#robby x tory | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

blainesebastian · 4 months ago

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you and me

word count: 4,297 pairing: robby keene x tory nichols rating: R (for triggers such as death of a parent) summary: 6x05 fix it fic. i'm sorry but i find it so hard to believe that robby does not go after tory to check on her when everyone learns about her mother. writers please, what are we doing??? notes: spoilers, obviously, for season 6. some dialogue taken directly from the show *u*

At this point in his life, Robby has gotten a pretty good sense of feeling when the other shoe is gonna drop. He’s used to disappointment, defeat, wears it like a second skin, so familiar to the sensations that he molds it to his skin, wields it like a mask so that when those feelings hit, he can convince everyone that he knows how to deal with it. He’s had plenty of practice.

His mom, his dad, Mr. LaRusso, Sam, Kenny.

While learning and mastering karate has been all about balance for him, about not feeding kindling to emotions like anger, it’s also been about acceptance. About factors, emotions and people he can’t control. Acceptance for himself, so that things in his life don’t live in those eras of disappointment and defeat.

He tries his best not to allow old patterns to drown him.

The other shoe might drop, but that doesn’t mean he has to be defined by it.

Robby knows better than anyone that just because you leave Cobra Kai doesn’t always mean it leaves you. There’s this wild look in the depths of his eyes sometimes that he recognizes when he looks in the mirror. Sometimes he convinces himself it’s a trick of the light, gone before he even pins it down.

There’s only a handful of people he thinks will understand that, just the nature of the beast. When you become a monster, it stays with you, lives inside of you, sometimes not as dormant as you want it to be. Just because he’s back at Miyagi-do doesn’t mean that he still doesn’t hear a snake hissing in his ear, a death rattle under his skin.

Sometimes he itches to strike first.

Nowhere does he see that same instinct like he does in Tory’s eyes.

He recognizes it like the back of his hand, it bubbles to the surface sometimes right before she throws a punch, right before she starts an argument (or finishes one).

It’s dangerous and vicious and above all, Robby knows, seductive.

There is nothing quite like the power that slithers through your veins when you embrace Cobra Kai’s model. When you live and breathe the motto. They may have taken the head off the snake, but if he’s learned anything? Cobra Kai is a living and breathing entity—through him. Tory. His dad. Hawk. Kenny. The people’s lives its touched and ruined. No matter how hard it’s buried, sometimes it comes back.

He can feel it grip the bottom of his ribcage when he thinks about second place. When he thinks about losing to Miguel to be team captain.

It’s why he’s working so hard on that acceptance part. That if he does lose, no matter how badly he wants it, he’ll swallow down the urge to do something reckless.

Which is part of the reason he almost amends to Tory what he said earlier—that even though it would be nice to be on that podium together? In front of everyone in the world to see? It doesn’t really matter to him…as long as they’re together.

Let's make a deal, no matter what, we stick together—just you and me.

Robby may not know how to wade through much as he figures out where he fits all over again, but he knows something inside of him recognizes something inside Tory. They see one another, have always seen one another, and he sometimes wonders if that’s the only thing in his life that’s real.

He hasn’t been able to get ahold of Tory for almost a full day and it’s at the end of school, while waiting in a park to train with her, that he really starts to worry. Calls, texts, doesn’t matter—they all go unanswered. He knows sometimes that she has her own way of doing things, of preparing, of getting in her head in order to get shit done…but with what she told him about Kreese showing up out of nowhere?

He's worried something has happened to her. He really wouldn’t put it past their old sensei to play dirty, to do something drastic. Has she been taken? Is she hurt? His blood starts to boil under his skin and echo in heartbeats in his ears as he thinks about that night they took Cobra Kai down, at seeing her hand all mangled from an ‘accident while training’.

And while he knows Kreese wasn’t directly involved with that, it’s all the same bullshit. No mercy.

He lets out a breath as her phone goes to voicemail, again.

“Hey, it’s me,” He lets out a long breath through his nose, “I dunno what’s goin’ on, but you’re worrying me.” Robby runs a hand through his hair, “I dunno whether it’s Kreese or something else but…you’re not alone. You and me, remember? Just let me know you’re okay.”

He waits like she might actually answer him before he hangs up, squeezing the phone a bit too tonight.

Robby tells himself that it’s fine, that he doesn’t have to wind himself up for no reason. She’s probably just doing her own thing, training, that she’ll call later with an apology and a request to meet up for midnight milkshakes—something that’s become quite a thing for them.

That he’ll see her tomorrow for the captain competition with a smirk on her full lips and a kiss good luck.

Except she doesn’t show up.

And he’s currently getting his ass handed to him because he’s distracted, glancing at the crowd like he might see her.

Robby never knew how much strength he drew from her, how much he depended on seeing her on his side, how much he ached for her nods of encouragement and cheers of excitement. He knows that the four of them are all on the same page again, all working towards the same goal, that there’s no bad blood or ill wishing.

But he’s also not blind to the fact that Sam is very much in Miguel’s corner, just as much as Robby is in Tory’s and vice versa.

He wants to be angry at her for not being here, for ignoring him, and the black shadow of a snake inside of him wants to use that anger behind his punches and barrel into Miguel with brute force and wild, wide strokes.

But deep down, he knows how much of that will be a mistake. Regardless that he’s fucking losing.

The other shoe drops that…it’s not actually anger anyways, but deep-seeded concern—that there’s a reason she’s not here. That something happened. That something is very, very wrong. And that entire emotion wells up inside his chest like the crashing wave of an ocean. It’s all he can think about, his body shaking as he pulls himself up from the mat.

Diaz, 2 points.

Robby drags his hands through his hair and glances towards the crowd, his gaze drawn to movement in the back of the dojo. Tory’s here. He draws in a sharp breath, lungs expanding, probably foolish to admit that it feels like he can actually breathe now. She’s here, she’s okay—and the thoughts of second place are brushed away with a breeze through the backyard and replaced with a singular phrase—

You and me.

The calm he feels is so stark to the panic before that he nearly smiles when Miguel throws his next kick and he blocks it effortlessly. The dance of their fighting moves is like liquid heat, something that kisses his bones and sings in his blood. The score is evened up, it’s anyone’s win.

And by anyone, he means it’s his.

Robby knows almost instantly, before he even squares off with Miguel, that he’s going to win. One look at Tory, one nod from her, and his heart slams into his ribcage.

He’s going to win, there’s no other option.

And he does.

Point. Winner.

He’s almost in a daze for a moment afterwards, he fucking won—the smile pulling his lips almost cracking his face in two.

When Robby makes it down to Tory, he can’t stop himself from reaching for her hand, their fingers interlacing as if it’s always been that way.

“Sorry I was late.” She says and Robby takes one look at her face, her eyes, before it stops him dead in his tracks.

“You came just in time,” He replies but the words aren’t registering, because he was right. Something is wrong.

It’s in the way she’s holding herself, her shoulders slipping forward, it’s in the wildness of her hair and the trembling of her fingers, it’s in the gaze that won’t look at him, eyes wide and glassy.

He knows what he’d see if her eyes met his. It’s the same look he’s seen in his own eyes in the mirror.

“Hey,” Robby says gently, moving to clasp her chin between his fingers, to force her to look at him, “What’s wrong?”

But Tory jerks back from his touch as if she’s been burned, as if she’s finally registered what he’s said. His hand drops but it doesn’t stop him from reaching for her, that same gnawing pit in his stomach beginning all over again at that look in her eyes.

“Tory,” Robby tries but she’s pulling away from him the moment his dad says LaRusso, Nichols to get up on the mat.

His mouth hangs open with unsaid words, his fingers itching to pull her down, away, to talk to him even though she’d throw fists at him the entire way.

Something catches in his chest as the fight begins and it only adds to the aching pit in his stomach that something is very wrong. Robby has watched Tory fight and train countless times, she keeps her body tight and her movements fluid, powerful punches and debilitating kicks.

But there’s too much emotion behind her draws, her footwork is messy, her arms are too wide and wild.

Her eyes are completely feral.

“Dad,” He calls out, tries to get his attention, to get them to stop, but it’s spiraling too fast, Tory advancing on Sam with her fist raised—

Until Mr. LaRusso catches her hand.

Robby lets out a haggard breath, his eyes fluttering to his sensei that he didn’t even see move up onto the mat because he couldn’t take his gaze off his girlfriend.

“The fight’s over.” He says, dropping Tory’s hand and Robby feels himself take an instinctive step towards the mat, the reckless look in her eyes nearly taking over her entire body.

“That’s not fair! That could have been a point.”

He’s not sure whether Mr. LaRusso heard him trying to call out to his dad to intervene or whether something is actually going on—there’s this expression on his sensei’s face, the same one mirrored on his wife, who’s gripping her phone so tight that her knuckles are turning white.

Robby opens his mouth to say something, to ask questions, to try and get Tory’s attention—when his girlfriend suddenly explodes when the arguing continues about her getting a fair fight.

“Because my mother died!”

He stares at her, the dojo slipping into an eerie silence, and he can feel the color draining from his face as all the pieces he was sifting through slip into place.

Holy fuck. Has she been dealing with this this entire time? Why didn’t she call him? Why didn’t she pick up his calls? Robby’s heart clenches in his chest as Tory tries to argue for her chance at this fight, the one she wants to have right the hell now, that she’s not backing down from.

The anguish is so potent he nearly chokes on it, taking a step towards her as she begins to spiral, as she realizes that she will not get what she wants here. He pushes himself up onto the mat, his hands up and in front of him, wanting to touch her but not wanting to spook her any further.

He realizes now how much she feels like a wounded animal, capable of striking out, striking first, baring her teeth. “My mom, she would have wanted this. If I don’t fight—I have to do this, I have to do this for her.”

“Tory, let’s just take a second and breathe—”

“No, Robby, no.” She chokes out.

Tory pushes everyone away, pushes him away and he can see the moment Kreese’s ugly words rear their head, spilling out of her mouth, tossing them into Mrs. LaRusso’s face about her beating her daughter, about how she’d never be first choice when it really mattered.

Second place, second place, second, second—

Robby swallows over a lump in his throat, his hands reaching for her even though she pulls away from his grasp, “Don’t touch me,” She snaps, “You want this fight to be over? Fine! It’s over.” She jumps off the mat, making a b-line for the parking lot.

“Tory, where are you going—” He calls out, her voice edging on the end of his sentence, screaming finality—I’m done.

Robby tails after her so fast that he nearly knocks Hawk over as he spills through the other members of Miyagi-do, not caring about who gets stuck in the crossfire.

“Tory!” He yells, hoping to catch up with her, praying she didn’t manage to somehow leave within those milliseconds she got away from him. He’s also praying that no one is following him, he needs to talk with her alone.

“Tory—” Robby just gets her name out of his mouth as he turns the corner before her fist is flying at his head. He ducks, barely, shifting to the right to avoid another toss of her wrist that he knows is coming.

“Leave me alone,” She spits at him, eyes like liquid fire, tears brimming the edges of her long lashes. “Go back in there, Robby.”

“No,” He says automatically, his voice calm despite the hammering in his chest. He takes a fighting stance, bringing his arms up. “Not without you.”

Robby doesn’t want to fight her but he has a feeling she’s not going to talk to him either. The last thing he’s about to let her do is leave, not how she is right now, not like this. He knows she’s not the first person to open up to someone else, no matter how close they are, but he’s not going to let her go through this alone. He doesn’t care if he has to force his way into her space, to somehow convince her that he’s not going anywhere.

She snaps another punch but it’s sloppy, he gently deflects by pushing her arm in the other direction. “You think I need you?” Tory bites, angry, so angry he feels like he can see steam coming from her ears.

But he takes none of it personally, he knows he’s not the one she’s really mad at. She can throw whatever she wants at him, he can take it.

“You want to fight someone? Fine—fight me. I know you pretend you don’t need anyone,” He tells her, blocking another hit. He’s not going to throw his own punches, just deflect hers. He dances with her in this circle, keeping his body loose, his hands low so he doesn’t do something reactive.

That seems to piss her right off, she throws a kick this time and it lands to his chest. He loses his balance for a moment, backing up into one of the old-fashioned cars Mr. LaRusso keeps outside the dojo, nearly stumbling to avoid another hit that she goes for. He ducks, reflexes fast, and her fist connects with the car window. It doesn’t break, but he hears a crack in the glass, the blood coming away on her knuckles.

She doesn’t even register the pain.

“I know because I’ve been there. I used to do the same thing. But it’s okay to need someone Tory. I’m not going anywhere.” Robby backs up, trying to give her space to move, but she’s coming at him quick—too quick, too feral, looking to hurt as she’s hurting.

He’s distracted for one moment, someone else coming out from the dojo—maybe Sam? Saying his name. Tory cracks her fist along the bottom half of his face, snapping his head to the side. He can feel the moment his teeth split open his lower lip.

And then something happens.

Robby isn’t sure what it is—whether it’s the step he stumbled back from her or the blood he wipes from his lip, but something breaks the spell holding onto Tory. She stares at him, at the cut on his lower lip, with wide, wet eyes, her fingers uncoiling from fists and dropping to her sides.

“I’m sorry,” She says in a whoosh of air, her breathing too fast.

Robby stands up straight, his arms falling as he shakes his head. “It’s okay.”

He barely gets the words out because Tory is also shaking her head, tears spilling down her cheeks, a ghostly look on her face as if she’s realized what she’s done, who she’s hurt. “I’m sorry,” She repeats, over and over, her words beginning to hiccup as she squeezes her eyes shut and tries to turn away from him.

“Hey, hey,” Robby’s voice is calm as he reaches for her, not accepting the space she’s trying to put between them. He wraps his arms around her, pulling her into his chest until she relents. He feels the moment she does, a sob slipping from her lips and practically vibrating his entire body.

He closes his eyes, burying his face in her hair, drawing one hand up to rest on the back of her head as the other smooths wide circles along her spine. When her knees give out, he gently brings them to the ground, keeping her close, pressing a long kiss to her temple as she cries.

She’s been holding this in for a while and he doesn’t try to talk, there’s nothing he can say—he just wants her to feel whatever she needs to. Tory keeps her face hidden in his shoulder, her hands gathering up the fabric of his Gi between her fingers, anchoring herself to him.

Robby glances over his shoulder, glad that the voice of the person that called out to him from the dojo is no longer there. The last thing he wants is for there to be an audience.

He draws in a short breath, threading his fingers through her hair until she pulls back to look up at him. Robby gives her the faintest smile, cupping her cheek, thumbing away a tear track.

“I’m gonna take you home.” He says softly, relieved when she doesn’t put up a fight.

Tory sniffles and nods, seeming utterly exhausted now that the adrenaline has disappeared. Her forehead droops to his shoulder and he squeezes his arms a bit tighter around her.

He meant what he said—he’s not going anywhere.

The apartment is unnervingly quiet when they get there. Robby’s changed out of his Gi back at the dojo and he tries to convince Tory to take a shower to soothe her muscles, to unknot some of the tension in her spine, but she outright ignores him. Instead, she makes a b-line for her bedroom to change her clothes and Robby sighs, running a hand over his face, pinching the bridge of his nose.

He's already decided that he’s spending the night here (whether she likes it or not). While he does not understand the pain of losing a parent (even though he can empathize with loss where parents are concerned in a small way), he knows that Tory is walking a very narrow emotional tightrope. He’s not going to leave her side until she’s…functioning better than he saw her today.

Until that look disappears from her eyes.

Robby opens up a few cabinets in the kitchen and checks the fridge for food, texting his dad and Mr. LaRusso so that they know he’s here, that as of right now Tory is okay, or at the very least as okay as she can be. He slips his phone into his back pocket, turning as he hears her come down the hall.

She’s changed into a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt he is ninety-five percent is his and that almost draws a small smile to tug onto his lips. She’s run a brush through her hair, washed her face, color kissing her cheeks pink. He’s never seen her look so small in all the time he’s known her and his fingers itch to gather her in his arms once again.

Tory looks up at him, swallows, “You don’t have to stay.”

Well that’s not going to happen. “You have a first-aid kit?”

She stares at him for a long moment, seeming to understand that he will fight her on this if he has to, even though he doesn’t want to. Her gaze flickers to his mouth before she pulls out the first-aid kit from under the kitchen sink and then reaches into her freezer for a frozen bag of peas.

Wrapping the bag in a washcloth, she turns to look at him, her hand tentatively reaching out to touch his cheek. He can see the remorse all over her face but Robby gently catches her wrist, squeezing the fingers of her uninjured hand,

“Don’t worry about it,” He tells her, “I’m okay. You’ve hit me harder than this before.”

That earns him a ghost of a smile and Robby smiles back, leaning forward to press a kiss to her forehead. “Go sit on the couch, I’m gonna check out your hand.”

Tory turns and does as he asks and it’s like the fight has melted right out of her, pressing her into the corner of the couch. He knows that it won’t always be like this, that the rough emotions will come and go like waves. But it’s important that she feels every single one of them and then lets them go.

Whether she knows it or not, Tory has a support system that can help her do that.

Robby opens a drawer for another washcloth, wetting it with warm water and brings the first-aid kit with him to the coffee table in front of the couch. He sits down on the edge of it, his knees bumping into hers as he reaches for her injured hand.

There’s so much he wants to say to her, words hiding underneath his tongue, and yet he doesn’t know how to say any of it. He wants to ask her why she didn’t call him, why she thought she had to go through this alone, but it doesn’t feel right for him to say it. At least not right now. The last thing he wants is for her to feel like he’s attacking her.

Robby just…he cares about her so much and it kills him to think about her in pain, shouldering all of this.

He brushes his thumbs over her knuckles, wincing just a little at the angry redness of them. Only a few cuts that aren’t even bleeding now, no glass anywhere in sight. He figured it wouldn’t be too bad but…

He gently begins cleaning her hand with the wet washcloth, ridding her skin of the dried blood. Robby knows that this is the last thing they should talk about but he also knows how Tory’s mind works, what’s plaguing her thoughts since they left Miyagi-do.

“We can talk to our senseis, reschedule that fight with Sam when you’re ready.”

Tory swallows, shaking her head, her voice is a bit hoarse, “They’ll never let me do that, not after what happened.”

Robby’s eyebrows draw together in slight concentration, “They’ll give you another shot, Tor, you deserve another shot.” He sets the washcloth down and opens up the first-aid box, resting their hands on his leg as he digs through for antiseptic. He tears open the small wipe with his teeth, a soft apology leaving his lips because he knows this will sting.

She winces when he begins cleaning her cuts, padding them dry with a cotton swab. Nothing is split open, so she doesn’t need band-aids but…he does gently wrap her hand with a thin layer of gauze.

“It’s too late for me.” She says and he hates the way her voice shakes, hates that it reaches inside his chest and squeezes.

Robby shakes his head, finishing with her hand. He lifts her knuckles to his lips, pressing a soft kiss as he wraps his fingers around hers. “It’s not too late,” He replies, “Hey,” He whispers, drawing her eyes to his, “It’s not.”

Tory bites down on her lower lip to stop it from wobbling, but he can see her eyes fill with tears again as they draw back and forth over his face, occasionally snagging on his split lip, “What am I going to do, Robby?” She chokes out and he knows they’re not talking about the Sekai Tekai anymore.

Robby cups her cheek, brushing his thumb across the bone as he holds her gaze, “Whatever it is?” He says after a moment, “We’ll figure it out together, okay? You and me.” He repeats the same phrase he told her before.

Tory sniffles, leaning back when Robby stands so he can sit next to her. He tugs her into his arms again, holding her against his body, her face tucking into the crook of his neck. He pulls a blanket down from the back of the couch to wrap around her body, his hand smoothing up and down her arm.

“Deal,” She whispers and for the first time in a long time, Robby feels himself relax.

#cobra kai #cobra kai fic #robby keene #tory nichols #keenry #robby x tory #mccall writes things

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