Christmas oneshot! Yay!

Inspired by: 'Bruises' by Train ft. Ashley Monroe and 'Photograph' by Nickelback

"Look at this photograph,
Every time I do it makes me laugh,
How did our eyes get so red?
And what the hell is on Joey's head?"

Thirty-year-old Jack Brewer lowers his morning coffee when an envelope is tossed down on the table in front of him. He raises an eyebrow, facing his friend and agent. "What's this?"

"Plane ticket to Seaford," Eddie Jones responds with a grin. "Merry Christmas." He starts to turn and walk out of the karate star's trailer.

It takes Jack a couple of seconds to process what just occurred. When he does, he excitedly leaps up after Eddie. "Woah, woah, woah, wait, what? You… you got me a…"

"Plane ticket," the amused African-American man says in response. "You know, a piece of paper that lets you—"

"I know what it is," Jack says, too pleased to even be annoyed. "But what… why?"

"You deserve a break," Eddie says in response, shrugging. "These past four months, no, these past few years have been non-stop work for you. Three movies, hundreds of your shows, guest appearances, two tours, and that volunteer work that you insist on doing…" The man shakes his head. "I'm honestly surprised you haven't had some sort of stress-related mental breakdown or something. So, I arranged a little vacation for ya." Eddie grins. "'Cause I'm just that awesome."

Jack stares in disbelief, bemused. "Wow. Just… wow." He cocks his head to the side. "Are you coming?"

"Nah. My family moved to Louisiana about five years ago, so that's where I'm headed. Tell the gang I said hi." The man starts to leave again.

Something suddenly occurs to Jack, and he frowns. "Wait, Eddie, what about the show in—"

"Already taken care of."

"The demonstration in—"

"Rescheduled to February."

"My appearance at—"

"Bumped to the day after the demonstration."

"Visiting—"

"You can visit them later."

"Live match with—"

"He died, so it's an automatic win for you."

"What?!"

"Kidding, kidding! But he tore a muscle in his leg, and it's going to take weeks to heal."

Jack shakes his head, a smile on his face. "You've really covered everything, haven't you?"

"Yup. I even took care of your car and your suitcase! You'll find your car when you leave the airport, and your suitcase is sitting right outside your door over here." Eddie walks to the door, but stops and glances back at Jack with a gleam in his eye. "Never realized you were a boxers kinda guy." He cackles at a red-faced Jack's sputters and leaves the trailer.

Jack sighs and plops down on the lush hotel sheets. Eddie had even pre-reserved a room for him! He'll have to find a way to thank the man, because this is more than he could have asked for.

He lets his mind wander. He remembers leaving for Otai at sixteen, and then coming back four years later to find that everything… changed. The group had gotten used to his absence and were doing just fine without him in their lives. Otai was very strict about technology and communications, so he hadn't been able to talk to any of them at all during his overseas studying. He and Kim had broken up before he left, not wanting the stress of a long-distance relationship, but they'd promised to keep in touch.

A promise that Jack unintentionally broke.

His heart had just about split in half after coming back to find Kim with another guy. Not like Luke and Kim were dating or anything, but Jack noticed the dynamic between them and… well… he figured that Kim deserved someone who would keep their promises, and Luke seemed like an all around decent guy. The others seemed perfectly fine without him as well. Heck, even his own mother didn't seem too affected by his absence.

He'd been back in Seaford for about a week before Otai offered him a chance to take his martial arts career even further. Since no one really seemed to care that he was back, he took the opportunity and left again.

That was ten years ago.

And now, Jack is back. Who knows? Maybe they'll… feel nostalgic together, or something.

Jack sighs, sitting up and opening his suitcase. On top of everything is a sticky note in Eddie's messy scrawl: Head down to the place we always used to hang out (besides the dojo) at around three and grab some lunch. You know what I'm talking about. There, you'll find a part of the gang and an old friend. WASABI!

"Wasabi," Jack says quietly in response, a small smile on his face at the memories the word brings back. Leave it to Eddie to send him on a scavenger hunt instead of just directly telling him where he's supposed to go. In between "the" and "place" is a word that Eddie crossed out quite vigorously. Jack squints and tries to decipher the word behind the scribbles, but quickly gives up.

Jack takes out his phone and glances at his watch; just past two fifteen. He has roughly forty-five minutes before he's supposed to go to where he's been bidden, so he decides to take stock of what Eddie put in his suitcase.

As he unpacks, he thinks of all the places where he and the other Warriors frequented. Where else besides the dojo? Jack doubts Eddie meant school…

…Falafel Phil's!

Jack grins wildly. He gets to go to Phil's! God, he misses the quirky man and his not-always-that-great falafel balls. He can't wait to go see him!

At the bottom of the suitcase, underneath the clothes and everything else, is a tablet or ePad or something. Jack cocks his head to the side curiously and lifts it up, turning it this way and that to see if it has a name or something but finding none. On the back is simply the word "memories" in a fancy green script. There's no way that Eddie put it in unintentionally, so he turns it on or something.

'Wasabi Warriors' says the green text on a background of white. 'We swear by the light of the dragons eye, to be loyal and honest and never say die.' After a few seconds, the words fade away, and 'Photograph' by Nickelback starts playing.

A photo appears, surprising a laugh out of him. It's a picture of all the Warriors, at a celebration or party in the dojo from the looks of it. Eddie's stuffing his face with cake by the lockers, Rudy in the background is waving a giant flag reading 'HA! WE WON!' in bright letters, Milton is cowering from an angry looking Kim with a nervous smile on his face, Jack himself is next to them attempting to placate the furious blonde, and Jerry has… something on his head. What the heck? Jack leans a little closer to the picture to identify it.

A lampshade.

There's a lampshade on Jerry's head.

Jack doesn't remember this party, but he sorely wishes he did.

The photo fades in a few seconds and is replaced by another one that appears to be of the same party, except the Warriors are all lined up facing the camera. A smiling Jack has his arm around the waist of an equally happy Kim, who's hair looks messy. On her other side is Milton, a laugh frozen on his face, and who's arms are slung around the shoulders of Kim and Eddie. The African-American has cake icing all around his mouth but is giving the camera a thumbs up. Next to Eddie is Jerry, with the lampshade still over his head. He's got both fists up in the air in victory, but his back is to the camera. He probably didn't realize the camera was behind him. Last is Rudy, holding up the flag victoriously with a grin on his face.

The next thing isn't a photo, but a short video clip. Jack remembers exactly which one it is; why wouldn't he? It was the one that Master Tanaka saw, the one that made the man invite him to Otai. (It's also the one where Eddie got his orange belt.) The camera's shaking a little, but Jack can tell it's the moment after he defeated his opponent.

"Jack, you did it! That was incredible!"

Teenage Kim runs forward and embraces the Jack in the video. The hug lasts for a couple of seconds, before the two teens got awkward and pulled away.

The next thing is another photo. Jack isn't sure when this one was taken, either, because it's of all the Warriors sleeping, but it looks like it was after one of their monthly movie marathons. Milton, Jerry, and Eddie are all huddled together on the couch like a puppy pile. Jack and Kim are on the floor in front of the couch. Jack is leaning back against Jerry's legs with a pillow in his lap, and Kim is curled up against Jack's side with her face partially buried in his shoulder. Jack figures it must've been a scary movie, since they tended to physically drift closer together as a group over the course of a horror film.

The slideshow continues, pictures with the occasional video clip, throwing Jack into a deep pit of nostalgia. The song plays along in the background, quieting whenever there was a video. He watches the slideshow until one particular verse of the song throws him off:

"Kim's the first girl I kissed,
I was so nervous that I nearly missed
She's had a couple'a kids since then
I haven't seen her since God knows when…"

After getting over his shock (he knows enough about Nickelback to recognize the lead singer's voice, but he doesn't really know many of their songs), Jack chuckles. Eddie had to have rigged that somehow. If not, it's a heck of a coincidence.

He didn't realize how much he missed her until that moment.

"Relax, Jack, I'm sure she'll be here any minute," Milton says, nudging his old friend with an elbow.

"I am relaxed," Jack responds, snapping his focus back to his friend. The redhead has an amused grin on his face, a 'why-don't-I-believe-you?' smile. Jack rolls his eyes, and instead glances around.

The dojo looks exactly the same as it did from before he left, minus the Christmas-themed decorations everywhere. Rudy had decided to throw a Christmas party, and everyone from the old Wasabi Warriors gang was supposed invited, as well as few new people as well.

Jack had eventually gone down to Falafel Phil's when three o'clock rolled around. To his surprise, Jerry worked part-time there as well. With the rest of his time, he taught dance classes at a studio somewhere else in the mall. The two had caught up, Jerry bought Jack a plate of falafel balls ("For old time's sake!"), and together they left.

Their destination was Seaford University, where Milton apparently worked as a physics professor. According to a note Eddie had given Phil prior to Jack even arriving in Seaford, all the staff at the school except the redhead knew Jack was coming, so they immediately let him and Jerry in.

The pair had walked into Milton's classroom to be met with a loud boom and a short but violent display of colors bouncing harmlessly around the room, and then applause. Apparently the man had been demonstrating something to his students, but he completely willing to briefly pause his class to exchange a few words with them. After a promise to have a more in depth conversation after his class was over, the two sat down to watch their enthusiastic friend conduct his class. (Quite amazingly, in fact; he was enthusiastic, had a sharp mouth and quick wit, and the students loved him. Jack would have enjoyed having him as a teacher when he was their age.)

Afterwards, Milton and Jack had reacquainted themselves, and Jerry and Milton informed Jack of all the changes in the town; the old arcade where they hung out occasionally had been burned down years back, Rudy's adoptive son Sam had grown up to be a locally famous pianist and karate enthusiast, Julie and Milton had a beautiful four-year-old daughter named Katie, Funderberk had gone missing (as far as Jerry and everyone else knew; Milton later informed Jack that the principal had gone MIA during a mission in Turkey)…

…and Luke, the guy that Kim fell in love with and eventually got married to, got caught cheating on the blonde with Lindsay Griffith and then ran off with her, leaving Kim alone to take care of two children.

After persuading Jack not to hunt Luke down and skin him alive for breaking Kim's heart, Milton, Jack, and Jerry headed to the dojo, where they met Rudy just finishing up a class. Then, the four men (joined by Joan and Phil) sat down and reminisced over another slideshow that Eddie had prepared for the whole group.

That was four days ago. Kim apparently was on a week-long visit with her family in Tennessee, but would be back in time for the Christmas party they were having that day. Jack had been anxiously awaiting her arrival since being informed of this. And so here he finds himself, casually leaning against the lockers and chatting with Milton, while amusedly spectating a sparring match between Sam and Jerry.

And then she's there.

Jack feels his breath whoosh out of him as soon as he's aware of Kim's presence, not even noticing Milton chuckling beside him. The brunet doesn't know how he missed her walking in and yet, there she is, standing and chatting with Rudy. She looks just as beautiful as he remembered.

Next to her are two children that can't be older six; on one side, balanced on Kim's hip, is a little boy with a small chef's hat on his head and a grin on his face. On Kim's other side, holding the woman's hand, is a young girl that looks a bit older than her brother. Her hair is so blonde that it's almost white, and when Jack looks down at her, he finds that she's already staring at him with a penetrating gray-eyed stare.

(It kinda unnerves him just a teeny bit, to be honest.)

The two hold each other's gazes for a few moments, man and girl, before the child looks up at her mother and tugs twice on Kim's green dress to get her attention. When the woman looks down at her, the girl says a few curt words. Her mother's expression spells out brief confusion as she says something back. The child responds again and points at Jack.

That's when Kim looks up and her gaze meets Jack's, and he swears that for a moment it's just the two of them in the room, laying eyes on each other for the first time in almost a decade.

She says something to Rudy, her eyes never leaving Jack's. A knowing grin makes its way across the sensei's face, and he walks away. Kim slowly makes her way across the room towards Jack, her young daughter trailing after her.

"Hey," Jack says when she arrives in front of him, a timid smile on his face.

Kim says nothing in response, instead bending over, gently placing her son on the floor next to his sister, straightening…

…and promptly smacking Jack across the face.

Jack keeps his head in the position for a couple moments in surprise, before looking back at the (now angry blonde) with confusion. "Ow?"

"You leave," the blonde hisses, "for four years to go to a prestigious school overseas, not contacting any of us, come back for a week before leaving again and not looking back… and all you can say is 'hey'?!"

"Phones and technology were strictly forbidden," Jack says with a slight pout on his face. "There was no way I could contact you. And then I came back and you guys had all moved on and formed a new life without me and I just… I didn't wanna mess that up. So I left again."

"He's sorry, Mommy," Kim's daughter says, drawing the two adults' attention to her. The girl has her blank gaze focused on Jack's face. "He left again so you'd be happy."

"Lindy, this is a grown-up talk," Kim says quietly, kneeling down next to her daughter. "Go play with Katie."

Lindy turns her piercing stare on her mother. "Promise you won't be mad at him, Mommy."

"Lindy—"

"Promise."

Kim glances over at Jack for a few terse moments, before looking back at her daughter. "I promise."

Lindy raises her pinky finger very seriously, and Kim hooks her own pinkiy through her daughter's. "Come on, Logan," Lindy says to her little brother after she turns away from her mother. "Let's go play with Katie."

"Play kichin wif Kay-Kay!" the little boy says in response, giggling happily. He takes his sister's hand and walks off, repeating the sentiment.

"So, what brings you down to this sleepy ol' town?" Kim asks while pouring two glasses of wine.

"Eddie bought me a plane ticket here as a Christmas present," Jack says in response. He nods in thanks as he accepts the glass from Kim. "He says I should take a break, so…" He shrugs. "Here I am. He says hi, by the way."

Kim sits down on the couch next to Jack, staring into her glass. "Fourteen years Jack," she says quietly. "Fourteen years, and I only saw you for a week of it."

"I know," Jack responds. "And I'm sorry. I came back, and I thought you guys were happy without me there and I didn't wanna… ruin the new life you guys had."

"We just didn't know how to act around you," Kim responds. "Here you were, this great, karate person who made something of themselves, and we were stuck here in little ol' Seaford. I dunno, we just…" She trails off, not sure how to continue.

Jack nods. "I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry, too."

They finally relax completely in each other's presence.

"How old are they?"

"Hmm?... oh. Three and five." Kim smiles at the mention of her children. "Logan's a little sweetheart, and has a bit of an obsession with cooking." She chuckles. "He loves watching cooking shows and playing 'Kitchen' with his sister and I. And Lindy… heh. She's really smart, to the point where it's a bit unnerving sometimes. Like she, she notices things, and knows things. Regardless—" Kim shrugs. "I love her. I love them. She and Logan are family."

Jack nods, smiling.

"What about you?" Kim asks. "Anyone special?"

Jack shrugs. "I mean… Eddie. Mom. There was… someone else." Jack sighs. "But she only wanted the fame."

Kim chuckles dryly. "Bruises."

Jack frowns, confused, and turns to look at the blonde. "What?"

"We're just like that song. Bruises. By Train, featuring Ashley Monroe?"

Jack shakes his head. "I don't know the song."

Kim grabs her phone from her purse. Moments later, a guitar starts playing, and a man's voice eventually starts singing.

"It's basically about these two people that haven't seen each other since high school, and they're meeting for the first time since then. They're reminiscing, talking about… well, their bruises. Their experiences."

She falls silent. Jack doesn't know what to say to that, so he stays quiet and lets the song play out between them. After it finishes, a comfortable silence falls between them.

"'I would love to fix it all for you,'" Jack finally says, quoting the song and taking Kim's hand. She smiles at him.

"'I would love to fix you too,'" she responds, squeezing his hand.

"'Please don't fix a thing whatever you do…'" they say together. Kim scoots closer to Jack and leans against his side.

"Merry Christmas, Jack."

"Merry Christmas, Kim."

"These bruises,
Make for better conversation
Loses, the vibe that separates

It's good to let you in again
You're not alone in how you've been
Everybody loses

We all got bruises..."

Yep. My complete lack of creativity stole the same ending from last year and stuck it in this one. Deal with it. MERRY CHRISTMAS, GUYS.

Until next time,

~BP