First Try, chapter 1

Things had been going well enough those last weeks. Johnny's got a badass lawyer who got his child to live with him, a kick-ass therapist that was actually improving the situation and giving him parenting classes, a great girlfriend that was truly supportive...
Everything would be perfect if he just only showed some self control for once.

This is post season 3, teenage characters are actually younger, about 13 years old.

 

 

Johnny Lawrence swore under his breath at the annoying obnoxious noise coming from the room across the hall. It was inconvenient as hell, since it was SUNDAY, the only day he actually rested, and Robby didn’t even have school that morning, so it was so freaking convenient, note the sarcasm, that he’d decided to set up the alarm so early that day… Not like he could just assume stuff accuse him of doing it on purpose, though… really, the therapist had told him not to do so.

He groaned loudly and actually tried to sit up to start breakfast, to feed his kid and all. He knew the boy was big enough to figure it out and have some cereal, but he was really trying to make the apartment ‘a safe place’ for Robby.

After miss Robinson had convinced her father that Johnny was actually a good person, the man had hired him a lawyer to get his child back from Kreese’s dojo… forcefully, but legally, as his son was still a minor. That and he’d threatened the school with suing if they didn’t admit Robby back.
The man had also got him a package with a therapist that also happened to give parenting classes, which hadn’t thrilled him at first, but after a few sessions, it seemed that Robby and him were actually bonding… and that was completely worth it. It had been a big surprise discovering they could in fact do activities together other than karate. They’d been making all kind of reparations in the apartment and Robby had even taught him about those Netflix and Prime Video things after Johnny discovered him watching a show that now was forbidden into that home. Things were going better than expected, so he was not about to blow it with inconsistency providing his kid’s meals.

He stood up and actually opened his door to head to the kitchen… but was pushed back inside rather harshly.

“Don’t go out!” The kid slammed Johnny’s door closed again and he couldn’t help cursing under his breath.

“Robert, seriously?!”

“It’s ‘Robby’ and don’t come out!”

“Ugh!” The brat had woken him up, to begin with! He’d had a very late night with Carmen as to be awake that early.

Johnny seriously couldn’t complain about their therapist. She was a complete badass that always looked Robby straight in the eyes when he was being an ass just to ask ‘are you really speaking to your father that way?’ and was always blunt when touching difficult subjects. A couple of weeks ago she’d actually started a very long session with ‘parents can love and/or like other people and still have you being their entire world’… So after many tears that Johnny cleaned off his face almost immediately, Robby had actually suggested they could have dinner with the Diaz family some times per week. Miguel and his kid were not exactly best friends, but they were decent teammates on the dojo now and had managed to reach a civil relationship… HE still had to be wary, since apparently Robby was pretty insecure about his place in Johnny’s life, but so far he’d managed just fine.

“Stay there, dad, just go back to sleep!”

Yeah, easier said than done.

“I need to check your room,” as he did every morning since the therapist had suggested it. He knew Robby hated it, but…

“No! Don’t today!” Johnny heard him a bit far.

“What do you mean don’t?” Johnny tried to go out… unsuccessfully. “Open the door!”

“Later!”

“Later? Robert, now!”

“Just go to sleep, dad!”

Johnny groaned, confused. The day before had been decent and fun, they had gone to the beach with Carmen AND Miguel, and Johnny had been so focused on Robby that the kid had not been angry about Miguel’s presence. Why the hell was he acting like that then?
Then he heard the clear sound of a very dangerous activity forbidden for Robby.

“Are you using the stove?!” His kid couldn’t cook for his life!
Johnny started struggling to get the room open, but was ignored in favor of the doorbell ringing and his child opening the door.

“Hey, sweetie,” that was Yaya’s, Carmen’s mother’s, voice. “I Know it’s early, but I made chilaquiles and wanted to see if your dad and you would like to have breakfast with us.”

“Hi. Not today, thank you.”

Was. He. Insane?

“He’s asleep, but thanks.”

Damn little liar!

“Oh well…”

“Thank you, have a good day.”

Johnny waited until he heard the door closing to actually get mad.

“What the fucking hell, Robert?! Open the damn door!”

“Hold on one mi…”

“NOW!”

He didn’t exactly know what to expect when the apartment fell silent, it was such a sudden change that he even feared disturbing the quiet atmosphere… his door unlocking did.

“What the fuck’s this all this lying and locking up about, Robert?!”

“I…"

“Are you on drugs again?! All those hours in therapy have all been a waste?!”

Somehow, his son’s huge eyes staring at him unnerved a bit more.

“Say something!” He stormed down the hall anyways, starting looking for any kind of hint of imminent disaster. However, he stopped dead on his tracks as soon as he made it into the living area.

He was such an ass.

“You can go get the stupid chilaquiles. I just know how to make lame ass eggs.” Robby snatched away from the table the perfect car, just like the one red his dad used to have, he’d drawn with the label ‘Happy father’s day’ on top.