Disclaimer: I blame marathons of Karate Kid movies on TV for making me writing fanfic of it, haha.
Story: When Mike Barnes seeks revenge some other way, Danielle finds healing in two unlikely and unexpected saviors.
Set as a genderbent continuation of the third Karate Kid movie.
Spoilers: Yeeeessss. Yes, yes, yes. Beware?
Warnings: Age difference, initial racism towards Asians, excessive drinking, some violence and language, PTSD, gender roles and gender expectations, societal expectations…
Pairings: Eventual John Kreese/fem!Daniel/Terry Silver.

The Things I Could Do Without
Chapter Nine: To Move Forward

Danielle woke up first. After the night being as it was, she was both surprised and not surprised about her position between John and Terry. It gave her mixed feelings and she did her best to push them down and not focus on them. Instead, she gingerly left her spot and glanced over to the far side of the blanket bed to see Bobby sprawled out in his area, having all that space to himself. He was drooling a bit and had a goofy grin on his face, making her smile slightly.

She then turned her attention to the exit, where she knew would lead to the kitchen and her feet padded quietly on the floor as she headed there. Deciding to make breakfast, she began pulling out ingredients and the pans she would need, unable to keep her mind from wandering back to the night before and thinking about the way she had asked to hold their hands, had surprisingly agreed to sleep between them, and that she had actually not minded as she thought she would in the end. She thought she would be tensed all night, and even sometime then end up freaking out.

But she had stayed there and she had relaxed, and she had easily fallen asleep.

Danielle had felt safe and secure, and hadn't felt an ounce of fear, nor the urge to cringe away from them and their touch and closeness. Instead, she had welcomed it and it made her feel happy and hopeful for the future, and that maybe she wasn't as messed up (or at least she was healing).

"Morning," she heard John say quietly and she looked up from cutting onions to see him at the kitchen's entrance watching her.

"Morning," she smiled and she saw him relax and smile back.

"You alright?" he asked tentatively and she knew he was referring to last night.

"Yeah," she said honestly. "A lot more than I thought I'd be. I…I think I'm doing much better than before. I can do this. I can be around people more now, I think."

"That's good," he was grinning. He came closer and she shifted over to give him some space to be next to her. "Terry and I…we've got a long ways to go for you, but we're not going anywhere."

"Yeah? You mean that?" she asked. "I've got a lot of scars and Dr. Rosefield says these kind of things don't get fixed overnight. She and the support group I'm in say that sometimes they never really go away and maybe I'll have to deal with this…with me as I am now for the rest of my life."

"Terry and I are in it for the long haul," John reaffirmed. "We fucked up by you, you know? And outside of that obligation, we really like you and think that if we had met another way and things had been different, we'd have been friends sooner and none of this shit would have happened."

Danielle's lips twitched up sadly. "That would've been nice."

She saw John hesitate and waited patiently. He took a deep breath.

"That being said," he started, "I realized that I do like you. Like a lot. And fuck if I don't know that's probably really messed up, what with our history, but I do. And I don't know if this is the right time, or if there's a right time, or you're even okay enough or ready for it…but do you want to go out? With me. Like for dinner…maybe tonight?" he ended uncomfortably.

She stared at him, having not expected that. But, thinking about it, the idea of going out on what sounded like a date with John didn't put her off. She didn't feel like cringing or feel scared off, and maybe that was another sign she was going to be okay. And maybe, just maybe, it would be alright to go out with him.

"And this is probably a dick move of just asking you out without telling Terry, but I really like you and I couldn't help blurting it out –"

She looked at him in confusion. "Why would you tell Terry first?"

John grimaced. "It isn't really my business or anything and he should be the one telling you, but Terry likes you too. He probably even knew it a lot longer than I did, but here we are."

Danielle bit her lip. "To be honest, I like you. And I like Terry. And I'm really confused and have been for a while. I don't really know where my head's at, but I do still want to go out with you tonight actually."

She watched as relief washed over John's face and he gave a slight smile. "I'll, uh, tell Terry about it."

"Tell me what?" Terry sleepily joined them and Danielle watched him closely.

She had no idea that Terry liked her back. She didn't know about John either. The idea that either of them liked her at all, much less in that way, was surreal. But it seemed kind of fitting, after everything the three of them went through together. And it was hard to picture her with someone else who didn't know what she'd been through and had dealt through all of it with her and for her.

She knew that, deep inside, she had always been attached and attracted to them, even when they were her enemies. But it was at this point now, when they weren't enemies and they were at the edge of something, where she had to look forward and try to see what happens now.

"I asked Danielle out," John admitted. "I was gonna take her out to dinner tonight."

She watched Terry wake up more and stare at him, straightening up and frowning, though nothing else showed on his face aside from a brief emotion passing in his eyes.

"Is…is that so?" Terry asked carefully. "That's…that's great. Really. I hope you two have fun."

At that moment, Bobby walked in on the scene, yawning and waving tiredly.

"Hey all, what's for breakfast?"

Breakfast didn't end up awkward like she thought it would. There was a slight tenseness that went over Bobby's head, but it mostly was almost the same as always.

"We should hang out again," Bobby told her as he got ready to leave. "My boyfriend would probably love you. He's a photographer, you see?"

She made no outward notice of a reaction about Bobby being gay. Danielle actually wasn't surprised for some reason.

"That'd be nice," she smiled slightly at him. "I'd love to meet him. You come whenever, you hear? We'll go out and do something."

He hugged her and she only briefly tensed up, before he was leaving with a friendly wave at her.

John and Terry appeared then, sidling up to her sides and looking after to where Bobby had left, and apparently having been waiting for him to leave and giving him and Danielle privacy to talk in the meanwhile.

"I had no idea that kid was a fag –" Danielle hit John's arm harshly and sighing in exasperation.

"Clean up your language," she admonished the two of them, rolling her eyes before turning on her heel and leaving them. "I'll see you later tonight, John!"

John grumbled and rubbed his arm, wincing a little. Terry shrugged at him.

"Well, we're not in the military anymore and hanging around the men," Terry snorted.

"Don't tell me I have to start talking around her like I'm talking to the parents," John huffed. "Come on now!"

Terry chuckled and halfheartedly swatted at his friend. "She is a girl. We talk around her like she's one of the guys, but you know she isn't."

"She's easy to talk to though," John rubbed the back of his head.

Terry grew a little solemn. "Yeah, she is," he said, remembering their time together.

John stayed quiet, guessing what was up with his friend.

"I don't think she'll care too much about our cursing," Terry continued on. "Probably used to it by now. I doubt though, that she'll let us get away with the slurs."

"She'd beat my ass if I called her old man a slope," John quipped, grinning.

"I think she'd do worse," Terry smirked.

John nodded, growing thoughtful. He glanced at the other man. "In all seriousness though, we need to talk. About her. And you know…all this feelings shit."

"You like her, I like her," Terry said bluntly. "It's pretty straightforward. You just beat me to her."

"There isn't a beat-you-to-it thing," John scowled. "We both like her and she admitted she liked us both."

Terry perked up a little at that, unwillingly feeling a little hopeful.

"But she's still a little messed up from what happened and she still has to deal with it and we'll have to deal with it, and she said that it might even have to be something she'd be dealing with for the rest of her life," John told him.

Terry sighed. "We're not going anywhere."

"I told her that," John nodded. "Good to know we're on the same page."

"So?"

"I just…want to put it out there that we don't rush her or push her to choose, you know? She's got a lot to deal with and we don't want to add to it."

"What if she doesn't end up ever choosing? What if she just…likes us both?" Terry said suddenly, making John stare at him.

That was a possibility and if it wasn't addressed and put a strain between the three of them, it was going to add unwanted stress and problems.

"We could put that off and deal with it when that time comes," John started. "But I think you and I both know that if we wait until then, then we'll struggle and all of us are going to get stressed and upset by it, and it'll exacerbate Danielle's problems."

"So better to figure it out now so that we'll have an answer for Danielle if that time comes," Terry said. "Well, it's not like we both haven't said and agreed that the two of us were going to be by her side to the end and all. What fucking difference does it make to add that we'll both end up being with her like that too?"

"You okay with that?" John asked sharply. "Sharing her?"

"Are you?" Terry shot back.

They gave each other awkward looks in the end, their sharpness devolving into a more embarrassed and uncertain air.

"I mean, we're best friends and all," John clumsily said.

"But it'll be weird. Sharing her. Uh, yeah," Terry swallowed hesitantly.

"Isn't that what we've basically been doing though?" John mused, thinking about it. "We're not 'officially' dating her or anything. But these past few months with her and the way we've been living…"

"We're more or less a threesome already," Terry snickered.

"I ain't touching your gay ass."

"Fuck you, you motherfucker."

The two of them burst out into laughter and grinned at each other.

"Goddamn, John! Just get your dumb ass ready for tonight and make sure you treat Danielle out to something awesome," Terry pushed his friend towards the stairs.

"Asshole, it's still morning!"

"If you don't shut up, I'm going to kick you out of my mansion and keep Danielle all to myself!"

So while they weren't set and sure about anything, John at least knew that the three of them were going to be okay going forward and there weren't any hard feelings or issues involved with him going out with Danielle (and Terry himself probably scheming on taking her out sometime in the near future).

And maybe that diner he planned on taking Danielle to, while nothing special or fancy, would hopefully be a nice place for the two of them to go to. And the way Danielle was looking at him as she walked down the stairs in a pretty peach blouse and a gray ankle-length skirt swishing around with every move she made towards him, John would probably be a goddamn mess the entire time.

But even with all that, the shy smile and the sure look in her eyes (something he hadn't seen in so long, and yet he remembered seeing it long before when he was just this asshole to her and he fucking admired that look even then), he was glad he was seeing her like that and so like herself from before.

John was pretty damn lost in her.

Started 1/11/17 – Completed 1/12/17

A/n: I am pretty tempted to rush and finish this, since I know people actually want to read White Crane, but I don't want to make this crappy in the end, so…But I'll do my best to wrap it up soon enough. Anyway, I hope everyone is enjoying this still and please remember to review! Thanks, everyone!

(John and Terry have such horrible language XD)