby like a big teddy bear .

" Okay im taking that damn leaf off." He took a step forward but Daniel held him back with a hand on his wrist .

" Johnny , that's his boyfriend remember. Let them have their moment ." Daniel softly said tryiny to convince him.

" Uhmmm ….no." He kept his eyes firmly above the kids head not wanting to see his own child get shove his tongue down a boys throat.

"Johnny !" Daniel warned him like a kid.

Johnny shoulder slump and stayed still . He really hated that damned mistletoe.  But by the giant-watt smile on Robby's face the kid didn't have a problem with it ,he tried to not put attention where the boys hand were that seemed way too low for the back.

He is going to need something stronger.

..……………

" Woah didn't see that coming ." Hawk said in faux innocence, Miguel beside him unbothered having his girlfriend pressured to kiss Tory

" Haha , real funny Hawk . Was this your idea ? " Tory ask in vain at her stupid mohawk friend .

" Dont question it and just kiss already." Hawk yelled at Tory who's face flushed with anger .

Sam looked bothered and confused but just simply shrugged ." Let's get this over with ." And planted a kiss on Tory who just froze for a second.

" Okay now im gonna faint, now i know how you feel " Daniel squirmed,moved an inch closer to Johnny .

" I witness my own son purposely drag his boyfriend multiple times just to kiss him as an excuse." Johnny complain not letting Daniel win him.He really wish he just destroy that stupid thing without upsetting anyone.

"Ok you win ." Daniel chuckles , his hand lingered at Johnnys elbow and only relunctantly moved when Amanda called him over.

Missing Johnnys frown

....

After numerous kisses that have been done mainly by Robby and Rickenberger , Sam with Miguel and Tory which suprised everyone .

Johnny was ready to shred the damn thing after seeing Hawk shamelessly kiss Demetri.

Which almost made him vomit .

But Robby and Sam came to him to ask him to do it.

" We are tired of watching Hawk and Demetri makeout " Robby irritably huffed , hands at his hips-Daniel movements must be rubbing off him . And Johnny ignored the hickey that was sporting on Robby's neck making him almost faint  .

" Its was fun at first but it got tirring and Anthony is being fuzzy ." Sam complained . Her blue eyes shined and not one trace of mischief just like Robby green eyes .

" Thought you'd never ask,Let's go kids"

He should've sense that they had a trick up their sleeves, doesn't parents acheive a sense to know their kids are scheming something. Johnny was just glad he could take the stupid thing off already .Watching people swap spit was not a pleasant sight .

"Move out of the way ,Loser." Johnny pushed 'Demetri' as Daniel calls him , He lifted his right hand but midway Robby shouted.

"Dad !." The pups eye widen realising it came out way too loud than necessary getting almost everyones attention .

Raising his eyebrow in question at Robby for his outburst . Robby suddenly flung himself to Johnny and hugged him .

" I just wanted to say , i love you Dad ."

" I love you too pup." Johnny said gently and hugged him tighter.

Pulling away to smile down at Robby who smiled back . Turning around he crashes into LaRusso , his arms automatically grabs Daniel's arms , the guy was such a delacate diva he didn't want to hear about him knocking him over in New Years.

Daniel just stands there , his big doe eyes blinking.And having him up close , looking beautiful and perfect , Johnny simply just wanted him so badly .

"Watch were your going , LaRusso."

"Me? You were the one who almost knocked me over ." Daniel scoffed .

" Well if i was the same miniature size as you ,you could have knocked me over ."

" Im not small, Johnny ." Daniel just rolled his eyes , but not one second did he move from his grasp.

" You aint tall , Bambi." Johnny being Johnny didn't budge.

"Just kiss already !"Anthonly shouts making them suprise giving him questioning stare to why would he say that into which all the kids just pointed up .

Blue eyes just stared at the damn mistletoe, the whole room got quiet even Daniel annoying ass cousin shut his big mouth . Johnny was scared to look at Daniel but he was man so he looked at him .

"John... You dont have to. " Those big doe eyes just sadly stare into his soul and he will be damned to let Daniel think he didn't want to kiss the shit out of him .

"You better record this " He tells Hawk whose phone was held up ready to capture the damn kiss that should've been done in the damn 80's.

He held Daniel's face between his hands and close the gap and kiss him. And he felt like he acheived the best the thing in the world when Daniel kissed him back with the same passion as him.

"Finally !" Robby shouted happy , tucking himself in his boyfriend side . Sam clapped along with the others and Amanda swiftly kiss Carmen because why the hell not.

[meikodenji]

CODA

Part: 1, 2:

A New Day, Part II

Johnny was bailed out and headed home. Miguel went to the car once he saw it park. "Hey, I just wanted to say thank you." "All right, well, you said it." He walked to his mailbox.

"So, last night, was that, like, Tae Kwon Do or jujitsu or MMA or something?" "It's karate. Old-school karate." "Do you think you can teach me? Me and Joe?" "What? No." "Come on. When school starts, those guys will make my life, and Joe's, miserable." "It's not my problem. And where is he anyway?"

"His dad's pissed, so he's doing his time? Something like that. Look, if we knew a little of what you know, we can--" "Forget it." Johnny interrupted. "I don't do karate anymore, all right? Besides, I need to find a job." "Well, you could open your own karate school." "It's called a dojo." "Then you could open your own dojo."

"Look, I'm not getting into this with you. I'm not even sure I'm allowed to be around kids right now. All right, you want my advice? Stop being so annoying. Maybe you'll stop getting your ass kicked."

Johnny walked off. Right then, Joe slipped out the door to his home. He walked over to him. "Nothing?" Miguel shook his head. "He'll come around. They always do. You wanna hang out? I'm free until seven." "Yeah."

The teens went into Miguel's. "Hola tía." Joe greeted his aunt who sat with Carmen and Rosa, Miguel's mom and grandma. "Hola cariño. Miguel." Miguel greeted and told his mom that they'll be in his room.

"I thought your aunt was your mom, man." Joe groaned as Miguel laughed. "She's my dad's older sister, c'mon."

Johnny was taken aback when the commercial of Daniel LaRusso popped up on the television. He tried his best to turn the TV off but the damn remote wasn't working. And as always, every customer leaves with their very own bonsai tree. Johnny threw the liquor bottle at the TV. He fled out of the apartment complex in his car, drinking as he drove. Remembering the Cobras having a great time. Ali smiling, making him smile. Then LaRusso, Mr. Miyagi. The final match and that damn kick replaying over and over. Lawrence hit the wheel in rage.

He stopped at the All Valley Sports Arena. Looking off at the locked parking lot. Kreese keeping him in a head lock as his friends tried to help him. How does second place feel like now, huh?

His attention turned to the car that had crashed into his. "What the--" He yelled at the group of girls in the car. "What the hell are you doing? What are you doing?" He demanded them to open the door. Getting a good look of the girl in the back. "Drive! Drive!"

--

Disguised, Johnny walked into the LaRusso Auto Group building, coming for his car. He approached a woman at a desk. "How can I help you?"

"Hi, I just need to pick up my car." He handed the paper to her. "I'm in a bit of a hurry." "Oh, this came in last night?" She shook her head. "It'll be a couple of week, but we'll call you with an estimate." Johnny took the sunglasses off. "No, my car was no supposed to come here. I want it towed to a different body shop."

"Why? We have the number one service team in the valley. We beat all prices. We kick the competition." "I've heard it a million times. I just prefer to do my business elsewhere."

He was determined to leave as soon as possible once he heard one of the car salesman said that Daniel would personally thank a customer. "You know what? I'll come by tomorrow." He dashed but was stopped by Daniel himself. "Johnny?" He turned to him. "Johnny Lawrence!" The shorter man walked to him. "I..I knew it was you! Holy... How the hell are you?" He hugged the blonde.

"Hey, man." "Oh my God, look at you. You still got those golden locks, eh?" You can tell Daniel was somewhat excited to see him. "God, this is crazy. How you been?" "Great, man. Thanks, I've been great."

"That's great." He called Anoush and Louie over. "I gotta go." Johnny was held by Daniel as the two went to them. "No, no, no. This is Johnny Lawrence. He and I go way back. Right, buddy? This guy was the toughest dude in my high school." He explained, "When I first moved here from Jersey, he and I... we got into a little bit. This guy really had it in with me." "Well, you did move in on my girl."

"Well, she actually wasn't really your girl anymore, was she?" Johnny intensely gazed him. "All right. That's all water under the bridge." Anoush came to realization, pointing at him. "Wait. Is this the karate guy, the guy from the tournament?" "Oh, this is the guy whose ass you kicked."

Daniel tried to cool it down but said something that would anger Johnny, "Uh, listen, it was a really good match. But if you wanna get technical... I kicked his face." They laughed except the blonde. "I'm just busting your chops." "It was an illegal kick." "Oh, illegal? Really? Come on. What about that elbow to my knee?" "Yeah, I got the warning. You got the win."

The two were directed back to work after the laughing. "Enough reminiscing, right? So, what brings you in? You're looking for a new ride?" The woman from earlier came to them as she spoke, "He wants his car towed to a different body shop." "Oh no, Johnny. We got the best prices in town. That crook at Cole's on Van Nuys, he'll try to screw you over." Daniel then offered that the repair is on the house, Johnny gave in after turning it down a couple times.

A familiar face caught his eye. It was the girl from last night in the back seat. You gotta be kidding me. He headed for the door and get stopped by the same man. "Johnny, wait up!" He handed a bonsai tree. "Every customer gets one. And hey, look, I don't blame you for what happened back in the day. All right, I know that wasn't you. It was Cobra Kai. We're all better off without it, am I right?" He patted Johnny telling him to take care of himself. "It's good to see you, man."

Finally heading out, he puts sunglasses on and tossed the bonsai tree onto the lot.

Miguel and Joey turned to get stopped by Johnny. "Are you sure you're ready? 'Cause once you go down this path, there's no turning back. Miguel spoke for the both of them, "You're gonna be our karate teacher?"

"No." Johnny spoke with confidence. "I'm gonna be your sensei." The teenagers nodded.

I'm gonna teach you the style of karate that was taught to me,

The blonde went through his trash, finding the ripped check.

a method of fighting your pussy generation desperately needs.

Johnny shook hands with the man, renting the retail space.

I'm not just gonna teach you to conquer your fears. I'm gonna teach you how to awaken the snake within you. And once you do that, you'll be the one who's feared.

You'll build strength.

You'll learn discipline. And when the time is right, you'll strike back.

He removed the cardboard from the wall.

STRIKE FIRST

STRIKE HARD

NO MERCY

[billhader]

Here You Come Again

Chapter Four: Monday, Monday

A Cobra Kai fanfiction [COMPLETE!!]

Read Chapter Four on AO3 | Three | Two | One

[NEW] Listen to the fic playlist on Spotify!

Chapter Four Summary:

Finally, it's Anoush's first day back at LaRusso. Louie buys breakfast.

Rating: Teen (canon-typical profanity)

Chapter word count: 3.9k Completed work word count: 14.3k

Relationships: Louie LaRusso/Anoush Norouzi

Characters: Louie LaRusso, Anoush Norouzi, Amanda LaRusso, Daniel LaRusso, Samantha LaRusso, Anthony LaRusso, Tom Cole

Tags: Canon Compliant, Star-crossed, Mutual Pining, Friends to Lovers, more like co-workers to friends to strangers to coworkers again to lovers, Lovable Himbo Louie LaRusso, Angst with a Happy Ending, poor communication skills, Family Bonding, Missing Scene, Slow burn

I did it, folks. I finished something. Pls clap.

I really really hope you enjoy the conclusion! I've had the whole plot of this fic sitting in my head for a couple of years now and I'm ecstatic that it's finally out in the world. Comments are always welcomed and loved, even critiques. And if I've made an Anouie convert out of you (yes, I'm sticking to that name), PLEASE let me know :))))

Chapter title and lyrics used are from "Monday Monday" by The Mamas & The Papas.

(Full chapter text below the break)

Louie didn’t rush into work on Anoush’s first day back. He never did rush to work in the first place, and there was nothing that made that morning unique. It took a while to pick out the right color tie (the blue-and-orange paisley won) and to steam out a few tiny wrinkles in the linen suit jacket he’d already ironed last night. And he couldn’t leave for the day without inspecting every bottle of cologne in his trunk to pick out the exact right scent. Summer was bowing out in a final burst of oven-hot Santa Ana winds, and Louie prided himself on smelling appropriate for every season and occasion. After deciding to sacrifice the final spritzes in his cherished Acqua di Parma bottle, he checked traffic and was delighted to see that the 101 northbound  was down to one lane and rapidly turning into a parking lot. Cruising the surface streets would take twice as long as usual. He hung up his jacket in the back seat and put in a mobile order for Coral Tree Cafe - a bacon and egg panini for himself, and strawberry banana pancakes for Anoush. Buying Monday breakfast had been their routine going back several years, and Louie didn’t want to assume Anoush would remember to pick something up, so he was being a gentleman about it. He cranked up his oldies playlist to a volume Anoush would scold him over. Maybe soon he’d take Anoush out to lunch just to argue with him about decibels.

Monday, Monday, so good to me

Monday mornin', it was all I hoped it would be

Oh Monday mornin', Monday mornin' couldn't guarantee

That Monday evenin' you would still be here with me

With their food secure in the back seat, Louie drove no faster than ten or fifteen miles over the speed limit when he wasn’t sitting at a light. Despite his best efforts and a couple missed turns (“ Cut me off again and see what fucking happens! Fucking Tesla bitch-ass!!”) he somehow ended up at the dealership only five minutes after nine. He ducked inside through a service entrance and held his breath as he skirted by Amanda’s office, but he didn’t spot her inside. After waving to Sheila (and ignoring Marcus the new guy) he got to his office door - which was hanging ajar. 

“The hell?” Louie pushed it open and saw Anoush standing by his desk. “Dude. You just got back and you’re booby-trapping my shit?”

“Uh, no.” Anoush held up his hands like Louie was going to charge at him. “I’m not a Scooby-Doo villain.” Louie immediately clocked that he wasn’t wearing a tie, and it startled him. He wasn’t used to seeing Anoush with his top button undone at work. The charcoal gray suit was new too, slimmer fitting than his usual preferred cut; all Louie recognized on him was a pocket square in deep purple that he’d worn over and over again. Once Louie was able to tear his eyes away, he spotted two donuts on the desk, waiting on a napkin in front of his keyboard - one with chocolate on top, one glazed. 

“Okay, well, you’re shifting around like a…fuckin’ shifty character,” he said. Anoush rolled his eyes.

“Takes one to know one. I guess I’ll just take these back.” He sighed dramatically and pretended to reach for the donuts. “Since I’m so shifty.”

“Fine.” Louie walked over and dropped the bag with their breakfast onto his desk. “Guess I’ll just eat your food.” 

Anoush’s face lit up, and Louie felt like a king. “Wait. What did you get? I can’t believe you.” 

“What d’you mean, you can’t believe me? It’s Monday, we always do breakfast on Mondays.” He tore open the stapled-shut paper bag and laid out all of the containers, ignoring the syrup that dribbled out of its leaky cup and onto a pile of inventory sheets. “Got the hashbrowns to share if you want. Made sure they put the strawberries and bananas in separate thingies like you like, but they were real snippy about it when I went in there.”

“Oh, Coral Tree? Louie…” Anoush found the foam clamshell that held his stack of pancakes. He trailed off, clearing his throat. If Louie didn’t know better, he’d think the guy was upset about something. What was there to be all emotional about when his pancakes were getting cold? “I just wasn’t expecting this.”

“You think I’d forget?”

Anoush was flushed like he’d just finished running laps around the show floor - but he smiled like he couldn’t stop. “I didn’t say that. Just…you’re being thoughtful. It’s weird.”

“Yeah, yeah, save it. Next time I won’t think about you. Excuse me.” Louie tried and failed not to laugh. He took a bite of the chocolate-covered donut and groaned. “Fuck, where’d you get this?”

“Kettle Glazed. I found it with my friend Sebastian when we were super drunk.” Anoush pulled up a chair to the side of Louie’s desk and made himself comfortable, pulling all of his goodies towards him. “And good luck with that. You’re always thinking about me.”

Louie had to fight not to choke on his mouthful of donut, and he sat heavily in his desk chair. Suffocating on Boston cream had to be one of the top three worst ways to go out, and apparently Anoush wanted him dead because what the fuck possessed him to say that ? He didn’t appreciate the smirk that Anoush was trying to hide as he arranged banana and strawberry slices in an alternating spiral pattern on top of his pancakes. Sure, the two of them fucked around with each other, like bros did - but there was an ill-defined line between fucking around and flirting. Louie was a master at operating in the fuzzy gray region, so when Anoush looked him dead in the eye and leapt over the line, he was stumped. “Yeah. Whatever, man,” was all he could think to say. And if it sounded like an admission of guilt, well…at least Anoush was pleased with himself. But he was merciful enough to change the subject.

“I met the new guy. Not the guy that started when you left. Marcus, the new-new guy.”

“He’th a fuh’in dork,” Louie said through another mouthful of donut.

“Gross. Close your mouth. Well, he seemed fine to me.” Anoush was sawing at his pancakes, creating a grid between each fruit slice. It looked like a real pain-in-the-ass process, and he hadn’t even taken a bite yet. “A little shy, I guess. How are his numbers?”

“Shitty. But everybody’s are right now. ‘Cept for yours truly.” Louie leaned back in his chair and shrugged at his own success. “I dunno, guess I got the, what the fuck do you always say…’gender say kwan’. “

“Are you trying to say je ne sais quoi ?”

“Fuck you and your fake accent.”

“It's not fake, that’s just how you say it.”

Louie unwrapped his panini and considered how much further he wanted to push Anoush on the first day back. He had to make up for lost time somehow. “So you come back here, you’re using a fake French accent, you're dressed like you’re French--”

“How the fuck is my outfit French ?” Anoush dropped his utensils, squinting at Louie with utter disdain. “It's just a suit.”

“Is this what they dress like at Cole’s? Looks like you're headed to the club and didn’t invite me.”

Anoush scoffed. “No, those assholes wish they looked this good. Most of them wore khakis and Patagonias.”

“I bet they all drive fucking Teslas.”

“You and Daniel have to get over the Tesla thing. We’re losing so much money by not stocking them.”

“See, that’s all you care about, money. We got principles over here.”

“Your principles haven't seen the commissions I made at Cole’s on the Model S alone.” Anoush was finally taking bites of his food - Louie knew arguing made him hungry. “How are those LaRusso principles working out, by the way? Isn’t that why Daniel’s in Tokyo groveling right now?”

In every thread of their banter, somewhere down the line, there was an ignition point. Whether he meant to or not, Anoush was lighting it. Louie’s pulse hopped in his jugular, running away without him.

“Hey, take it easy. We’re tryin’ to put the whole mess in the past. I don’t know what Cole told you-”

“It has nothing to do with Cole. I was here before the school fight happened, I had to deal with Daniel. He was erratic, he didn’t show up even when he promised to.” Anoush stabbed his to-go box with his fork, eyes dead-set on the rows of holes he was creating. Louie could physically feel each tiny screech and squeak of plastic on foam all the way back in his molars. “Karate…I don’t know, it’s melted his brain.”

“Look.” Louie’s back straightened, taut and strangely aching. “He’s not perfect, okay? What d’you want him to do, huh? He’s already trying to fix it. Everyone in the Valley’s breaking his balls, don’t need you doin’ it too.”

The way Anoush’s face contorted made Louie question whether any part of the last few minutes had been real. “...Okay then. I’m not breaking his balls, first of all. I have some concerns.”

“‘Cause you sound like you’re still salty.”

“I’m not -- oh my God.”

“Nothing melted his brain. What the fuck’s that about? That ain’t fair-”

“You weren’t here,” Anoush snapped. “Louie, Amanda was trying to run the whole show on her own.”

“Sounds like something she’d say.”

“She didn’t say anything, I was here! You weren’t! Everyone was fucking miserable all summer. There’s a reason so many sales staff bailed. The fight at the high school isn’t the problem around here, it’s just a symptom.”

“So the problem is Daniel, huh. That’s what you’re really trying to say.” Louie got caught in a loop where he couldn’t quit shaking his head. “So just say that.”

“I didn’t say that!”

“You…you implicated it!”

Anoush was chewing on his bottom lip, staring down at his half-eaten food. He was jiggling his foot, a sign Louie knew well. “Or, you’re just putting words in my mouth and hearing what you want to hear, as per usual.”

“ As per usual ,” Louie scoffed. “Jesus Christ.”

“I haven’t said anything that I wouldn’t say to Daniel’s face. Actually, most of it I already have said to his face. So you can stop butting into shit nobody asked you to be part of.”

“You’re sat there talking mad shit about my cousin, and the way he conducts business, and his fucking private family matters. And I’m just supposed to sit here and-”

“Sit there and react like a normal adult who can regulate his emotions?” Anoush was out of his chair now, packing up his leftovers. He flat-out refused to look Louie in the eye. “Sure, that’d be nice. That’d be a pleasant change of pace for you.”

“I mean, you’re the one slandering the guy. Talk about “shit no one asked you to be part of”.” Louie didn’t budge from his spot, making air quotes to throw Anoush’s own words back at him. “You aren’t family, you don’t know him like--”

“No. You know what? No.” As Anoush looked up, Louie immediately wished he hadn’t. His dark eyes were alight with rage, and his entire frame quivered with a wrathful energy that was alien even to Louie, who had pissed him off more than anyone else on Earth over the years. He pointed right at Louie with a shaky but strong hand. “You don’t get to sit there and tell me I don’t know your family, I don’t give a shit about your family, whatever. It’s bullshit. I’ve known Daniel and Amanda for eleven fucking years. I’ve known those kids for as long as either of them can remember. You seriously think I wasn’t upset when I heard what happened to Sam? I was fucking sick over it, Louie. I didn’t even know if she was okay until a couple days later.” His voice broke, but he forged on at a volume that people passing by the office door could probably hear. “You know that’s complete bullshit. I’m trying to tell you I’m fucking worried about Daniel and you throw it back in my face. Real fucking cool.”

Louie was stuck fast to his chair by the crushing wave of hot shame that broke over him. His hands flexed, gripping the edge of his desk as if he’d fall a hundred feet if he didn’t. The Monday he’d fantasized about since Thursday was gone, destroyed by his own hand. Anoush stared, waiting for any type of response, and the pain in his expression sent Louie into a self-loathing tailspin. What kind of idiot was he to think he could claw their lost summer back from heartless, unyielding time?

“Now who’s putting words in who’s mouth,” he said flatly. He couldn’t stop himself from pushing. Anoush was right about him. Everyone was right about him. Like he’d done thousands of times, and would do thousands more, he kept acting the way everybody expected him to. If he tried to change, he would end up in the same spot or worse than if he just gave into the ever-present impulse to be belligerent and insufferable. He just pushed and pushed until he was totally alone. It didn’t matter that he wanted to reach out to Anoush and stop him from walking away. Anoush would walk away anyway. The damage was done.

“...I don’t know what I was thinking,” Anoush murmured. He didn’t elaborate further. He turned on his heel and made quick strides for the door, and a bolus of pure adrenaline shocked Louie into shouting out the words that were on a broken record in his head.

“Why’d you even come back?”

Anoush froze, but not for long. He faced him one more time. Anoush, the guy who was too intimidated by the dude behind the counter at the bagel shop to ask for a different flavor of cream cheese, was beginning to scare Louie with his intensity - and he realized all at once that he was actually proud of Anoush for standing his ground and shouting him down.

“I came back because you asked me to,” Anoush said. “I love Daniel, but it was you.”

Louie’s mind went blank. When Anoush reached for the door handle, he leapt out of his seat. “Hold up.”

They met somewhere between the desk and the exit. Louie gathered Anoush up in his arms, and he held on as tight as he could. While Anoush was smaller, that didn’t keep him from almost crushing Louie’s ribs when they embraced. As they stood still together, finally quiet, he felt the tension melt out of Anoush’s body from the top down. The shaking stopped. His head landed on Louie’s shoulder.

“Sorry,” Louie whispered.

“Don’t be.” Anoush’s voice was muffled against his suit jacket. “I’m sorry. I started it.”

“No, hey. Don’t do that. Just me and my big fuckin’ mouth. I know you care, I shouldn’t’ve said that.” Louie closed his eyes and listened to the faint whispers of Anoush’s clothes shifting against his. Taking a deep breath, he was awash in the scent of whatever soap or cologne Anoush used - something sharp, herbaceous and a bit floral. He’d never noticed any of this before, and he didn’t know why any of it mattered to him, but it did. Letting go didn’t cross his mind until it was far too late. Anoush was the one to relax his grip, prompting Louie to do the same - but he didn’t move away. When he realized Anoush’s face was stained by tears, his heart went into free-fall. He stepped back to his desk to grab a box of tissues. “I’m really sorry, Anoush. I didn’t want today to be like this-”

“You didn’t text me back,” Anoush said. He bowed his head and harshly wiped the moisture off his cheeks, despite Louie holding out a tissue to him.

“...Yeah.”

“I just thought…”

“I know. I’m sorry.” Louie hesitated. “I wanted to call. And I know that don’t mean shit.”

Anoush’s shoulders were slumped, and he seemed so small. His eyes found Louie again, and they were still wet. “Why didn’t you?”

“Well, you didn’t call me. And I get why, I’m not, like, saying it was on you to do that,” Louie said. He let out a heavy sigh. “I just…I’ve always kinda been like this, my whole life, and I already let down my whole family about a billion and one times. And I thought, y’know, hearing you on the other end bein’ disappointed…I couldn’t handle it.”

Anoush didn’t respond. Louie let himself settle on the edge of his desk, and he scrubbed at his face with the heel of his hand. He wasn’t going to cry. He didn’t cry. He wished he could. And then, Anoush was right in front of him. He brushed Louie’s own hand away from his face, replacing it with a soft palm pressed gently to Louie’s cheek. Before Louie could process the touch, Anoush leaned in and kissed him. It didn’t last, but Anoush’s lips were planted firmly on Louie’s for one, two, almost three sublime seconds. When he was done, he backed off a few inches. They stared at each other.

“That’s it?” Louie asked.

“You’re useless,” Anoush replied. When Louie caught a hint of his smile, and saw his own reflection in Anoush’s warm eyes, he was done for. He tugged on the front of Anoush’s shirt, bringing him back in to kiss him on his own terms. Anoush either lost his balance or simply threw the weight of his body against Louie’s, planting one hand on the desk behind Louie’s back to steady himself. Louie was determined not to fuck this up, this one thing that he’d wanted to do for way longer than he cared to admit. He refused to break away even once, and Anoush wasn’t going anywhere. He was bearing down between Louie’s legs, and when Louie tilted his head to deepen the kiss he heard a sound, a shaky little hmm of a sigh from Anoush. It was all too crazy for him to process. Anoush was here, Anoush was all over him as if they had narrowly escaped death in a cataclysmic war, Anoush still wanted him even though he was kind of awful….maybe Anoush wanted him because he was awful. Louie didn’t quite understand yet, but if this was the way to figure things out, he had no complaints.

They only stopped when they both ran out of air. Louie gazed at Anoush in a stupor, matching the pace of his deep, gasping breaths without realizing it.

“You didn’t disappoint me,” Anoush said.

Louie was still winded, not from physical exertion as much as the pure rush of being close to Anoush and hearing him say that. He’d known for a long time that he was a little bit gay, but he never knew he was this gay. Was it possible to be extremely gay for only one dude? He would need to do some research. 

“I didn’t?”

“No. You never disappoint me. My expectations for you are extremely low.”

They both started laughing, a little nervous at first, then dissolving into uncontrolled fits of giggles. Anoush collapsed against Louie once more, hardly able to hold himself up from laughing so hard, so Louie held him up instead, arm secure around his waist. Anoush’s laugh was all he ever wanted to hear.

“I’m serious, though.” Anoush collected himself enough to look up, and he kissed Louie on the forehead. “I didn’t think that, even when I found out. I was just like, ‘yeah, sounds about right’. And I know I shouldn’t say he deserved it…but he deserved it. Wait, are you crying?”

The forehead kiss had done something to Louie. His insides hurt. He furiously rubbed at his face with his sleeve. “No.”

“Okay,” said Anoush softly, using his finger to wipe something off of Louie’s cheek that definitely wasn’t a tear.

“I did let you down, though,” Louie said. “Didn’t call you.”

Anoush shrugged. “Phones work in both directions.”

A phone started to ring. Louie huffed, perturbed by the intrusion into their space. With the blinds drawn, it was almost natural to forget where they were. He glanced over at the closed door and remembered that he hadn’t locked it, because he hadn’t come into the room with any plan to make out with his co-worker. He had to wonder whether Anoush had planned to make out with him, but there was no time to ask. 

“Come on,” Anoush griped, fishing his phone out of his back pocket. His eyes grew wide. “Fuck. It’s 9:30 already? I forgot, I scheduled a call with one of Cole’s old clients. I poached like three dozen leads when I got out of there. They’re looking for a whole fleet of Mercedes vans.”

“You sure it’s today?”

“Well, I’m pretty sure he just called me, so yeah.” Anoush started to turn away, but Louie caught him by the hand and pulled him back for another kiss. “Louie…I’m already late.” He smacked Louie on the chest, but not very hard. Louie kissed him again, trailing to the corner of his mouth and then his freshly shaved jawline. “Okay… mm …I don’t even have the quote in front of me.” 

“Don’t go,” Louie said, although he was aware he didn’t have much say in the matter. “I don’t wanna work.”

“You never want to work.” Anoush sighed and straightened Louie’s tie. “Tell you what. If you can sell one car before lunch, text me. I’ll meet you back here.”

“Yeah? What if I sell zero cars?”

“I will never speak to you again.”

“How about I sell two cars?”

“If you, Louie LaRusso, can somehow sell two cars in the next three hours…” Anoush thought, and then it dawned on him. He smiled in a conspiratorial way that Louie was immediately thrilled by. “We’ll both call in sick tomorrow.”

“Call in sick on your second day back?”

“Sure. We’ll both get horrible food poisoning from Coral Tree Cafe.” 

“Okay. So we call in sick and do what?” Louie figured Anoush would continue to be cryptic, or even push him away - but he hadn’t learned his lesson yet, because Anoush leaned in to whisper in his ear. As he listened, Louie’s eyebrows slowly crept further and further skyward. Then Anoush gave him a peck on the side of his neck and brushed a crumb off his shirt.

“Sound like a plan?”

Louie nodded and swallowed hard. “Uh-huh.”

Anoush squeezed Louie’s thigh before he finally tore himself away. “You better start selling, then.”

When the door shut behind him, Louie sat there like a bump on a log for a few seconds, waiting for his heart rate to go down. Anoush and his mouth and his pretty eyes and unfastened top button were going to send him to an early grave. At least he’d die very, very happy. Louie checked his watch, swore to himself, then grabbed the iPad off his desk and dashed out to the show floor to hunt down his first mark. If Anoush wanted him to sell two cars before lunch, he was going to try and sell three. Louie couldn’t wait to see the look on his face.

[billhader]

Here You Come Again

Chapter Three: Other People

A Cobra Kai fanfiction

Read Chapter Three on AO3 || Chapter Two || Chapter One

Chapter Three Summary:

Anoush is sick and tired of Tom Cole. Louie is sick and tired of going to work when there's nobody to bully. Cole's scheme to buy out LaRusso may help them both get over themselves.

Rating: Teen (canon-typical profanity)

Word count (chapter): 3.9k

Relationships: Louie LaRusso/Anoush Norouzi

Characters: Louie LaRusso, Anoush Norouzi, Amanda LaRusso, Daniel LaRusso, Samantha LaRusso, Anthony LaRusso, Tom Cole

Tags: Canon Compliant, Star-crossed, Mutual Pining, Friends to Lovers, more like co-workers to friends to strangers to coworkers again to lovers, Lovable Himbo Louie LaRusso, Angst with a Happy Ending, poor communication skills, Family Bonding, Missing Scene, Slow burn

This chapter covers the events during and surrounding season 3 episode 3, "Now You're Gonna Pay". Some of the plot and dialogue in this chapter comes directly from the episode itself, because I want to make sure there's enough context to understand what's going on without y'all having to go back and rewatch the episode...and their chemistry in this episode is off the charts lmao.

Let me know what you think!! <3

(Full chapter text below the break)

“Earth to Faroush. You have the contract, yeah?”

Without a word, Anoush held up the black binder, and Tom Cole flashed his surgical smile. He hung behind his current boss as they walked up to the front of Larusso’s Encino branch. The sleek building façade loomed overhead, and a gurgle from Anoush’s stomach made him question whether he was really over the odious twenty-four hour bug that had ruined his weekend plans. His digestive system did not perform at its best in stressful conditions - these days, nearly all of his conditions were stressful. A battle-fortified demeanor of professionalism could only mask so much of his innate social terror. 

Had Anoush known what he was giving up when he walked away from Daniel and Amanda, he may have walked a tad slower. The slightly larger paycheck - and it was slight - did not make up for what the Valley’s other self-proclaimed auto king was putting him through now. When he’d accepted Tom Cole’s invitation to lunch at Mistral in Sherman Oaks after a week of stewing it over, the matter-of-fact conversation they had left Anoush feeling like his feet were on solid ground for the first time all summer. Cole made the choice to jump ship seem exceedingly simple. It wasn’t that Anoush was witless enough to trust the guy, but the facts were the facts.  He could compare commission rates, promotional incentives and 401k contribution matching; or, he could compare how gratified he was by his work at LaRusso for over ten years to how despondent he’d become in the three months since Daniel moved him to the North Hollywood branch. When Daniel stood him up on that final day, Anoush was already detached. He was just another LaRusso who’d claimed to care, then left him high and dry. 

While Anoush held no guilt walking away from his old boss, he did wish the hazing from the new boss would end soon. Roping him into this slipshod attempt at humiliating the competition was all too typical of Cole and his small army of filler-ridden white boys at the Van Nuys location. Anoush had faced down far worse insults, pranks and plain old beatings in middle and high school. That didn’t mean that the racist and antisemitic nicknames, or the gauntlet of repetitive trainings designed to keep his window of time for actual sales as low as possible, were fun to endure day after day. But if he could hang in long enough, the rest of the sales team would forget about him and find someone else to harass. Anoush was looking forward to invisibility. On the airy, tranquil LaRusso show floor, he was completely exposed. He sucked in a breath and held it as they marched towards Daniel and Amanda, who were huddled together by reception with stony expressions. Only one customer was on the floor, being coaxed into a mid-size SUV by--

Oh.

Of course.

“LaRussos!” Cole proclaimed, sweeping his arms wide like a televangelist ready to burst into song. Anoush stared at the iridescent flecks in the smooth marble underfoot. Whatever Cole was rambling about, he couldn’t hear properly. He felt like he was encased in a glass water tank. Shapes blurred, colors muddled, sounds didn’t travel quite far enough for him to decipher. In the corner of his vision, a navy blue form in the general outline of Louie LaRusso tucked its amorphous arm behind the customer’s back. The two figures floated down the corridor and out of sight. Louie hadn’t seen Anoush standing there. He must not have, otherwise he would have dropped everything to butt into the awkward bunch and pepper Anoush with dozens of invasive and embarrassing questions. Louie would have come over for one of his notorious bone-crushing hugs if he’d seen Anoush. But perhaps not. Anoush only knew Louie in a context that no longer existed, and that was no accident. In current reality, there was no evidence to suggest Louie would do any of those things. Maybe he had seen Anoush from across the floor and left in the opposite direction on purpose. That seemed most likely.

“Really, Anoush? You walk in here with this guy and let him talk to me like that, huh?”

He heard Daniel loud and clear, crashing back through plate glass to land face-first in the burgeoning hostilities. Meeting the indignant glare of his ex-boss - his ex-friend - only confirmed his suspicions, and there was no way he could look at Amanda. The couple regarded him as the interloper he’d chosen to be. If one LaRusso had beef, it transferred vicariously throughout the family. 

“It’s just how he talks,” Anoush said in a monotone, with no idea what smarmy insult had been leveled at the LaRussos. “You get used to it.” His three-piece suit was far too hot for the glass-enclosed floor space, but his hands were growing clammy. “Uh, excuse me. Restroom.” He rushed away from the others, stomach churning with a vengeance. 

***

In his big shiny office, Louie was grooving on his new sale paperwork. Dean Martin played on the Bluetooth speaker, and he whistled along to “Volare” as he kicked his feet up on the desk. His customer had just left with the promise of a brand-new Audi and a vibrant flush overtaking her face - just how Louie liked to leave ‘em. Amanda could gripe about numbers all day long, but he was doing pretty fucking peachy considering he’d only been back for a week. If Amanda was so concerned about how many cars they were selling, why was Louie the only one out there selling cars? Yeah, he supposed there needed to be actual people present in the building to sell cars to, but that was a technicality. Louie’s strategy was to sell to anyone who walked through the door - and if no one came in, he’d make them come in. He had his ways. 

His cousins were too freaked out about the school fight, but when Louie questioned if they really wanted the business of folks who were idiotic enough to blame the LaRusso family for what happened, he was met with withering glares and grumbling. “Of course we want to sell to those people,” Amanda had snapped. “We’re trying to sell cars, Louie. Ve-hi-cles. As many as possible, to as many people as possible. The manufacturers don’t care how stupid a customer is, do they? You see a box for that on the form, Louie? Let’s see, How stupid is the buyer on a scale of one to a hundred? Who did the buyer vote for in the presidential election? Did the buyer have any pets growing up?-” Louie had backed out of Amanda’s office at that point. He wasn’t there to piss her off, although it was pretty funny to watch her slow descent into an automobile-induced nervous breakdown. It was way more fun to prove his worth by single-handedly saving the family business, if that’s what it came down to. And when they’d weathered the storm thanks to Louie’s powers of persuasion, he would rub it in Amanda’s face for years. That idea alone kept him in great spirits. 

“Hey, man, look alive.” Daniel didn’t bother to knock on the open door, and Louie almost fell out of his chair. “You busy? Don’t seem busy.”

“I just sold you a fucking car,” Louie retorted, holding up his paperwork by the stapled corner of the packet. “You’re welcome.”

Daniel didn’t acknowledge the attempt at banter. He was looking over his shoulder. “Will you just come out and watch the floor for a sec? I don’t know where the hell Marcus wandered off to…”

“Yeah, fuck Marcus.” Louie tucked the paperwork into its proper folder like the stellar employee he was before getting up. “You and the missus headed out for the day?”

Daniel shook his head. “No, Tom Cole just showed up with Anoush. Cole’s completely insane. He actually has the nerve to walk in here and try to buy the place out from under us. I swear, if it weren’t for the school fight, he’d be laid out on the show floor right now.”

“Huh.” Louie was trying to button his suit jacket, but suddenly he couldn’t find the button-hole. He fumbled, dropped the button, and tried again. Then he quit trying and just stood there, staring out the door into the hall. Daniel was looking at him funny.

“You feeling okay?”

“Yeah, yeah. Uh, that’s crazy. I’ll go watch.” Louie cleared his throat, took a glance at his reflection in the mirror above his desk, and brushed non-existent lint off his lapels. He brushed past his frazzled cousin without another word on the way out. As a kid, Louie spent more time in detention than in the classroom. Walking out to the floor now as a grown man was scarier than any death march toward the principal’s office ever had been - and for once, Louie hadn't done a damn thing wrong. It was just Anoush, for crying out loud. The little fucker was about as intimidating as a basket of laundry. And yet, when he turned the corner and saw Anoush standing next to Tom Cole, arms folded tight in front of his chest, Louie’s control of his limbs evaporated. He stopped dead next to the intake desk and looked for a pen, a brochure, anything to look busy.

“Louie.”

Fuck. Amanda’s quiet, ferocious voice was a force Louie didn't feel like reckoning with.

“What's happening?” He pointed at Tom Cole and grinned like his life depended on it. “Hey, how you doin’, Mr. Cole? Ready to give up on that racket you got going down the street and join the cool kids?” He was cringing at the sound of his own words, but he had no clue how to handle the people in front of him. Amanda just shook her head, Cole’s silicone face didn’t budge, and Anoush’s cheeks puffed out like a hamster's. Louie knew he was doing that stuck-up little fake sigh he always did when he objected to something Louie said, or the way he said it, which was all the damn time. It meant Anoush was still judging him from afar - a tiny quirk that used to drive Louie up the fucking wall. Now, recognizing Anoush’s expression was a relief. 

“If the cool kids are cool with violence,” said Cole, clasping his hands together, “then call me a square.”

“What?” Louie scoffed. He glanced at Anoush, gesturing towards Cole like get a load of this guy. He thought, or imagined, that the corners of his mouth twitched. Then Anoush turned his head away to stare at the wall.

“Don’t you get it, Louie?” Amanda said brightly. “He’s saying we’re all thugs. Tom, why don’t we get settled in the conference room, okay? Daniel’s on his way.”

“Now, now. No need to be dramatic.” Cole followed Amanda, oblivious to the daggers she’d been glaring at him the entire time. Daniel passed a moment later to join them in the conference room, mouthing something at Louie that he didn’t quite catch. That left him alone on the show floor with Anoush. Louie shoved his hands in his pockets, following Anoush’s stony gaze towards the front entrance. He wasn’t used to the air between them being so quiet. Then again, Louie wasn’t used to being near Anoush at all anymore, and he didn’t get why he had to make this weird. Wasn’t he gonna say hello? At the very least, he thought Anoush might show some sign of being happy to see him. Damn, Louie thought. If that’s how it is…

“I can’t believe you’d go work for that mamaluke.”

Louie got exactly what he was after - Anoush’s attention. The wrinkle that appeared between his brows told Louie all he needed to know. Anoush had a lot of tells when Louie got under his skin. 

“That is the most goombah thing you’ve ever said,” he retorted. Louie’s frustration flared hot in his chest. 

“Hey! Take it easy, okay? That’s not your word, that’s our word.”

“Is it, though?” Anoush always did this. He pushed on every point Louie made, searching for weakness. He’d never let Louie relax. Every conversation was a battle to determine who had to play the most defense, and who could withstand the barrage of personal barbs the longest. It got Louie’s blood pumping.

“I don’t know. Still, I didn’t like your tone, the way you said it.” A picture-perfect volley, designed to goad Anoush into his favorite subject of argument - semantics. But where Louie expected him to step up and snap back, Anoush just deflated.

“Okay.”

With the flow of energy cut off, Louie was unmoored. He hated the lurch in his stomach, hated Anoush for making him stand there like a dick with nothing to say. Louie refused to allow this bullshit to continue. He was bull-headed, obstinate, and proud of it -  he’d keep pushing and pushing until Anoush either decided to chill out or to murder Louie with his bare hands.

“You still over on Lankershim?” he asked. Anoush shifted on his feet, rewarding Louie’s effort at small talk with perfunctory eye contact.

“No. Upgraded to a small two-bedroom over on Outpost.”

It took Louie a second to recall where Outpost was. “Oh, good for you, man.”

“Yeah, thanks.”

“I’m tryin’ to move right now, I’m still over at the 99 Cent Store. That place sucks, man.” There was no denying Anoush’s smile now, though Louie wasn’t completely sure whether it was friendly or mocking. When it came to him and Anoush together, there wasn’t much of a difference. “You gotta see the degenerates that come in and outta there. But I'm gonna get my own spot now that I got a little job stability.” For a brief giddy moment, Louie thought they were over the hump. But Anoush frowned, his lower lip jutting out slightly, and Louie had seen that face before. It was never good.

“...Don’t be so sure of that.”

Louie felt blindsided. Why did Anoush have to speak in fucking riddles? “What you talking about?” 

Anoush opened his mouth, but nothing came out. He scratched his temple and fidgeted. Louie was beyond done with fucking around. 

“Anoush. I know you know something. What do you know?”

Their eyes connected steadfastly for the first time. Louie had no idea what to think. All he knew for certain was that Anoush looked exhausted. He’d forgotten how it made him feel to see Anoush genuinely downtrodden because it was so rare. Watching Anoush look over his shoulder at Cole made him furious on his behalf. In a brain ruled by impulse, reaching out to grab Anoush by the arm and tell him everything would be alright seemed like a great idea - but he didn’t. What was most important to him now was keeping Anoush right here. If he scared him off now, he’d never forgive himself. Not to mention, he didn’t know if everything would be alright.

“Okay,” Anoush said, “you didn't hear this from me.”

***  

Only a few hours had gone by since Anoush had re-entered the LaRussos’ lives under extreme duress, but several months worth of fatigue set in as soon as he sat down in the solitude of his own car. He shucked off his suit jacket and scrambled to unbutton his waistcoat. When he pulled a lever on the bottom of the driver’s seat, it reclined all the way into the back. Anoush laid flat in the seat, crossed his arms over his face to shield his eyes from the afternoon sun, and let out a long groan. “Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck.”

He never imagined that he would grow weary of being treated to lunch at the most delicious restaurants in the Valley, but the dragon roll Daniel bought him wasn't sitting right in his stomach. The conversation itself had gone well, Anoush thought; it was lovely to catch up with Daniel now that he had a foot back in the real world. But he couldn’t bring himself to make any promises, and the disappointment was plain in Daniel’s expression as he toasted Anoush with lychee strawberry soju. Anoush knew Daniel understood that he was in a difficult position and had a lot of factors to consider, but he was so tired of letting people down.

Anoush was startled out of feeling sorry for himself by a brash ringtone playing over his car’s Bluetooth speaker. “For fuck’s sake, harām zādeh,” he grumbled, digging in his pocket for the phone. A solid five minutes of peace and quiet was too much to ask of the universe. He answered without looking at the screen. “You’ve got Anoush.”

“What the fuck, dude? “You’ve got Anoush”? When you start answering the phone like a corpo douchebag?”

Anoush sat up straight so fast that he tweaked something in his lower back. “Ow. Louie?”

Louie was openly laughing at him over the speakers. It reminded Anoush of a weird dream he’d had last year. “What happened at lunch, you fucking nerd?”

“How do you even know I’m done with lunch?”

“I dunno. Call it a fifth sense or whatever.”

“Or Daniel told you.”

“Maybe.”

“So you already know what happened at lunch.”

“Not really. You think I just called to hear you talk?”

The interior of the car was way too hot. Anoush turned on the engine and cranked the air conditioning as low as it would go. “Kind of seems like you did.”

Louie laughed again, but started coughing in the middle. He didn’t say anything for a moment.

“You still there?” Anoush asked. He wanted to kick himself for daring to skirt around the elephant in the room, but the elephant was throwing a tantrum and spraying water everywhere. 

“Yeah, yeah. I’m here,” Louie finally replied. “Sorry if the sound’s weird. I’m out in my car.”

“Me too.”

“So what’d you tell him? He wouldn’t give me shit. I asked real nicely, too.”

Anoush figured their conversation wouldn’t be quick. He sank back down on the flattened driver’s seat, and reached for the knot in his tie. “I didn’t really tell him much besides what I told you. His contract with Doyona’s void at the end of the month. Cole made him out to be a maniac.”

“So what’s he gonna do?”

“I don’t know for sure. He mentioned flying out to meet with Doyona.”

“All the way in Japan? Jesus.” Louie’s frustrated exhale created a burst of static on his end of the line. “This shit is so crazy. Hey, did he say he wants to take me to Japan with him?”

“...You know what? Oddly, that didn’t come up.”

“Man, I just want one of those sick-ass Japanese swords. Bring it back with me.” Louie made a few swish, swish noises, and Anoush could picture him swinging the air katana in his driver’s seat. “If that blond asshole comes around the dealership again, he’s gonna be sushi.”

“Fuck that guy. He never paid me for the shoes he ruined.”

“Amanda said he hurt you,” Louie remarked. Anoush waited for a joke or a childish, vulgar nickname that never came. 

“Johnny? Yeah. Punched me in the stomach.”

“I’m sorry.”

“What?”   “I shoulda been there.”

Anoush closed his eyes and made himself to inhale and exhale, deep and long, ignoring how his breathing wavered. He loosened his tie completely and pulled it off. On that day, he’d thought the same thing.

“What would you have done?” he said, forcing the levity in his tone. “You couldn’t beat the guy when you had a baseball bat.”

“Hey, hey, that was a dirty-ass fight. You weren’t there. Don’t talk about shit you don’t know, Anoush.” He could hear the smart-alec energy return to Louie’s voice. “But then I guess you’d never have shit to talk about.”

“I don’t know what I’m talking about? Six months ago, you told me with a straight face that you thought Elton John was a woman until you were twenty-five.”

“I fucking told you, I misheard it my whole life! Not my fault I never saw his fucking name written down. Thought his name was Ellen John.”

“Ellen fucking John.” Anoush was laughing so hard he curled up in a half-hearted fetal position on the seat. 

“Well, what kind of fucking name is Elton?”

Their laughter eventually trailed off and left dead air in Anoush’s car, with only the drone of the fan filling his ears. This silence didn’t carry expectation or dread; they’d gotten something out of their systems together. Anoush thought about what must have led Louie to finally look down at Anoush’s contact card in his phone and tap it. He wondered if Louie had considered hanging up before he got an answer.

“I don’t know what to do now,” he admitted to Louie.

“I mean, you just tell Cole to go fuck himself. Right?”

“Ideally, yeah.”

“And then you come back over here.”

Anoush sighed. “I don’t know if it’s that simple.”

“What the fuck is un-simple about it? They want you back, man.”

“...I just know things won’t be the same as before.” There was no way to tell if Louie understood what Anoush meant by that. He wasn’t entirely sure what he meant, himself.

“Fuck no. It’s gonna be way better. They’re gonna be so glad to have us both back, we can have whatever the fuck we want. You gotta see the office they gave me, it’s fucking ridiculous. What, do you not wanna come back because you’re scared I’m gonna beat the shit out of you this quarter?”

“Not really much competition when the quarter’s half over.”

“Yeah, you better stay over there at Tom Cole’s daycare then.”

“Fuck you, Louie.”

Anoush had missed saying that so much. 

“Just come back,” Louie said softly. “Don’t…don’t be an idiot. Just come back.”

“...Fine.”

“Oh. Okay then.”

“Yeah.” Anoush didn’t need to look in a mirror to know his face was burning bright pink.

“I thought you were gonna be way more of a pain in the ass about it. I had a whole speech ready,” Louie fake-complained. 

“No, no. I wanted to leave on day one. Just waiting for a good enough excuse.” Anoush really didn’t want to hang up - they had months worth of bullshit stories and heated arguments to catch up on. “Can you leave me alone so I can call your cousin?”

“Fuck, finally. I thought you’d never shut up.”

“I want to hear that persuasion speech on Monday morning, by the way.”

“Oh, yeah. I made that shit up.”

“I still want to hear it.”

“Okay. Damn. Bossy bitch.”

Once he brought himself to end the call, Anoush didn’t rush to get Daniel on the line. He stared up through the sunroof of his Porsche at the cloudless sky and wondered if he’d just hallucinated the entire conversation - or maybe he’d hallucinated the entire summer. On Monday, Anoush would wake up and stop for coffee or donuts or both on the way to work. He would arrive before Louie, and set a Boston cream long john on his desk for when he inevitably rolled in fifteen minutes behind schedule. Everything would be the same - or almost the same. The morning Louie never showed up would become a distant nightmare rather than a catalyst of chaos in Anoush’s life.  And one day soon, they might laugh about it together. Unable to stop smiling, he sat up and dialed Daniel’s number.

“Hey. Yeah, let’s do it. I can have Cole back there in an hour if you really want to rub it in his face…just promise not to punch him, okay? I don’t feel like being named in a lawsuit. And Louie has to promise, too.”

[eaglelarusso]

[eaglelarusso]

Cobra Kai ships my mum sees actually happening that I also ship:

Anoush + Louie

Terry + John (she litterelly said "I love you" when Terry said "I owe you" csjsndn)

[pilvimarja]

[eaglelarusso]

if you had to pick 2 ship to go on double dates who would it be?

Au: where everyone gets along

Teenage lawrusso + Jimmy & Bobby

Daniel & Johnny + Terry & Kreese

Amanda, Carmen and Ali + Anoush & Louie

Demetri & Eli + Robby & Doug

Sarah & Tory + Miguel & Kyler

Bert & Nate + Chris & Mitch

Mitch & Mikey + Sam & Moon

Ex- relationships

Eli & Doug + Shawn & Robby

[eaglelarusso]

Your endgames?

If it's not obvious my main ships are, lawrusso, elmetri, roug

I also ship, Sam and Moon, Sarah and Tory, Carmen, Amanda and Ali poly, Louie and Anoush, Miguel and Kyler