Whumptober 2022 Oneshots + Alt List Oneshots

Prompt 16.5 : Made To Watch

Fandom : Cobra Kai
Pairing : Hawk/Demetri
Chronology : Season 1 + season 2 era

It hurt, seeing what Eli was becoming.

Well, it physically hurt since he could throw a mean punch now, but it more hurt emotionally. Demetri remembered back when Eli was a sweet kid. Sure, he was a bit sensitive, but that hardly mattered. All that mattered back then was that they had each other, and countless sessions of nerdy info dumping and enjoying one another's company in the band room after school ended more than made up for the issues the two faced day to day.

But, after Eli joined Cobra Kai, that changed. He began hanging out with Demetri less and less, and when they would hang out, he was generally an asshole, constantly chastising Demetri for being a loser and a pussy.

Then he went from comments to violence. Outright bullying. Demetri joining Miyagi-Do just made that rift between them even deeper, but he didn't even care at that point. If 'Hawk' was going to target him, he at least wanted to be able to defend himself.

Demetri was forced to watch his best friend turn into someone unrecognizable. Someone who expressed nothing but hatred and disgust toward him. Someone who, by all accounts, was an irredeemable asshole that Demetri wouldn't want anything to do with...

So, why did he still love him?