❝ your past doesn't define you. ❞

―

"VINNY? IS THAT YOU?"

Vincent stared at the boy in front of him, wide eyed. It felt like the entire world had stopped along with his heart. The hustle and bustle of Valley Fest became nothing but a muffled background noise. All that Vincent could seem to do was stare. It wasn't until he felt Myra pulling on his arm that his trance was broken.

"Don't just stand there," Myra whispered. "Say something."

Vincent continued to stare at her. Right as he was about to ask her what he should say, Myra was grabbing Veronica by the hand and walking away. Vincent turned back to Robby, noticing that the boy was still standing in front of him.

Vincent closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He needed to make sure that this wasn't a dream. Slowly, he opened his eyes. His heart felt like it had stopped beating when he saw that Robby had moved closer.

"Robby..." Vincent finally managed to say.

"I didn't know you were back," Robby crossed his arms.

"We just moved back today," Vincent told him. "Grandma Reed...she um..."

Robby frowned, his eyes darting to the ground. "You don't have to say it. I understand what you're trying to say. I'm sorry. She was an amazing woman."

Vincent nodded his head. "Yeah, she was."

A silence came over them as they stared at each other, every so often their gaze averting to the ground. It was Robby who broke the silence.

"So, um, how have you been?" Robby asked. "It's been a while since we talked."

Vincent nodded. "I've been okay. How have you been? You're doing karate now?"

"Yeah," Robby nodded. "It's been kind of..." Robby trailed off and sighed. "It's been okay."

Vincent could tell that he was lying. He could always tell when Robby was lying.

"How many times do I have to tell you that nothing's wrong?" Robby, age eleven, asked.

Vincent took a seat on the couch next to him. "Because I know you're lying and I know your tells, remember?"

"How do you do that?" Robby asked. "It's like you see right through me."

Vincent shrugged. "Maybe I do. Or maybe you're just not that great of a liar as you think you are."

"Anyway, um, yeah," Robby said. "Karate's actually pretty fun. Mr. LaRusso's great."

Vincent nodded. "It looked cool. Until those other guys came along and ruined it. Sorry about that."

"It's not your fault," Robby told him. "We've had our ups and downs with Cobra Kai. I guess you could say we're rival dojos."

Vincent laughed. "Sounds like something out of a movie from the eighties."

Robby smiled at him, staring at him in awe. It had been so long since he had heard Vincent laugh. It was a sound that he had never forgotten and one that he had never thought he'd hear again.

Vincent's heart skipped a beat when he saw Robby smile. He couldn't help but smile back at him, the same pang in his chest he had when he first realized that he was in love with him.

"You should, um...you should join actually," Robby said suddenly. "We were hoping that the demo would help bring in some new members, but you saw how that went."

Vincent nodded his head. "I'll think about it."

A soft smile spread across Robby's face. "Great! I—I mean okay. Cool. Do you still have the same number? So that I can text to the address?"

"Yeah, same number," Vincent confirmed.

Robby nodded. "Okay. I'll text it to you. I hope to see you at the dojo tomorrow."

"Okay," Vincent said back.

Robby nodded his head one last time before turning around and walking away. He stopped and turned back, walking until he stood in front of Vincent once again. He pulled him into a hug.

Vincent was taken back at first, unable to process what was happening. His heart was racing in his chest as he wrapped his arms around Robby's back. Vincent could feel Robby's breath on his neck, the touch of his hands on his back, and the thumping of his heart melding with his own.

"I'm glad you're back, Vinny," Robby whispered in his ear. "I missed you."

Vincent inhaled a breath and let it out slowly. "I missed you too."

Robby pulled away from the hug, leaving a bare feeling lingering in Vincent's arms. With one last soft smile, he watched Robby turn around and walk away. He stared straight ahead until he was nothing more than a blur lost in the crowd.

Vincent placed his hand on his chest, trying his hardest to breathe and regulate his heartbeat. It was no use. No matter what he did, his heart would not stop pounding.

"Have you ever had a crush on someone before?" Robby asked.

The two thirteen year olds sat on the steps in front of Vincent's apartment.

Vincent shrugged. "I don't know. I guess that depends on what you mean by crush."

Robby laughed and playfully hit his shoulder. "You know what I mean. Have you ever liked someone? Like, you want to date them?"

Vincent stared at him, thinking about what he should say. He thought about telling him the truth, but how could he do that? It would ruin their friendship and he didn't know what he would do if that happened.

"No," Vincent lied. "I don't think so. Have you?"

Robby nodded his head. "Yeah. I have."

Vincent's heart sank, but he tried not to let it show. "On who?"

"Not telling," Robby responded.

"Come on! You have to tell me!" Vincent said.

Robby shook his head.

Vincent never did find out who Robby had a crush on. He figured that it was probably some beautiful girl that was in their grade. Or Hannah Albright who lived two apartments down from Vincent. She was sixteen at the time and drop dead gorgeous with eyes as green as emeralds and blonde curls that flowed down her back.

Vincent always saw Robby looking at her. He wouldn't be surprised if he had been talking about Hannah that day on the stairs.

"Are you ready to go?"

Vincent turned his head to see Veronica standing next to him, holding Myra's hand. Vincent nodded his head and followed them to the car, his mind full of thoughts of Robby the entire time.

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Vincent stared at the sign reading 'Miyagi-Do Karate.' He pulled into the dirt road and parked before taking the key out of the ignition. He continued to sit in the car, second guessing his decision to join karate. He didn't know the first thing about karate. He didn't even really have an interest in learning. Yet here he was, sitting in front of a karate dojo about to join karate for a boy.

Vincent sighed. He was already here. There was no point in turning back now when he had driven all this way. He looked at himself in the review mirror and nodded his head confidently.

"You can do this, Vincent," he told himself. "There's nothing to be worried about."

He took a deep breath and held it as he took his seatbelt off and opened the car door. As he shut the door, he exhaled and started to walk towards the entrance.

His eyes went wide as he opened the gate and looked around. Miyagi-Do was beautiful. It was hard to believe that he was standing in a karate dojo and not something out of one of the Home and Gardens magazines that his grandma liked to look at.

"Hi, can I help you?"

Vincent turned his head in the direction of the voice. A girl with curly brown hair pulled back in a bun and bright blue eyes stood across from him.

"Vinny, hey," Robby greeted him. "I'm glad you decided to join."

The girl looked between them with a confused look on her face. "You two know each other?"

"Yeah," Robby responded. "Vinny and I go way back. We used to be best friends before he moved. We saw each other again at Valley Fest and I asked him to join."

"Oh," the girl responded. "Well, it's nice to know that our attempt to get more students wasn't a waste of time after all."

She walked over to Vincent, holding her hand out in front of him. "I'm Sam. It's nice to meet you."

Vincent nodded as he shook her hand. "Vincent. It's nice to meet you too."

Sam smiled at him. "I'm going to go see what my dad's doing so that we can get class started. He'll be happy to know that we have a new member."

Vincent followed her with his eyes as she walked away. When she was no longer in sight, he turned to face Robby. He stared back at him, causing Vincent's cheeks to heat up. He quickly looked down at the deck below his feet and rocked nervously on his heels.

"So..." Robby spoke, causing Vincent to look up. "Do you know anything about karate?"

Vincent shook his head. "Not a thing."

"Well, here at Miyagi-Do, we're all about defense," Robby told him. "Mr. LaRusso's methods might seem stupid at first, but trust me, it pays off."

Vincent nodded. "Okay. What kind of methods?"

"Wax on, wax off for example," Robby responded. "Here, let me show you."

Robby held his arm up, moving his wrist in a circle as he demonstrated the movement. "Wax on." He moved his other wrist. "Wax off."

Vincent repeated the motions. He watched Robby closely as he continued the movements.

"Here, let me help you," Robby inched closer, standing directly in front of him.

Vincent's heartbeat increased instantly as Robby grabbed his wrists and said the phrase, making sure that every movement was strong and executed correctly.

Vincent kept his eyes on Robby's face, taking notes in his head of every single speck of color in his eyes and every small, faint freckle that dotted his cheeks and nose. The curvature of his lips. The way his mouth moved as he uttered the words, "Wax on, wax off." The way the sunlight caught his hair.

Vincent's gaze shifted back to Robby's eyes. His breath hitched when he saw Robby staring back at him, their eyes locked together. Vincent gulped, trying his hardest to remind himself that he needed to breathe.

"Ahem..."

Vincent and Robby broke eye contact, springing away from each other at the sound. They turned their heads to see Sam standing on the deck behind them.

"Sorry," she said. "My dad wanted me to tell you that we're going to the beach to try and get more students. You're both welcome to come." She looked directly at Vincent. "He's excited to meet you."

Vincent just nodded his head, unsure of what to say. His mind was still reeling from the small moment that he shared with Robby.

"Come on," Sam said. "Let's go."

She turned around and walked towards the entrance. Robby smiled at Vincent as he walked after her. Vincent took a deep breath before he followed.

A man who he assumed was Sam's dad, Mr. LaRusso, stood in front of an old yellow car.

"A 1947 Ford Super Deluxe," Vincent nodded towards the car. "Pretty cool."

Mr. LaRusso looked at him, an impressed expression on his face. "You knew that just by looking at it?"

Vincent nodded and shrugged his shoulders. "I've always been interested in old cars. My dad..." Vincent trailed off, a tightness in his chest at bringing up his dad, "...um, he used to have one just like it except it red. It belonged to my grandfather."

"That's pretty cool," Mr. LaRusso said before changing the subject, sensing Vincent's uncomfortableness. He placed his hand in front of him. "I'm Daniel LaRusso. Sam told me that you used to be friends with Robby?"

Vincent shook his hand. "Vincent Reed. Robby and I have been friends since we were six."

Daniel nodded, lowering his hand. "Welcome to Miyagi-Do, Vincent. We're happy to have you. Now, let's get a change of clothes. We've got a beach club to go to."

Vincent turned to look at Robby with a raised eyebrow. Robby shrugged his shoulders as he got in the backseat of the car. Vincent stood in front of the act for a few more seconds, debating with himself whether he should go with them or not.

"Hey, Vinny, are you coming or what?" Robby called out.

Vincent nodded his head and walked to the other side of the car. "Yeah," he said as he opened the door and got inside.

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The breeze blew on Vincent's face as he sat in the back seat of the car next to Robby. He watched the outside world around him sprint past as they drove down the road. The light blue color of the ocean made Vincent feel like he was at home. The tan particles of the sand, slightly sparkling from the rays of the sun.

Vincent had forgotten how much he missed the beach. He had nearly forgotten the summer nights that he and Robby stayed out on the beach past midnight.

Vincent and Robby's laughs mixed together as they ran down the beach, collapsing on the sand and lying next to each other. They stared up at the dark blue sky, stars shining down on them.

Vincent turned his head, looking at Robby. "I can't believe this is the last night of summer."

"Me either," Robby turned to face him. "I'm not ready to say goodbye."

Vincent sighed. "Me too. But there's nothing I can do. With dad nowhere to be found and mom going to rehab, my grandma's is the only place we can go."

"I know," Robby responded. "I'm just going to miss you so much."

"I'm going to miss you too," Vincent replied. "More than words can describe."

They looked into each other's eyes. A voice in the back of Vincent's mind was screaming at him to tell Robby the truth about how he really felt.

"Hey, Robby?" Vincent spoke softly. "Can I tell you something?"

"Yeah," Robby responded. "You can tell me anything. You know that."

Vincent took a deep breath. "I'm...I just wanted to say that I..."

Robby stared at him patiently, waiting for him to get his words out.

"I wanted to you that I'm in l—" Vincent stopped mid-sentence. "That I'm lucky to have you as my best friend."

At the last second, he chickened out.

"I'm lucky to have you too, Vinny," Robby replied.

"Vinny..." a faint voice played in his ears. "Hey, earth to Vinny. Vincent...hellooo?"

Vincent snapped out of his thoughts when a hand started to wave in his face. He turned his head, seeing Robby smiling at him.

"What'cha thinking about?" Robby asked. "You always were a daydreamer."

Vincent shook his head. "Nothing important."

He looked around, seeing a large and fancy building in front of him. He opened the car door and got out, his eyes taking in all of his surroundings. He didn't think that he had ever been somewhere that looked so fancy and expensive in his life.

Vincent stared up at the beach club as he stood next to Robby. If it looked this fancy on the outside, Vincent couldn't even imagine how it looked on the inside.

"You all right?" Sam asked Robby.

"Yeah, I just...kind of used to work here," Robby replied.

"Really? When?" Sam asked.

"Couple of days last summer," Robby told her. "It wasn't a great fit."

Vincent gave him a confused look. There was more to it than that. The shakiness of his voice and the expression on his face were dead giveaways. Vincent wanted to ask, but he wasn't sure if it was his business or not. He kept his mouth closed as he followed Sam and Robby into the beach club.

As they walked through the building and outside to where the pool was, Vincent was mesmerized. Was this actually how rich people spent their time?

He sat down on a lounge chair, placing his bag next to him. It was like he was on vacation and staying at a resort hotel. He leaned back in the chair, letting the sun shine on him.

"What's going on?" Vincent heard Robby ask Sam.

"It's Aisha," Sam told him. "We haven't spoken since everything that went down at Valley Fest. I feel like we should clear the air, but at the same time, I'm still pissed at them for ruining our performance."

"I say go talk to her," Robby responded. "Worst case, if a fight breaks out, we could record it."

Sam gave him a soft smile. "Who knows, maybe I'll come back with a new Miyagi-Do student."

She propped herself up on the lounge chair before standing and walking away. Robby turned to Vincent.

"So, what's going on inside that head of yours, Shakespeare?" he asked.

Vincent chuckled at the nickname. He remembered the first time he had ever called him that.

"How are you so good at writing poetry?" Robby asked. "You're like a modern day Shakespeare. Maybe I should start calling you that."

"Shakespeare?" Vincent asked. "I haven't heard that in a long time."

Robby sat up. "Yeah? You mean none of the other friends you made called you Shakespeare?"

Vincent shook his head. "I didn't really have any friends. People weren't too interested in befriending the guy who sat by himself and scribbled poetry in a notebook."

"Sounds like their loss," Robby responded. "Have you written anything lately?"

"Yeah," Vincent replied. "Lots of stuff."

"You were always so good at writing," Robby said with a smile. "I'm glad you kept it up."

Vincent nodded. "Yeah. Me too. Maybe I could read some of it to you. You know, like old times."

"I'd like that," Robby smiled at him.

They smiled at each other, lost in their own little world. Until a man approached them, breaking the moment.

"I knew it was you," the man looked directly at Robby. "What did I say would happen if you ever stepped foot in here again? I'm calling the cops."

Vincent glanced at Robby. He had a fearful look on his face. Vincent glanced back and forth between the man and Robby, unsure of what to do. Even more so, he was confused as to what this man was talking about and what it was that Robby did to have him call the police.

"Uh, what's going on here?" Mrs. LaRusso approached them.

The turned around. "Nothing to worry about, Mrs. LaRusso. Just...removing the delinquent from the property."

Vincent's eyebrows furrowed together. Delinquent? His gaze gravitated towards Robby whose eyes were darting back and forth between Vincent and the two adults that stood in front of them.

"Well, this delinquent happens to be our guest," Mrs. LaRusso said.

"Ma'am, I don't think you understand," the man tried to tell her.

Mrs. LaRusso shook her head. "No, I don't think you understand. Robby is our guest. Period."

"My mistake," the man said before he walked away.

Mrs. LaRusso took a seat near the edge of the lounge chair that Robby sat on. "What was that about, Robby?"

Robby sighed. "Before I met you guys, I...I was a different person. Me and my friends did something here that I regret."

"Did you hurt anybody?" Mrs. LaRusso asked.

Robby shook his head. "No, no, no, no. Nothing like that. But that guy's right. Maybe I should go."

"No," Mrs. LaRusso told him. "Now, hey, look...we all make mistakes. It's what we do next that counts, right?"

She tapped Robby's hand, giving him a small smile before she stood up and walked away. Robby turned to look at Vincent.

"I'm sorry," Robby said to him.

"For what?" Vincent asked, a confused look on his face. "Mrs. LaRusso is right. You made mistakes and you said it yourself, you were a different person. Your past doesn't define you."

Robby smiled at him. "Yeah. Yeah, you're right."

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Vincent grabbed his bag from off the ground, standing next to the lounge chair as he waited for Robby and the LaRussos. Mrs. LaRusso walked up to them, sifting through her purse as if she were looking for something.

"Everything okay?" Vincent asked her.

She shook her head. "Have any of you seen my wallet?"

"Wait, you're missing your wallet?" Robby asked.

Vincent turned to him with a raised eyebrow.

"It's gotta be around here somewhere," Mrs. LaRusso said. "Can you just spread out? I'm sure it'll turn up."

"I'll check the beach," Robby responded, starting to walk away. "Maybe someone turned it in to the lifeguard."

He knew definitely knew something. Vincent shuffled his feet on the floor as he caught up to him. Hearing the sound of footsteps behind him, Robby looked over his shoulder to see Vincent following him.

"Why are you following me?" Robby asked him.

"Because I've got a feeling that you know exactly what happened to Mrs. LaRusso's wallet," Vincent told him. "Did you forget that I know when you're lying? It's been years, but your tells haven't changed."

Robby sighed as he walked down the stairs of the pier and ducked under the wooden beam. "I always hated that, you know. It's like a magic power or something."

Robby reached his hand underneath the pier, causing multiple wallets to fall to the sand.

"I knew it," Robby mumbled.

Vincent stared down at the wallets. "How'd you know they were there?"

"My old friends and I used to come here and steal people's wallets. We always hit them in this spot," Robby admitted. "I guess they're back to the same old tricks."

The sound of voices talking above them caused them both to look up. The look on Robby's face confirmed that the voices belonged to his old friends. A sense of panic coursed through Vincent's body. Vincent looked at Robby as if he were asking him what to do.

Robby didn't say anything. He just pulled his phone out of his pocket and propped it up against the stairs. He pushed Vincent underneath the stairs farther.

"Stay hidden and don't say anything," Robby whispered to him.

Vincent nodded his head as the two guys approached them. Vincent listened in on the conversation, watching as Robby prepared to fight them. His eyes widened when a man stepped behind him, hitting him on the back of the head with an oar.

"You think we don't see you back there?" one of the guys asked. "Get out of there, man."

Vincent slowly came out from under the pier. He glanced down at Robby who was holding the back of his head. The guy who hit him lifted Robby off the sand, pulling him into a headlock while the other did the same with Vincent.

"Maybe we need to leave him with something to remember us by," the guy with the longer hair said.

He pulled out a switchblade and clicked it open. Vincent tried to get out of the headlock, but to no avail. He continued to squirm, his eyes widening when Daniel LaRusso swooped down from the pier, knocking the switchblade out of his hand.

"Let them go," Daniel said.

The guy who was holding Vincent back released his grip, stopping him to the ground. "Don't listen to him. Keep holding him back." He pointed to Robby before turning to Daniel. "All right, grandpa. Let's do it."

He swung at Daniel, missing as Daniel ducked. Daniel kicked him in the shin as the guy who had the switchblade came towards him. Daniel grabbed his arm and flung him forward, causing him to slam his head against the wooden beam holding up the stairs. He continued holding his arm, kicking the other guy before flipping his friend to the sand.

With both of Robby's old friends on the ground, the older man released Robby. Vincent crawled over to him, asking him if he was okay. Robby nodded his head and the two turned their heads towards Daniel and the man who were now engaged in a fight. Daniel won the fight with ease, not letting him get a single punch or kick in before he was on the ground.

Vincent and Robby got up from the sand and stood next to Daniel.

"Your grandpa know how to move like that, huh?" Daniel asked before placing his hand on Robby's shoulder and looking at Vincent. "Come on, let's go."

They left the beach, with Robby holding the back of his as Vincent quickly grabbed Robby's phone from off the pier before he followed them.

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"So, is today the day that I finally get to learn karate?" Vincent asked as he sat next to Sam, waiting for class to begin. "Don't get me wrong, going to the beach club was nice and all...but I can't wait to start learning karate."

Sam nodded. "Seeing my dad in action really changed your mind, huh? Here I was thinking that you joined purely for Robby."

Vincent felt his cheeks heat up, and he bashfully looked down at his knees.

"Don't worry," Sam giggled. "I'm just teasing you. I think your crush on him is cute."

"What?" Vincent asked, shaking his head. "I—I don't have a crush on him."

Sam raised an eyebrow at him. "Right. If you say so."

Vincent turned his head away from her as the door to the meditation room was pushed open. Robby and Daniel stepped out, still in the middle of a conversation.

"It's time we be patient," Daniel spoke. "Let those who need us find us. Right?"

Vincent stood up, crossing his arms. He turned his head at the sound of an unfamiliar voice.

"Excuse me? Um, it was unclear if the gate was the front door or if I was supposed to ring the doorbell," a boy with a bandage over his nose said, walking onto the deck. "Is that a koi pond?"

Vincent turned his head in the direction of the pond along with Robby and Sam before turning back to the boy.

"How much does it cost to maintain that?" he asked.

"May I help you?" Daniel asked.

"Uh..." the boy responded. "Yeah. I wanna learn karate."

Daniel's entire face lit up. He turned to his students, a smile on his face. It was as if the universe had been listening in on what he had just said, sending a student to him to prove his point.

"You have come to the right place," Daniel told him.

— EMILIA'S NOTES

i'm so soft for vincent and robby. robby calling vincent vinny is so cute. i'm not ready for the angst.

vincent and demetri are going to be besties.

fun fact: i first got the idea for this story after listening to "that's not how the story goes" from the a series of unfortunate events series