#praetorvalia

[naquey]

This is a little scenario for @praetoravila, I'm gonna snatch Marilou for just a second.

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Demetri would not stop talking about his Australian girlfriend. Since Toby preferred to sit and listen, he subconciously internalized all the information Demetri rambled about. Her favorite colors, her favorite animal, etc.

It wasn't until the aussie came to L.A. did he finally realize Demetri wasn't trying to sound cool. He actually had a girlfriend.

Making beaded bracelets was a form of meditation for him. The first people he made bracelets for were Sam and Demetri when he first met them. Since then, he'd gotten better at it and made bracelets. He made one for Miguel, and for Hawk, and the others who joined Miyagi-Do. And he made one for Marilou.

The letter beads were multicolored. There were peace signs next to her name. Toby was partly glad he beought his kit from home.

At first, when Miyagi-Do merged with Eagle Fang the other sensei had sort of yelled at him. Then Mr. LaRusso explained it, and sensei Lawrence let him stay inside but it was clear the man didn't get it.

In the following weeks, Demetri had gotten more restless about Marilou meeting his friends. He wanted to prove he actually had a girlfriend. Everyone else would teasingly make fun of him, but Toby was starting to think that he was telling ghe truth.

Then he met her and suddenly it clicked. Marilou was just like how Demetri described her. Kind, warm, and caring. She was a little nervous when the group went to get ice cream. Toby beamed happily because Sam, Miguel and Hawk were wearing the bracelets he made for them. Demetri liked to say he wasn't much for jewelry but even he was wearing one.

Marilou and Toby hung back while the other four ordered their ice creams. Toby had yet to decide what flavor he wanted. The bracelet he made was in his pocket, and something sparked in his mind.

"I– Uhm– I made this for you." He was staring at the asphalt ground when he handed it to her. "I hope you like it, if you don't I can make something else."

"Oh!" Marilou's eyes widened and she took the bracelet from him. "You made this?"

"Yeah?"

"I was wondering why everyone was wearing friendship bracelets."

His shoulders untensed and he looked up. Her eyes glossed over and she smiled happily. For a second, Toby panicked thinking he did something wrong.

"Are you in line?" Someone asked and Toby's face turned red. Had he been standing there like an idiot the entire time?

"Oh! Right..." The boy cleared his throat and stepped forward. He fidgeted with one of the bracelets on his wrist as he anxiously scanned the menu while the clerk at the window waited.

Marilou slipped the bracelet over her wrist and looked down at it. She was touched someone made something for her, but it meant a lot one of Demetri's friends liked her enough to make her a gift. It was nerve wracking meeting her boyfriends friends already.