hi cookie!! im your secret santa!

sorry for the delay for this work but i think i might have bit more than i could chew with this! hopefully you enjoy the fic (and the playlist and the very simple moodboard). i loved working on this and i really hope my love for this fic can be felt in the finished product!

also, as a personal message, i think you're immensely cool and your art is absolutely stunning! it needed to be said!

i hope you had great holidays and i wish you a happy new year!

Everything was set up to be good, mediocre in the least. Until his power went out, he cursed out the tenant upstairs, almost got into a fight, and burnt the only edible food he had in his kitchen. Breathe in, breathe out, assess the damages. There was a method to his madness, as difficult as it was to see what that method was. He glanced at his watch. There were only 20 minutes until Robby was supposed to be over and there was no way he could host anymore. Hell, even the skinny tree in the corner was falling apart and had no lights to cover it up with. 

And that’s how Johnny Lawrence and his son ended up on Daniel LaRusso’s doorstep on Christmas night.

“Come on in, John. Hey Robby, how are you?” Daniel greeted them as he opened the front door and led them inside. 

“Thanks for having us, Mr. LaRusso,” Robby answered and shook his hand. Johnny rolled his eyes, both in embarrassment and jealousy. Over the phone with Daniel, Daniel had insisted it wasn’t a problem at all to have them. Johnny disagreed, but what other choice did he have? His plans were already ruined anyway and he wasn’t succumbing to Robby going back to Shannon’s alone for Christmas. Robby didn’t mind the change of scenery - God, his politeness and patience were surely not inherited from his father. Johnny couldn’t seem to mind as long as this all got smoothed out and Robby had a good night. 

The LaRusso’s front room was decked out in bright white lights and greenery. Smooth jazz music erupted from the corner, along Amanda quickly adjusted the sound. Johnny peered down one of the hallways, noticing they took the phrase “deck the halls” a little too literally. It was impressive, honestly. 

Amanda approached the pair and was quick to shake their hands. “It’s very nice to see you both,” she told them, lingering slightly at Johnny. Maybe it was the maternal instinct in her to know when something was wrong, but she definitely sensed tension with Johnny. Johnny tightly smiled at her until she walked away to the kitchen, trying to make himself seem put together. 

He turned back towards Robby who was taking in the decorations. “Sorry again, Robby. If that jackass upstairs hadn’t tried to light three trees at once, we wouldn’t be here.” Robby looked up at him, confused.

“It’s okay, Dad. Really.” He let out a breath of relief. Being addressed as ‘Dad’ was new to him and a foreign concept, but it warmed his heart every time he heard it. “I’m gonna say hi to Sam if that’s okay,” Robby said with a small smile. He waved him off and patted his shoulder as he walked past and down the decked hall. He was proud of his son for following in his footsteps in that way; arguably one of the good traits he inherited. For their sake, he hoped it would work out this time. 

“Well, merry Christmas Johnny!” Daniel exclaimed, sneaking up out of nowhere on him. “Mi casa es su casa. Wait, do you know what that means? I know you’re with Miguel a lot but-”

“I’m not an idiot, Daniel. I passed Spanish in high school, thanks to Ali’s homework.” Daniel chuckled, putting his hand on Johnny’s shoulder. 

“And look how far that got you. Make yourself at home, John. Dinner’s almost ready. I don’t have any Coors Banquet, but you can pick your poison.” Daniel presented him with his bar cart, fully stocked with a large variety of alcohol. Johnny mumbled back a thanks and cracked open a beer. 

“If I didn’t know better,” Johnny started, pausing to take a swig out of his bottle. “I’d say you were an alcoholic.”

“And what do you think the cause of that would be?” 

“Bullshit, LaRusso.”

“You’re telling me!” Johnny rolled his eyes at Daniel’s remark. The pair was on better terms now, but those terms still weren’t good . Acquaintances with a past, at most. Either way, Johnny was ready for this night to be over. Daniel led them into the kitchen (which was still, ridiculously decorated) and helped Amanda finish up dinner. Johnny found himself examining their family photos on the mantle and the walls. The most he had was Robby’s soccer picture from God knows how many years ago. He secretly wished for what LaRusso had. The perfect family, the perfect mentor, the perfect life . Aside from his part in it, of course. He’d never admit to it aloud, but he felt its presence everywhere. In everything he did, he realized the weight of the things he’d done and how hard they were to fix. But he was working on it. Trying had to count for something.

Robby, Sam, and Anthony eventually came down from the hall and sat to eat the five-course meal Amanda had prepared. 

“You’ve outdone yourselves. Thank you,” Johnny commented to the couple next to him. Robby sat on the other side of him, but Daniel insisted on sitting next to Johnny (even if it wasn’t his ‘usual’ spot as Anthony put it). 

“Of course, any time,” Amanda accepted with a smile.

Daniel, on the other hand, protested. “A compliment from Johnny Lawrence? It must be a true Christmas miracle.”

“Laugh it up LaRusso. I’m here out of pity.”

“Sure you are, John.” The table succumbed to the silent chatter of forks scraping against plates and small comments here and there. When everyone was finished, Daniel put on Home Alone and ended up at the kitchen island with Johnny. Johnny watched a lot of television and films, sure, but he was enjoying the peace and sense of comfort he found there. It was a change of pace and he hated himself for enjoying it there. At Daniel LaRusso’s mansion nonetheless. “Not a fan of peak Christmas movies?” Daniel approached, holding a bottle of whiskey and two glasses. 

“Nah, I’m just. Watching, I guess.” Johnny didn’t know how to lie very well, which was funny considering his track record. Daniel set the glasses down and gestured to ask permission. Johnny grabbed the glass and nodded. “Thanks, man.”

“You not a fan of Christmas or something?”

“It’s my first Christmas with Robby, you know. My mom, uh, didn’t have a great track record with holidays. I don’t want to repeat the same mistakes,” Johnny admitted, unsure why he was even talking about it. His mom had been gone for years and he didn’t even like to speak about her when she was still here. Daniel just nodded silently and sipped his drink. “I feel like I already ruined it,” he whispered. At this comment, Daniel placed a hand on his shoulder and looked up at him.

“You didn’t ruin it. I may not be your biggest fan, but I can’t watch you self-deprecate like this. You don’t deserve that. And look at him.” He pointed towards Robby, who was laughing on the couch next to Sam. “He’s happy.” 

“No thanks to me.”

“You brought him here. That was enough.” Their conversation lulled as Johnny thought about what he had said. Robby looked happy to be there and that’s all that mattered, wasn’t it? Maybe it wasn’t such a bad night after all, and maybe this was where they were supposed to be. 

“Can I ask a favor?” 

“Sure, Johnny.”

“Do you have wrapping paper?” Daniel coughed out a laugh. 

“Wrapping paper?” He asked back, laughing over his words. 

“Whatever, man, forget I asked.”

“No, no, I do. Come with me.” Johnny rolled his eyes again and followed Daniel to a room opposite the other hallway. “Choose wisely,” Daniel teased, showing him an array of papers. Johnny wasn’t going to bother wrapping Robby’s gift, but he felt like the Christmas spirit was upon him. It didn’t help that he’d never wrapped a present before, but hell if he was going to ask Daniel for instruction. Johnny smiled weakly at him and grabbed a random blue roll with snowflakes on it. Expecting Daniel to leave, Johnny took out the gift from his jacket pocket and tried to align it with the paper. “Johnny,” Daniel sterned. 

“What?”

“Have you ever even, you know, wrapped a gift?”

“Pssh, of course, I have.” Johnny held his pocket knife up towards the paper, the paper crinkling in his hands.

“Doesn’t look like it. Here.” Daniel took a pair of scissors off a desk and laid the wrapping on the floor. Johnny crouched to meet his level and watched the man cut the paper and carefully wrap it around the rectangle. “Tape?”

“Oh, right.” Johnny turned and found the tape, ripping off too long of a piece and handing it to him. Daniel chuckled at it but took it anyway. They continued on it mutually (although Daniel definitely knew what he was doing; Johnny did not). When done, Daniel stood and bowed to it as if it were a karate match. Johnny shook his head at him and took the gift from the floor. “Thank you. I appreciate it, man.”

“Anytime John.” They left the room and returned to their whiskeys at the counter. “You’re really worried about this whole Robby-Christmas thing, aren’t you?” Daniel asked, pushing the subject further. Johnny gulped and took another swig. “For what it’s worth, I think your worry is proof you’re doing something right. As parents, all we want is our kids to be okay.”

“I screwed up. Bad.” He sighed. 

“We all do.” Daniel paused. “Sam’s 8th Christmas? She caught me writing from Santa on a present. How’s that for lazy planning on my part?” Johnny laughed, picturing the story. 

“That’s different.”

“Sure it is. Point is, we make mistakes. We learn from them. We grow up. And along the way, we realize that maybe, someday, things will be forgiven.” Johnny stared at the bottom of his glass, taking the other man’s words to heart. “You’re doing alright, Johnny. And believe it or not, it’s good for you to be in his life. You both deserve that.” 

“You know, I never thought I’d say this, but you give good advice LaRusso.”

“We’re not so different, you and I. We were raised differently - sometimes that’s the only difference. We don’t have to fight.” Daniel smiled meekly. 

“No. I suppose we don’t.”

“Christmas truce?”

“Christmas truce,” he agreed. The men shook hands, accepting the fact that tomorrow was a new day. Maybe in the new year, things would be better for them; they could only hope. The movie shortly ended and Johnny collected his things to leave. Daniel started leading him towards the front door. “Thank you again, Daniel. It was a good Christmas.”

“I would have to agree with you there. Wait, where’s Robby?”

“Saying goodbye to Sam.” Daniel nodded, but as he turned his head towards the hallway, he saw the couple kiss under a conveniently planted mistletoe. Daniel scoffed as Johnny started to smile. “Attaboy,” he mumbled under his breath.

“I guess it is tradition,” Daniel agreed solemnly. “I need another drink.”

“Tradition or not, if you try getting me under that? It’s over LaRusso. I will kick your ass until there’s no ass left to kick.” 

“Ouch. You forget I’m also a trained fighter.”

“I don’t know how I could forget the thing you’ve lorded over me for how many years now?” Johnny started counting on his fingers. Daniel struck his hand down, laughing as he did.

“Point taken.” Robby suddenly appeared from the hall, joining them.

“What’s happening over here?” He asked calmly, a sly smile on his face.

“Your father’s being his ridiculous self.”

“What’s new?” The three of them shared a moment before Johnny and Robby headed out the door, thanking Daniel once again. Once outside, Johnny reached into his pocket.

“Before I forget,” he started, “I wanted you to have this.” Robby looked up at him, his breath condensing in the cold air. He carefully unwrapped the paper, revealing an old walkman. “I know it’s not much and I’m sorry. It used to be mine and it got me through some tough shit. If you think it’s stupid or you don’t want it, that’s fine I-” His rambling was cut off by Robby flinging his arms around him.

“Thank you,” he mumbled into Johnny’s jacket. Johnny, slightly taken aback, hugged him back cautiously and closed his eyes. 

“Merry Christmas kid.”

“Merry Christmas Dad. I love you.” Johnny’s eyes filled with tears and he grabbed onto his son a little tighter. Maybe Daniel was right, in all of his weird wisdom and philosophy. Some things were worth fixing.