Imagine Book 2 (Requests Welcome)

An Evening of Mario Kart- Tory Nichols (Cobra Kai)

As requested by Iceman6666! Male Y/N

Tory's apartment wasn't much, but she'd spent the afternoon making it as cosy as possible. She'd cleaned up the living room, made sure her brother's toys were put away, and even splurged on some snacks that weren't from the discount shelf. The familiar weight of anxiety about having someone over started to creep in – the worn couch, the scuffed coffee table, the fact that the TV was at least ten years old – but she pushed it away. Y/N had never once made her feel bad about any of that stuff.

The knock at the door made her heart skip. Even after dating for months, he still had that effect on her. Tory smoothed down her hair and opened the door to find Y/N standing there with his usual warm smile, holding up a bag of gummy bears – her favourite.

"I come bearing tribute for the queen of martial arts," he said with an exaggerated bow.

Tory rolled her eyes but couldn't hide her smile. "Get in here, you dork." She grabbed his shirt and pulled him inside, rising on her tiptoes to kiss him hello. "Mom's at her treatment and Brandon's at a friend's house, so we've got the place to ourselves for a few hours."

"Perfect timing for me to destroy you at Mario Kart then," Y/N teased, settling onto the couch and setting up the old Nintendo Switch he'd brought over.

Tory scoffed, flopping down beside him and curling into his side. "In your dreams. I've been practising, you know. Brandon's actually pretty good competition."

"Oh yeah?" Y/N handed her a controller and opened the gummy bears, placing them between them. "Let's see what you've got then, Nichols."

The familiar music filled the room as they selected their characters. Y/N went with his usual Luigi ("He's underrated!"), while Tory chose Daisy ("She's clearly the most badass princess").

"Rainbow Road?" Y/N suggested innocently.

Tory narrowed her eyes. "You're on. Just don't cry when I knock you off the track."

The race began, and Tory's competitive nature kicked in immediately. She leaned forward, completely focused, tongue stuck out slightly in concentration. Y/N glanced at her and smiled – she approached Mario Kart with the same intensity she brought to karate tournaments.

"Oh no you don't!" Tory shouted as Y/N's character tried to pass her on a particularly tricky turn. She bumped him off the edge, cackling with delight as Luigi went tumbling into space.

"That's cold, Tor. Ice cold." But Y/N was laughing too, already working to catch up.

They traded the lead back and forth, both of them trash-talking and bumping shoulders. Tory's face was flushed with excitement, and Y/N couldn't help but think how beautiful she looked when she was really having fun, when she let her walls down completely.

The final lap was neck and neck. They both leaned forward, utterly focused. The finish line was in sight. Tory was just slightly ahead, already starting to smirk – and then Y/N hit her with a red shell he'd been saving.

"No!" Tory shrieked as Daisy spun out, allowing Luigi to zip past and claim first place. "No way! That's not fair!"

Y/N jumped up, doing a ridiculous victory dance. "The student has become the master! The apprentice has overthrown-"

He stopped when he saw Tory's face. She had her arms crossed, bottom lip stuck out in an impressive pout, glaring at the TV like it had personally offended her.

"Aw, come on, don't be like that," Y/N said, dropping back onto the couch beside her. "It was a good race!"

"Whatever," Tory muttered, but he could see the corner of her mouth twitching as she fought not to smile. "You just got lucky."