Daniel LaRusso (The Karate Kid ) x Reader

Weird / Whoops?

We stayed on that curb longer than we probably should've.

The almost empty green bottle rested between us on the pavement,
neither of us drinking much more after the first few sips.
I picked the bottle up.
Surprised we nearly finished this one?
The streetlights flickered softly above us,
2? Maybe 4 cars had passed by, their headlights stretching across the road
before disappearing again.
The air had gotten colder, but neither of us mentioned it.
Daniel leaned back against the wall behind us,
legs stretched out in front of him.
"You know,"
He said, staring ahead,
"This has probably got to be the dumbest thing I've done in a while."
I raised an eyebrow.
"Really? Because I can think of at least five worse things you've done."
He looked over at me.
"Okay, then. Name one."
"You tried fighting Johnny in the cafeteria again..."
"That was one time."
"You rode your bike down that hill, then came to my house all bloody?
Covered in dirt?"
"I landed it."
"Yeah, on your face."
"Okay, but for like... That was for like a second. I got up right away."
I shook my head, laughing into my sleeve.
He grinned a little at that.
Then things got quieter. Not awkward quiet. Just slower.
Daniel nudged the bottle beside his shoe absentmindedly.
"You ever think about leavin' this place?"
The question caught me off guard.
"Reseda?"
"Yeah."
I shrugged slightly.
Honestly, yeah, I have. A couple times.
"Sometimes."
"Where would you go?"
I stared out at the empty street for a second.
Good question.
"I don't know,"
I admitted.
"Somewhere colder, maybe."
"Colder?"
He laughed softly.
"Why?"
"I like jackets?"
"That's your big reason?"
"Oh, shut up."
I wasn't sure why I said that. But it felt right to?
He smiled into the neck of the bottle before taking another sip,
drinking the very last essence of what was left.
I watched him laugh at himself quietly.
Then I looked away before he noticed I was looking too long.
Why does this feel different tonight?
Just remember what Andy said.
Wait, what did Andy say again?
Crap, I don't remember.
Huh, wonder why-
Daniel turned his head toward me slightly.
"What?"
I blinked.
"What?"
"You're doing that thing again."
Huh?
My stomach dropped a little.
"What thing?"
I asked.
"The staring thing."
"I was not staring at you."
"You totally were."
"I was literally looking at the street."
I tried lying, but I felt like he knew I was.
"With your whole face pointed at me."
I scoffed, trying not to laugh.
"You're annoying."
"Yeah,"
Daniel spoke every so lightly.
"But you still hang out with me."
I opened my mouth to respond. Nothing came out immediately.
And for some reason, that made my chest feel weird all over again.

I'm not sure what lead us to other side of the road, but we were here now.
So here we were and we started walking again eventually.
Not because we had somewhere to be.
Just because sitting still suddenly felt impossible.
The bottle stayed behind near the curb, abandoned after barely being touched.
Don't why we didn't throw it in the bin?
Huh...
Daniel kicked a loose pebble across the sidewalk as we walked,
hands shoved into the pockets of his jacket.
The streets were way more quieter now.
Storefronts dark. Neon signs buzzing softly
in windows that were still open.
Somewhere in the distance, music played faintly
from a passing car before disappearing again.
And for some reason. Everything felt weird.
Not a bad kind of weird.
Just... unreal.
My chest felt warm and light at the same time,
heartbeat way too noticeable in my ears.
What is this sensation?
Is this what alcohol does?
Because if it is, I get why adults act strange all the time.
I kept smiling to myself without meaning to.
Daniel glanced over.
"You okay?"
"Yeah,"
I answered quickly.
But I was still smiling. He noticed immediately.
"What're you smilin' about?"
I opened my mouth. Then closed it again.
Because honestly?
I didn't know.
Maybe it was the night.
I thought.
Or the cold air.
Or the fact that Daniel was beside me and not talking about Ali for once.
Or maybe it was whatever this feeling
was sitting in my chest making everything
feel softer around the edges.
I almost felt, warmer than usual.
"I dunno."
I admitted finally, still smiling a little.
"Just... stuff."
Daniel looked at me for a second longer than usual.
Then he smiled too. Not a big one. Just enough.
And somehow that made my heartbeat worse.
Oh my God.
I looked away quickly and kept walking.
A few minutes later we were laughing again over absolutely nothing.
Daniel had tried stepping up onto the curb dramatically
like he was proving a point, and almost ate shit immediately.
I burst out laughing.
"Nice save, LaRusso."
"I meant to do that."
"Sure you did."
He laughed too, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Okay, maybe that beer actually did something."
"I was literally just thinking that."
Daniel looked over at me.
"Seriously?"
"Yeah,"
I admitted, laughing.
"My heart's beating like crazy."
He blinked. Then pointed at himself.
"Mine too."
There was a beat of silence before we,
"HAHAHHAHAHHHAHA!"
both started laughing again.
Like that somehow made perfect sense.