A/N: This chapter is the last of the Christmas and New Year's Eve chapters, and things will be picking up in the next chapter.
(Mainly because there's a slight jump between the end of this chapter and the start of the next chapter.)
Disclaimer: I don't own the Karate Kid movies, Cobra Kai or anything else that I might reference.
Guys' Night
Sensei had been true to his word regarding training being fairly intense over the last four or five days. Everybody had to make up for taking Christmas off, even if their skills or physical condition didn't atrophy.
New Year's Eve and New Year's Day would be another little break before training picked up again for the rest of the break. And then it would be back to normal. More or less.
Jason stretched and got out of bed before taking a shower and getting dressed.
His current outfit consisted of ripped jeans, grey socks, a studded black belt, a Judas Priest t-shirt and a denim jacket. He was also wearing clean underwear because he'd done the laundry two or three days ago. His wallet, phone and keys were in his pockets.
Jason grabbed a can of Coke from the fridge and went to sit down on the sofa.
He turns on the TV and sees a commercial for LaRusso Auto come on almost immediately.
Jason opens the can and takes a drink.
It doesn't take him long to finish his soda.
He gets up and throws the can out before he hears the doorbell ringing.
Jason goes to open the door and sees Robby standing outside.
"Would you mind if I crashed here for today? My mom's kind of started celebrating New Year's Eve early. I'd ask Claire if I could crash at her place, but your house just happens to be closer to North Hills. Well, relatively speaking, anyway." Robby says.
Jason nods. "Sure."
"Thanks. I really appreciate it." Robby looks grateful.
Jason smiles. "Great. Have you eaten breakfast yet? Because I was just about to go and get breakfast before you showed up."
"I haven't eaten breakfast yet." Robby shakes his head.
Jason nods again. "Cool. I'm going to put on my shoes and then we can go and get breakfast. By the way, I'll be spending the rest of the day hanging out with Miguel, Hawk, Leonard and Demetry. And, you're welcome to join us."
"I think I will." Robby has a smile on his face.
Jason goes to put on his shoes. "Great."
Robby watches as Jason puts on his shoes before closing the door of his house.
Jason unlocks the Dodge Viper as they're walking towards it.
Robby gets in the passenger's side while Jason gets into the driver's seat.
Jason starts the car and reverses it out of the driveway.
He turns on the radio before driving off.
….
Miguel got an Uber from his apartment to Jason's house.
He paid the driver and got out of the car.
Miguel watches as the driver speeds off before walking over to the front door of Jason's house.
He walks by Jason's Dodge Viper.
Miguel rings the doorbell.
The door opens and Jason is standing in front of him.
He sees Robby sitting down on a sofa in the living room.
"Robby and I already had breakfast. And, I'm assuming you already ate." Jason says.
Miguel nods. "I had breakfast already."
"Cool. Did you tell your mom and Yaya where you going?" Jason asks.
Miguel lets out a breath. "I did. And I kind of told them that we were going to be hanging out and celebrating New Year's Eve. But I didn't say that we were going to be partying or whatever."
"Awesome. We're going to hang out here for a bit before Leonard shows up and we all go to Hawk's house. Leonard paid for a limo and he's probably paying for dinner, too." Jason replies.
Miguel smiles. "I've never been in a limo before."
"I don't think Robby was ever in a limo, either." Jason remarks.
Robby sits up in the sofa that he's sitting in at the mention of his name. "I've never been in a limo. But I'd say that Leonard probably has been in one. He kind of seems like that kind of person. That's not a slight against him or anything."
"We know what you meant. Don't worry about it." Jason says.
Robby nods. "Oh."
"So, did you manage to meet those friends of Sam's family?" Jason asks.
Miguel lights up. "You mean Julie and Eric? I had dinner at Sam's house three days ago and I managed to meet them. They're really nice. And, they run a karate dojo in Boston."
"Are they staying in the Valley for long?" Jason asks.
Miguel shakes his head. "They're just here on vacation."
"Oh. Well, I'm sure they're having a great vacation." Jason remarks.
Miguel agrees. "Yeah."
Robby is about to say something when there's a knock on the door followed by the doorbell ringing.
Jason gets up and goes to answer the door.
He looks out and sees Leonard standing in front of him.
There is also a stretch limo parked near the driveway of the house.
"What do you think of the limo?" Leonard asks.
Jason looks at the stretch limo. "It's pretty cool."
Miguel and Robby get up and walk over to where Jason is standing.
"You guy ready to go, or what?" Leonard asks.
Jason, Miguel and Robby all look at each other and nod. Jason still has his phone, wallet and keys with him.
They follow Leonard to the stretch limo after leaving Jason's house.
Jason closes the door behind him and makes sure that it's locked.
Leonard opens the door to the back of the stretch limo and gets inside.
He motions for them to go inside. "Are you guys getting in? Or are you just going to stand there?"
Jason, Miguel and Robby get into the limo.
Leonard tells the driver Hawk's address before the limo drives off.
It shouldn't take too long for them to reach Hawk's house.
….
The stretch limo comes to a halt near the driveway of Hawk's house.
"You want me to wait here, or should I go and come back?" The driver asks.
Leonard thinks about it. "Would you mind waiting?"
"Not at all. You're the one who's paying." The driver answers.
Leonard opens the door and gets out of the limo.
Jason, Miguel and Robby follow him.
They walk up to the front door of Hawk's house.
Jason rings the doorbell.
He takes a step back and stands where Miguel, Robby and Leonard are standing.
The door opens and they see Hawk standing across from them.
"Welcome. And, I see you've brought a friend. Which is cool. Come on in. Demetri's downstairs and there's pizza being delivered here in about fifteen to twenty minutes." Hawk says.
They follow Hawk to the basement of the house.
There are video game consoles connected to the TV in the basement and cold cans of soda on a table.
Demetri notices them following behind Hawk. "Hey! And you've brought a friend!"
"Hi. I'm Robby. I was at Jason's party before the holidays started, but I don't think we were really introduced." Robby gives Demetri a slightly awkward expression.
Demetri shrugs. "Don't worry about it. Any friend of Jason's, Miguel's or Leonard's is a friend of ours."
"And, we've even got more video games. Including Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat." Hawk adds.
Demetri nods. "Yeah. So, what game would you guys want to play first?"
Everybody says the same thing. "Smash."
After about fifteen minutes, Hawk leaves the basement to go pay for the pizzas and to bring the pizzas downstairs.
"I brought pizza! And it's all been cut into slices so you don't have to worry about slicing it, or anything like that. My parents are going to be doing their own thing tonight. And I didn't tell them about the guys' night, so we're good on that front." Hawk says.
He places the boxes of pizza on the table near where the cans of soda are.
Demetri looks at the boxes of pizza. "Is there enough for all of us?"
"Yes." Hawk replies.
Miguel looks at the boxes of pizzas. "You guy want to eat?"
Everybody agrees, so the game is paused.
They open one of the boxes and take a slice each, leaving two remaining.
It doesn't take too long for one of the boxes to be empty.
And there's only three or four boxes.
They play video games, eat and talk for the next hour or two.
The sodas are also gone by then.
"So, where do you guys want to have dinner? Because I could think of a few places. And, I insist on paying." Leonard states.
Miguel raises an eyebrow. "You sure? We can pick anything we want and you're going to pay for it? Even though you've already paid for the limo?"
"Yeah." Leonard replies.
Miguel shrugs. "Alright."
Jason, Miguel, Hawk, Demetri and Robby talk things over and come to a decision.
"So, where do you guys want to eat?" Leonard asks.
Jason is the first to answer. "Sushi. You probably know some good restaurants for that."
"I do." Leonard replies.
Jason grins. "Well, I guess that settles it."
They throw out the empty pizza boxes and cans of soda before Hawk switches off the video game console they were playing and turns off the TV.
Hawk's parents had more than likely already left for whatever they had planned.
They leave the house and walk over to the limo.
Leonard opens one of the backdoors and gets in.
They get into the limo and get comfortable as the limo drives off.
The first part of their plans for New Year's Eve had gone pretty well.
And they were pretty certain that the rest of the day and night would go pretty well, too.
….
Leonard had helped himself to some of the champagne in the limo by the time that the limo parked outside an upscale looking sushi, or Japanese, restaurant.
Jason had found beer in the limo and had passed a can each to Miguel and Hawk. Demetri and Robby just had a soda.
They drank whatever refreshments they had before exiting the limo.
Leonard walks in front of the group.
The doors of the restaurant are open, so Leonard walks inside.
"Are you Leonard Cole?" They hear a voice.
The source of that voice is a waiter, who walks over to the group.
Leonard nods. "Yes."
"Please follow me." The waiter walks ahead of them.
They follow the waiter until they get to their table.
Miguel, Hawk and Demetri sit on one side of the table while Jason, Robby and Leonard sit on the other side.
A waitress hands them menus.
Jason looks through the menu. "So, what do you recommend?"
"Dragon rolls are pretty good. But I'm not sure if you'll be going for those. I was with Dad the last time I was here, and that was a good while ago." Leonard replies.
Jason understands. "Oh. Well, we'll probably just pick things ourselves."
They go back to looking through the menus, while also engaging in conversation.
It takes a couple of minutes, but they eventually decide on what to order.
A waitress walks over to their table.
"Have you decided what you're going to order?" The waitress asks.
They look at each other and nod before Leonard responds. "We've decided what we're going to order."
Leonard is the first person to order.
The waitress takes their orders, including drinks, and walks away after taking the menus.
"So, how long were you guys planning to have a guys' night?" Robby asks.
Jason shrugs. "Before the party at my house. But there wasn't any concrete stuff planned for it until afterwards. If that makes sense."
"I think it does. And, thanks for inviting me along." Robby answers.
Jason smiles. "Don't worry about it. I wasn't just going to leave you by yourself."
"Isn't it weird how Hawk is the only person in Cobra Kai, and Demetri, who has a nickname? I mean, I know why he's called Hawk, but come on…. How come he has a nickname when the rest of us don't?" Leonard interjects.
A waitress comes over with their drinks and almost wordlessly places them in front of the teenagers.
Miguel thinks about the question. "I never really thought about it. Mainly because Sensei was the one who came up with "Hawk" as a nickname."
"So, I'm definitely getting a nickname, too?" Demetri asks.
Hawk nods. "Of course. Everybody around the table is getting nicknames. Unless Robby doesn't want one."
"Not at the moment. I'll see what nicknames you guys get." Robby says.
Demetri agrees. "That might be for the best."
"Miguel has to be "Snake." Or "Cobra." Or…. I've got it! "El Serpiente." Seeing as he was one of Sensei's first students, along with Jason." Hawk is the first person to come up with a nickname.
Miguel is the next person to think of a nickname. "Jason's nickname could be "Beast." Or "Bolo." I'm not sure which one works better, though."
"Are you even questioning it? Have you seen Enter the Dragon? Or Bloodsport? Or even… Tiger Claws? Jason's basically the "Heavy" of Cobra Kai. And he's the best fighter in Cobra Kai apart from Miguel. No offence meant, or anything." Leonard says.
Miguel smiles. "None taken."
"So, what's my nickname going to be?" Demetri asks.
Hawk sits back in his chair. "We'll get to it. I don't think Leonard has a nickname yet."
"How about "Goose?" You were the last person to join Cobra Kai before the cafeteria fight. And, you might be kind of loud and obnoxious, but you're alright." Jason suggests.
Leonard smiles. "I like it."
"Awesome. And that just leaves Demetri. Then again, I'm not really sure what nickname fits him. Mainly because I haven't been friends with him nearly as long as Hawk. And, I doubt that we would be moving in the same circles if we didn't know Claire or if Cobra Kai didn't exist." Jason says.
Hawk is about to say something when a waiter brings them a sharing platter of sushi.
They had each ordered their own main courses and drinks, but they ordered sushi to share amongst themselves.
Demetri takes a piece of sushi and dips it in soy sauce before eating it. "So, what's my nickname?"
"Good question. I'd say something like "Wizard" could work. Seeing as you kind of need to be smart to be one. And you're one of the smartest people I know." Jason takes some sushi.
Miguel agrees. "Yeah. You're probably the best student in Biology. And, you're probably pretty academically gifted in general."
"Thanks. I might not know karate like you, but it's not the end of the world. Besides, there's other things that I'm good at." Demetri says.
Hawk chimes in. "Like coding."
Jason watches as Hawk and Demetri take some sushi and dip it in soy sauce before eating it.
He takes some sushi and eats it, making sure to leave some for the others.
"As much as I'd like to get a nickname now, I'm not entirely sure that I should get one. Because I'm not really a part of your group. Even though I've known Claire as long as Demetri and Hawk, if not longer." Robby takes another piece of sushi.
Jason gives him a look. "You're a part of the group today."
"Thanks." Robby says.
They talk as they finish the sushi. Their sodas are also gone by the time the sushi is.
A waiter comes and takes away the empty platter.
Leonard leans forward slightly. "Can we get more sodas?"
"Sure." The waiter nods.
Jason looks over at Leonard. "So, you weren't going to order anything stronger?"
"This place doesn't take fake IDs. Sorry. But you know a place that does. Or, at least you said that you did." Leonard replies.
Jason nods. "Well, yeah. I do know a place that takes fake IDs. It's one of the places we're going to go after dinner."
"Yeah. We'll probably get dessert somewhere else." Leonard says.
Jason scratches his head. "You know a place where we can get dessert?"
"For sure. But we've still got mains to go here." Leonard answers.
Miguel interjects. "Are we going to Salt and Straw? Or somewhere else?"
"We're probably going somewhere else. Paletas or shaved ice would probably be what we're having for dessert. If that's okay with everybody, I mean." Leonard answers.
Everybody agrees on going for Paletas.
Which makes things quite a bit easier.
Their sodas arrive fairly quickly, and they have time to go to the bathroom before their main courses arrive.
The day was going pretty well. Even if it was a little chaotic at first.
….
The stretch limo parked outside of the bar that Jason had told the group about.
They had dinner and dessert, so they weren't exactly hungry.
Jason is the first person to get out of the limo followed by the rest of the group.
One of the front windows of the limo opens as the door closes behind them.
"You want me to come back later or do you want me to wait here?" The driver asks.
Leonard smiles. "Come back later. Or, don't. I'm sure there are other people working tonight."
"You've got the company's number. So, good luck." The driver replies.
They watch as the driver of the limo drives away.
Jason looks around at the rest of the group. "Guess it's time to go. But I'm going to do the talking."
They walk the short distance to the bar.
The bouncer gives Jason a nod of recognition before he says anything.
"Have you got any ID on you?" The bouncer asks.
Jason reaches into his wallet and takes out a fake ID. "Would this work?"
"I'd say "No," but it's New Year's Eve. And you were as close to a regular as it's possible to get. Now get in there before I change my mind." The bouncer answers.
Jason grins. "Great."
"Enjoy your night, gentlemen." The bouncer steps aside and allows Jason to open the door and walk into the bar.
The rest of the group follows him inside.
They look around the bar and can see booths at the far side of the bar, tables set up at the closest side to them and bar stools at the counter. There are also loudspeakers playing music. And there are different things on the walls.
Jason walks over to a booth and sits down. "Are you guys going to sit down?"
"We were just having a look around. I've never actually been in a bar before. And I just wanted to see what it was like." Demetri replies.
Leonard and Robby sit down on one side while Miguel, Hawk and Demetri sit down on the other side.
Jason makes space for Leonard and Robby to sit down.
Leonard takes out his phone and asks the group to pose for one or two more selfies.
Jason leans back against the booth. "I'm pretty sure that this place still does table service. But you can order at the bar if you don't feel like waiting for too long."
"I guess that means you and Leonard are buying. Right?" Miguel asks.
Jason grins. "Well, I'm buying this round, at least. I'm assuming that Leonard will buy some of the other rounds. Unless he doesn't want to. But I think he will."
"Oh, what the hell. It's New Year's Eve. And we only get one chance to be dumb kids. So, we might as well take it. I'm sure my dad isn't going to mind." Leonard interjects.
Jason shrugs. "Alright. We'll ask someone working here to get us drinks."
A waitress walks over to their booth.
"Have you decided what drinks you want? Or do you want me to come back in a few minutes?" The waitress asks.
Jason scratches his head. "Would you mind coming back in a few minutes? We only just got here and we haven't really decided on what we're going to order."
"Okay. I'll be back in a few minutes. So, don't worry about it." The waitress gives them a smile before walking to a different booth.
Jason leans back against the booth. "I'll have a beer to start with. What about you guys?"
"Beer." Leonard answers.
Miguel doesn't really think about it before answering. "I'll have a beer."
"I think I'll have a beer." Hawk says.
Demetri and Robby both have the same answer. "We'll just get a soda."
The waitress comes back to their booth and they order drinks.
Jason, Miguel, Hawk and Leonard order a bottle of Coors each while Demetri and Robby order sodas.
The waitress goes away and comes back with four beers and two sodas, placing them in front of the people who ordered them.
"I think this calls for a toast. Here's to making new friends and hanging out with them. Karate optional, of course."
Hawk agrees. "Definitely."
They clink their bottles together before drinking.
It doesn't take them too long to finish their drinks.
Besides, the night was still young.
And they still had plenty of time to celebrate the New Year.