little bird // r.keene

xviii. their story.

Robby couldn't quite sit still. He had wanted to go find Wren the moment the fight was over but he lost her in the crowd at the mall. He figured her would go and visit her tomorrow at The Bookshelf to make sure she was alright because he knew, deep down, she didn't belong at Cobra Kai and he was determined to make her see that.

But for now, he thoughtlessly walked through the door from the backyard into the LaRusso's kitchen, only to spy Sam toasting marshmallows on the fire.

"Still up too, huh?" He asked, catching Sam's attention.
"Too much adrenaline." Sam told him, causing Robby to laugh slightly as he walked over towards her. "Do you want a smore?"

"Never say no to free marshmallows." He replied simply before sitting next to her and Sam took her marshmallow off the skewer before passing it to Robby.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Robby chuckled, looking over to what Sam was doing, "Are you making a s'more with a peanut butter cup?" He asked as she pressed the chocolate and marshmallow firmly between two crackers.

"I call them 'Sam-mores'." Sam told him, "I'm kind of a genius." They both chuckled and Robby looked back to the fire, only to discover his marshmallow was on fire. Pulling it out of the fire, he brought it to his lips and Sam leaned over to help him blow it out.

They managed after a few attempts and the pair of teens found their eyes trailing to meet each other. Robby lowered his skewer as it seemed for a split moment they were about to lean in when Robby suddenly stopped himself, though his heart was beating at a million miles an hour.

"I'm sorry." Robby apologised softly.
"No, it's okay." Sam told him, pulling away in disappointment .

"No, I mean you've got to understand, I've been in a bad situation for a very long time. And now finally, something good is happening, and I can't mess it up." He confessed and Sam looked at the floor aimlessly, "Not that you would be messing it up, but your- your dad, he-" Robby continued to ramble but Sam understood.

"It's... I understand." She told him shortly and the pair turned away to stare at the fire. there was a moment of silence before Sam plucked up the courage to ask... "Does it have anything to do with Wren?" Her voice was so quiet, Robby nearly missed the question and he slightly wished he had because it had caught him immediately off guard.

"What do you mean?" He asked, playing dumb even though his knees felt weak at the question. He swallowed hard before looking back over to Sam, who had already been staring at him.

"Robby, I'm not blind..." Sam said bluntly but in a soft voice that contradicted what she was trying to say, "I know you would drop everything if she asked you to." Sam stated and Robby was too stunned to speak, "I've seen the way you look at her."

It would be a lie if Sam said she wasn't bothered but the way she sometimes caught Robby looking at Wren that way. The Way. The way all girls longed to be looked at. With unblinking eyes and admiration whenever she walked in the room. How in his eyes, she could do no wrong. But Sam thought, she was certain of it in her own way, that Wren hurt more people than she helped them... And she knew Robby deserved better.

"Sam, I-" Robby's brows were furrowed, his voice unsure but Sam just shook her head.

"You look at each other a little too long to be 'just friends'." She said simply and Robby swallowed, he paused for a moment before looking back over to Sam.

"Wren and I- we're not together like that Sam. We're friends of course but she... She and I, we just, we have a lot in common. We have this silent agreement that we will look after each other if the other needs it..." Robby tried to explain, trying to find the right words to explain what he and Wren had despite its complexity.

"Even though she fought against us today?" Sam asked, her voice less soft now and still looking over at Robby as they remained in front of the fireplace.

"That's true, but did you also see she didn't hit me once, she only hit you when you attacked first and when protecting Demitri, she tripped over one of her own. Despite what you might think, she's a good person, Sam."

Sam clenched her jaw before taking a deep breath, Robby seemed to notice this before adding, "But karate is sort of separate anyway. When I say 'looking after each other', I mean like..." He trailed off, unsure of how to say it. He knew Wren valued her privacy but if he was to convince her to join Miyagi-Do, Wren and Sam had to get along. So somehow, he had to get Sam to understand Wren in a way he did, even if it wasn't the full truth.

"Home lives?" Sam asked and Robby hesitated before nodding, Sam took a moment before asking, "How did you two meet?" She asked.

Robby looked away then, casting his mind back as he gazed into the fire-place. "It was maybe two weeks after I started working for your dad..." He began, a slight smile etched on his features which made Sam's stomach twist, "I was out skating just on the sidewalk and she came running out of an alleyway. There wasn't enough time for her to see me and stop so without any warning, she crashed into me and we both... We just fell... So hard I broke my board, actually." He felt like laughing because of how long ago it was, "She tried to get up and keep running but I grabbed her..." Robby's smile faltered then. He recalled how bloody she was, how bruised.

"Why was she running?" Sam asked, invested in the story since she had never heard of two friends meeting in such a manner before.
"She was being chased by these guys- trying to jump her. It was pretty late and she was all alone." He lied, he knew full well it was because of her father but Sam didn't need to know about Wren's home life. No one did unless Wren said so. "She was err.. She was hurt pretty bad, Sam... Those guys, they weren't good people. I think that night is probably why Wren got into karate... You know, so she could defend herself."

"By grabbing her, I wasted a lot of time for her to get away so I hid her behind me. And we err, we've been friends ever since..." Robby finished and Sam had folded her hands between her legs now. She wasn't sure what to say.

"That's a good story." Sam told Robby, causing him to tilt his head to give her a slight, warm smile. "I shouldn't have asked though... I mean if you liked her or not." Sam said loosely and Robby shook his head slightly, causing a strand of hair to fall in his face which he slicked behind his ear with his left hand.

"Why not? It's okay, I don't-" Robby was about to explain how he didn't mind people asking about him and Wren, after all, he didn't see her as much as he would like due to their separate dojo's. So whenever someone asked, or he was simply reminded that she was out there if he needed her.

That she would be there for him if things went wrong, like they had in the past.

But the evidence of something new was also sitting right in front of him. Sam was willing to be there for him too. She had proved that. He could rely on her too. He was certain of it.