Daniel LaRusso (The Karate Kid ) x Reader

I'm Gonna Kill Jack.

For once, I was actually home.
The house was strangely quiet.
Not peaceful. Just quiet, quiet enough that I kept expecting
something to break the silence.
Dad was in the kitchen, sleeves rolled up,
staring into the refrigerator
like it had personally offended him.
"You eat already?"
He asked without looking at me.
"At Jack's, earlier."
It was a little past 2 o'clock on a Saturday?
I went to Jack's to confirm
if the movie third-wheeling hangout was still on.
It is. And boy was I looking forward to it.
He nodded once.
"Good."
That was it. No lecture. No questions.
No accusations.
Just... good?
It felt almost unnatural.
Could I be dreaming?

I blinked a couple times and checked if I was in the right household for a second.
I then leaned against the doorway, watching him pull out a carton of eggs.
"You making dinner?"
He snorted.
"Trying to."
"I'd like to survive until Christmas."
He glanced over his shoulder.
"Funny."
"I know."
He pointed the spatula at me.
"If it burns, we're ordering pizza tonight."
"Oh, I thought money was tight."
"Eh? It is."
He was careless, but then again, it was dad...
"So we're definitely ordering pizza."
He let out a quiet laugh through his nose before turning back to the stove.
...For a moment...
It almost felt normal.
Like before everything got messy.
Well...
Before Mom died.
Before Dad stopped looking like himself.
Before our house became quieter than it should've been.
And I realized it's been awhile since my dad and I have spoken and had an actual conversation where it didn't involve him yelling at me,
or you know, throwing things etc...
I don't think I ever mentioned this,
but Dad's actually sweet, and has got some sense of humor in him when he's off his mean streak on the alcohol, and what not.
Well, he was, at least.
But, it was nice.
Maybe, almost too good to be true.
I guess, I should just enjoy it while it lasts?
He reached into the drawer beside the fridge and pulled out a small envelope.
"Your allowance."
I looked at it.
"You don't have to."
"You've got things you wanna do, don't y'a, kid?"
"...Thanks."
I took it carefully.
The money felt heavier than it should've.
I knew it wasn't really his. Not entirely?
Every week came from what
Mom had left behind.
Her inheritance.
The money keeping the lights on.
Keeping food in the cupboards.
Keeping both of us afloat while Dad promised himself he'd find work "soon."
Soon had turned into months. Maybe longer.
It worried me, but, I tried not to think about it too much.
There wasn't much I could do anyway.
Trust me, if there was?
I probably wouldn't be living here...
Dad cracked an egg into the pan, hearing it sizzle from the kitchen.
Without turning around, he said,
"Don't spend it all in one place."
"Yes, dad."
He gave a small nod.
I grabbed my denim jacket from behind the door, slipped my sneakers on,
and headed for the front door.
The door clicked shut behind me.

...

The mall wasn't far.
By the time I got there, the parking lot was packed with families
carrying shopping bags, teenagers wandering in groups, and little kids
already begging their parents
for Christmas presents. Not to mention the decorations that had somehow gone on display before Thanksgiving leftovers were even gone.
The automatic doors slid open.
Plaza De La Raza.
I used to come here all the time with Jack.
Passing by what was now the GAP store.
It used to be this fun house that had a arcade,
and a huge ball pit Jack and I would go to.
But eventually, it got closed down, cause less and less kids were going.
Not only just that, but we grew up too.
So we just stopped going,
then Golf n' Stuff newly opened.
Which was our NEW designated hangout area.

Walking further in,
from warm to cold air rushed over me.
The familiar smell of buttery popcorn, pretzels,
perfume counters, and new clothes
hit almost instantly.
I didn't really have anything specific to buy.
My original plan was to visit the record store, but since I got this envelope,
I figured, you know, why not?
Wanted to walk too, and sometimes wandering around without a plan
was enough to keep my brain occupied.
Other than to think of Daniel...
Anyways, usually. I passed a bookstore.
A music shop with cassette tapes lining the walls.
A sporting goods store. A department store already blasting Christmas songs
that I was convinced nobody actually liked.
Eventually I wandered
into a little accessories shop.
Rows of necklaces. Hair clips.
Belts. Cheap watches.
A spinning rack filled with sunglasses.
I picked up a pair with dark lenses
and thin red frames.
Vuarnet?
Was the brand.
"...Those look great on you!"
The lady in the cashier said with nasally Queens, New York accent, I turned around.
She was maybe in her early twenties.
Curly red hair, she wore a blue striped uniform with a white vest,
had super long pink acrylics, and some neon pink eyeshadow that complemented her eyes.
"Oh, uh thanks."
I smiled as I slipped them on and turned toward the mirror.
Huh. They actually looked.. Good. Really good.
I tilted my head.
Turned left. Turned right.
Maybe they were a little cooler than I was.
But they fit surprisingly well.
"You buying those for yourself, sweetie?"
the cashier asked. I smiled.
"...Yeah."
"Great!"
She took them from my hand, scanned them, they were only 12 dollars.
They were branded too, so the price wasn't bad at all.
"Thank you."
I smiled, taking my change.
"You want a bag with that, honey?"
"Oh no, it's okay. I'll just wear em. Thanks."
"Alright, sweetie, buh-bye."
She waved as I walked off.