❝ there was a time when you didn't have a mohawk? ❞ her voice is tinged with surprise, eyebrows raised at the thought. knowing there was a past where the hawk didn't sport his signature look seemed impossible to her. ❝ wow, ❞ she continued, shaking her head in disbelief. ❝ i just assumed that you came out of the womb looking like that. ❞ she laughs, clearly just teasing the older boy. truthfully, though, she was intrigued and wanted to know more about him before he became the person he is now. ❝ so, what was the old you like? was he just as cool and badass? ❞
he shows up with bleach and dye like happy birthday, let’s do the emo hair.
it’s been a long time since robby’s celebrated his birthday … for real, anyway. because they couldn’t afford to, at first, mom apologizing for the fact all she could manage was a cupcake with a candle stuck in the middle. then, as he got older and things got exponentially more fucked with every passing year, it just fell by the wayside. this year is different. his family is gathered, dads and moms and siblings and grandparents, something he never dreamed would happen. not even when he was five and still drawing pictures of him and dad and mom all together. there’s a cake sitting on the kitchen counter, presented by maddy with a wide grin, and a pile of presents beside it. demetri’s on his way, and so are kenny and shawn. he’s midway through an explanation of what, exactly, the plan for his hair is when there’s a loud knock on the door.
' it’s not emo hair, ' robby corrects, though the upward twitch of his lip betrays him. he takes the packages as @mskwtz steps inside. ' sam and i couldn’t figure out what the hell to buy. there’s, like, a million options. ' and i didn’t want to bug you again. so they’d given up and gone to in-n-out, sharing a chocolate shake while they perused pinterest for reference photos. he looks up to find eli’s eyes already on him — waiting for approval. a look robby’s become familiar with, watching him at the dojo or in their one shared class. seeing it aimed at him makes him feel … warm. ' thanks, man. this is awesome. '
ringing in the new year at the larusso's house was an instant yes for miguel, sam hadn't even actually invited him but told him the date and time of the party so he'd know when to show up. after a warning from yaya to not drink too much, he was off. miguel hadn't considered how nice it was to see everyone without a karate war hanging over their heads. he let himself eat a bunch of candy and drink some soda and before he knew it everyone started counting down to midnight. he looked around for sam but she was off in the corner talking to robby so miguel locked eyes with hawk. he headed over and smiled at one of his best friends. "you're my new year's kiss this year," he said with a smile. he gave hawk a kiss on the cheek as everybody cheered. "happy new year, hawk!"
'you can tell the ghost that i think they're a bitch,' fin says this after a moment of unamused silence, the man dropping his camera to his side in exasperation. it's not hawk's fault, but damn, did even the spirit world need to jerk him around? finley sighs. 'okay, sorry, that was totally uncalled for. you can tell them that i hate them and that i'll see them in hell, instead,' @mskwtz.
"it's part of training." the man simply speaks. "and it works." no one in the tournament has been able to land a point on him. axel is good at following orders and working hard and it had been what he knows until it had become his life. "i do not question your senseis. do not question mine." sensei wolf had been the reason he had never lost a fight, any tournament he had entered, he had won. he endures the pain for what it brings in return, even if a part of himself knows how twisted it is to think that way.
