GOOD HEART, BAD TEMPER - keene, robby

thirty-one

Rory and Robby sat in silence as Rory drove around. Neither one of them spoke the whole night. Robby was slightly afraid she'd freak out on him again.

Rory sighed as propped her arm up on the window and lied her head in her palm.

"Are we going to talk about last night?" Robby asks.

Rory chews on her lip nervously before taking a deep breath. "I'm sorry I freaked out on you... it's just— I don't do good with touching. My dad used to, um— hit me."

Robby sat in silence for a bit until his eyebrows furrowed. "Your dad hit you?!"

"Yeah." she mumbles quietly.

"Like— All the time?" Robby turned towards her.

"No... just when he used to drink." Rory answered.

"I'm so sorry, Rory." he gently grabbed her hand. "I— I had no idea."

"That's because I didn't tell you." she smiles at him.

Robby sighs. "So like... Do I never touch you?"

"No. No. Sometimes it's okay. Just don't be quick to do it, or you have to say my name first to let me know. Or sometimes I'll have to touch you first." she explains. "Probably should've told you all of this before we agreed to date."

"We're dating?" Robby smirks at her.

"If you want." she shrugs.

"Of course I want to. And nothing you say will change that." he kisses the back of her hand.

|

"Well, look who showed up." Tory says as Robby and Rory walked in.

Rory watched as Robby walked away. She rolled her eyes before setting her bag down and walking over to the punching dummy.

"That fool doesn't even practice, but he gets to stay? I don't get it." Kyler scoffs.

She takes deep breaths as she punches it repeatedly. All she can think about is most of the team quitting and Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang joining sides.

"Rory?" Kyler questions. "Is she good?"

"Hey, Rory?" Tory walks over.

"What?" Rory looks over at her.

"Just... checking on you." she says.

"I'm fine." Rory nods before walking to the back room, she stops when she hears Kreese and Robby talking.

"Look, this was a bad idea." Robby says. "I know Cobra Kai helped when I was getting jumped in juvie, but I am not gonna be a pawn in this bet you've made with my dad and Mr. LaRusso."

"I don't think of you as a pawn." Kreese tells him. "I think of you as a king. Your father had all the talent in the world, but he squandered it. I gave him every opportunity to come back, but he chose Diaz. And he left you with that mark on your head. Trust me, you've got even more talent than your father. You just need to show it to the world."

"After everything that's happened, do you think I care about a stupid trophy?" Robby asks.

"It's not about the trophy." Kreese says immediately. "It's about being a champion. Win or lose, that reputation will follow you the rest of your life. Ask your father and LaRusso."

"Yeah, well, they have a pretty good chance of winning now they've teamed up." Robby says.

"They're not the only ones teaming up." Kreese says before looking at the door. "Ms. Sommers."