Ghostkickers

Invisible String - PART 2

A/N: Part 2! Tag list is at the end- please let me know if you'd like to be added!

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Standing in front of your full length mirror, you began questioning everything. You felt stupid all dressed up- there were few pieces in your wardrobe even fit to journey to the Upper East Side. The dress was cute enough, but you were worried it would still look too casual and all eyes would be on you. Fuck, you had no idea how to dress for a place that seemed so fancy. You pulled up FaceTime to quickly call the most fashionable person you knew.

The call rang only twice before Juan’s half made-up face popped on the screen. “Please don’t tell me you’re backing out.”

“I’m not backing out,” you huffed. “But I feel like I look weird. Can you tell me if I look weird?” You flipped the camera so Juan could have the same view of you in the full length mirror.

“Baby, you look fabulous! What are you talking about?” Juan said, propping his phone up to glue an eyelash on.

“We’re meeting at this fancy place and it turns out I have zero fancy clothes.” You pulled at the hem of your dress. “I just don’t want him to think…I don’t know what I don’t want him to think. He’s hot and I wanna be hot too.”

Juan laughed. “You’re too fucking much.” He turned his attention back to the screen. “You look amazing. You look hot and sexy and I’d fuck you if I fucked women.”

“Who said anything about fucking?”

“Don’t play that game with me, sis. I know you’re thinking about fucking.” Ok, maybe he was on to something. “Just take a deep breath. You know I’d tell you if you looked stupid.”

“Yeah, I do,” you laughed. “That’s why I called you and not Michael.”

“He’s too sweet for his own good.” Juan was shaking his head, but he was still doing that little beam he did whenever Michael’s name came up. “Listen babe, I gotta finish getting ready, but I love you and you’ll be just fine.”

“Thank you. Knock 'em dead, Anna May!”

“I always do!”

With a sigh, you decided to just roll with it; it wasn’t like you had another viable option anyways. And Juan was right- it was really nothing to get worked up over. You mused your hair once more and grabbed your bag, ready to catch the 1 and across town.

Bar Pleiades, to your horror, was situated kitty corner to a Christian Louboutin store and flanked by upscale galleries you could only dream of entering. Suddenly, the autumn air seemed biting as you took in your surroundings. This was a mistake. Coming here was a mistake and everyone knew you did not belong up here among the Manhattan elite. But it would have been rude to ghost Logan and certainly a waste of a Metrocard swipe. You took a deep breath and steeled your nerves, pulling open the glass door.

The lounge was fairly well lit, but the black of the walls and the night sky gave it a distinctly intimate feel. There was some kind of ambient music playing, peppered with the conversations of the tables around you. You weren’t sure if Logan was even there yet, but just as you went to pull out your phone, a dark head of hair at the bar caught your eye.

He was tall and lean, all cut angles under a visibly expensive suit. His long fingers curled around the rocks glass in front of him, knuckles prominent, were making your brain short circuit. You finally followed the length of his neck up to a sharp jaw lined with a short beard, his dark hair pushed back off his face and mouth turned up in a smile as he chatted with the bartender. Fuck, Logan was quite possibly the most handsome man you’d ever had the pleasure of laying eyes on.

Like he could feel your gaze on him, he turned toward the door and his dark eyes locked with yours. They crinkled at the corners in amusement as his smile somehow became even more brilliant. You froze in place, only able to stare while he beckoned you over with a single finger. Your brain turned off and complied with his silent command automatically. As you approached, he stood up straight and now you could see clearly the mischief playing in his eyes.

“You’re even more gorgeous in person,” Logan mused, placing a polite kiss hello on your cheek.

“I could say the same,” you said, your voice much smaller than you anticipated.

“Glad you think so. I did try and dress up for you tonight,” he said as he smoothed over the lapels of his jacket. “I reserved a booth for us.” He nodded his head toward a back corner and motioned for you to step in front of him. Logan’s hand found the small of your back and he gently guided you toward the sunken-in white leather booth. His touch was grounding and you could feel his fingers flex against your spine. The sensation was so distracting that you almost ran right into the edge of your table. You slid in until you were nestled in the corner and Logan was quick to join you, pushing himself as close to you as possible without directly making contact…yet.

“Good evening,” a pretty, young waiter cut in, her blonde ponytail swinging slowly to a stop. “What can I bring for you tonight, Mr. Delos?” she asked. She knew him by name. Was he just that much of a regular? Because holy shit, how could anyone afford to be a regular here? Or was she a past fling, girlfriend, what have you?

“You like tequila?” Logan asked you quietly- all you could do was nod. “Why don’t you just bring a bottle of Casamigos Anejo and a couple lime wedges?” he asked with a charming smile. Maybe that was just the way he looked at everyone. She walked away and his attention was back on you.

“Are you a regular here or is she a...friend of yours?” you asked, resting your chin in your palm.

“A regular,” Logan laughed. “My townhouse is only a couple blocks from here, so I stop in on my way home from work a couple times a week.” A couple blocks from here...Jesus, you were in the heart of the most expensive neighborhood in Manhattan. Who was this guy and just how loaded was he?

“It’s a nice spot,” you said, taking a look around the room. “A little rich for my blood, but it’s kind of a fun change of pace,” you added with a smile.

“So, I’ve gathered that you do not live, nor are you frequently in, the Upper East Side. Where do you call home?” The waitress returned with the bottle and glasses, setting them down silently as not to interrupt.

“I’m in Hell’s Kitchen,” you said before filling the glasses left on the table. “It’s just me and my fire escape. I like it.” Logan grabbed his glass and raised it to you, waiting for you to join him in a toast.

“To a beautiful evening with a beautiful woman,” Logan all but purred, his smile disarming.

“Jesus, that’s corny,” you laughed, throwing back the shot and biting into a lime. Logan had already finished his shot and his gaze was fixed on your lips puckered around the fruit; the attention made heat rise in your cheeks.

“But darling, it’s also true.” He was effortlessly charming. Where another man would have sounded gross and totally put on, but something about Logan made you feel like he really meant it. “I’m very happy you agreed to meet me. Next time, we can do it on your home turf.”

“Next time, huh?” you laughed. “You sure you want to slum it downtown with the commoners like me?” you teased. Thankfully, Logan chuckled along and took your little joke the right way, not getting immediately offended.

“I’ve been known to haunt the West Village from time to time,” he winked. Interesting he would choose to reference the West Village, unless...“I am a man of many interests.”

“Seems we have that in common, then.”

“Is that so?” he asked, a wide smile on his face. “Do you have a preference for guys or girls at all?”

“Not particularly,” you said. “My type is hot and interesting.”

“A woman after my own heart,” Logan cooed, his eyes bright and delighted. Fuck, he was charming without even trying. You had to remind yourself to take a deep breath and settle your heart rate. “Well, I check both of those boxes. So, that takes a huge weight off my shoulders.”

“Oh my god,” you laughed. “I don’t think you need me to make yourself feel better.”

“Maybe. But I like it better when you say it.”

“You’re lucky you’re hot and interesting,” you mumbled, trying to fight the grin off your face. Logan looked smug, as if to say told you so, but somehow the expression didn’t annoy you like it would on most other people.

“Tell me what you do for work,” Logan said, his head tilting to look at you closer.

“I’m a tattoo artist at a shop in Chelsea,” you smiled. You were kind of that dork who loved talking about work. “I’ve worked at a couple shops in the city, but I think I’ve finally found the proverbial ‘one’.”

“I have been wondering about your tattoos,” Logan grinned. “Being an artist helps some pieces snap into place.”

“How about you? What do you do?” you asked before pouring another drink, this time just to sip. Logan looked slightly confused at the question- almost as if you should have already known. But he quickly shook the expression off his face and looked almost relieved.

“I’m the CEO of a tech company,” he answered simply. The statement implied that he didn’t want to talk much more about it.

“That sounds interesting,” you nodded, feeling a little awkward. You thought asking about work was a normal small talk topic, shit, he had just asked you the same thing! “I don’t know much about tech. I can save drawings on my iPad and that’s about it,” you chuckled quietly.

“Trust me, there are much more interesting things in the world than running a tech company,” Logan laughed off. “Tell me more about tattooing- what got you into it?”

“I always liked drawing. Art in general,” you shrugged. “I originally moved to New York because I got a full ride to NYU and was going to get my BFA.” Logan arched his eyebrow at this, leaning back into the booth. “I got through my sophomore year and the summer before junior year, I got my first tattoo done by another person and just kinda fell in love with the whole experience. I loved the atmosphere and my artist and the idea of making this, this permanent art that people could have forever.” You realized you were rambling and cut yourself off, but Logan seemed engrossed and nodded for you to continue. “My artist later offered me an apprenticeship, so I did that while I was in school. Then I had some uh,” you paused, scratching at the back of your neck, “Some personal stuff came up that winter. So, I dropped out and started working at the shop full time and that was that.”

Logan’s eyes were soft as watched you, clearly curious but unwilling to get into anything too heavy on a first date. “I’m sorry to hear that. But, I’m glad you seem to have found something you really enjoy doing,” he said with a smile. “I’d love to see your work sometime.”

“You could always come down to the shop and go through my portfolio.”

“I wouldn’t stick out like a sore thumb?” he asked, gesturing to himself broadly.

“We get all kinds of people coming through our doors. Some of my returning clients you would never expect to be covered,” you shrugged. “A lot of people work off of their Mark and build from there.”

“That makes sense,” Logan nodded. “Do you have one?”

You nodded. “I do. You?”

Logan shook his head, knocking back the last of his drink. Well, that answered that. “My sister is convinced I should, but…” he trailed off and shrugged, “What are you gonna do?” It was silly, really, the twinge of disappointment you felt knowing Logan didn’t have a Mark. It’s not that you went into every date thinking maybe this time, but something about Logan seemed different. Maybe that was just wishful thinking.

“Doesn’t mean you can’t still have fun,” you smirked, batting your eyelashes at Logan.

“You said it, sweetheart,” he grinned back, scooting a little closer so he was pressed against you. He draped his arm over the back of the booth and let his fingers toy with the ends of your hair.

——-

Over the evening, Logan and you swapped stories and jokes, getting to know each other better. It seemed bizarre that this random man behind a wrong number was this handsome, charming, sassy, sexy man. The guy from the bar whose number you were supposed to text was a distant memory.

You’d gone through half the bottle of tequila and found yourself giggling like a schoolgirl at all of Logan’s jokes. He very clearly loved the attention and worked hard to amuse you. His arm had not subtly moved from draped on the booth to resting securely around your shoulders, his thumb rubbing along your bare shoulder. You wished the bar was just a touch seedier, had just a little more grime so you could pull Logan in and make out with him shamelessly and not feel like a total spectacle. Logan had a look in his eyes that he very much felt the same way.

“I feel like we haven’t addressed the elephant in the room yet.” Logan pulled you in just a fraction closer.

“Oh?”

“Mhmm. Why did I end up with a scandalous picture of you last night?” he asked, lips curved up in a smirk.

“Ugh, god. Must you remind me?” you groaned.

“Do I have competition? Who are they?” he teased and you shoved at his shoulder.

“For your information, I met someone at the bar last night and he gave me his number. Which I botched,” you laughed. “He also gave me a kiss goodnight. So…” you trailed off, not so subtly looking down at Logan’s lips.

“So, I do have competition,” he mused before shrugging, looking smug as ever. “I’ll just have to make sure I win.”

“You’re winning so far,” you nodded, letting your head tilt forward and your nose run along his. Logan’s breath was sweet from the tequila and your body was screaming to just fucking kiss him. But you pulled back, letting Logan catch himself off balance and stare at you with a new fire in his eyes.

“Would you like to take a walk with me?” You just nodded back, much to his delight. “Wonderful.” Logan threw a couple hundreds on the table like it was nothing. Nothing at all. For you, it was equal to a palm sized tattoo. But Logan clearly didn’t think anything of it. It was clearly way more than the bottle of tequila was worth, so you wagered he just made that waiter’s entire week. It felt surreal to see that kind of money tossed around; maybe Logan was more important of a tech guy than you thought.

You looped your arm around Logan’s and stepped out into the autumn night. The cool air nipped at your exposed skin, at least this was the excuse you gave yourself for clinging close to his body. He didn’t seem to mind all that much.

It had been years since you’d been in Central Park at night. While you loved it during the day, you’d heard enough stories about all the terrifying things that have happened to women alone at night that you tended to stick to daylight only. But Logan was making you laugh and keeping you close. It felt natural; you had to keep reminding yourself not to get swept up in the fantasy he was delivering. But he made it so hard not to. You stopped on a bridge overlooking the pond on the edge of the park, Logan pressed to your side as you looked over the still water.

“I’ve had a lot of fun tonight. Thank you, Logan,” you said, smiling over at him.

“The pleasure is all mine.” He moved behind you, his arms bracketing your body. You turned in his grasp, looking up at his face half illuminated by the lamp post behind him. Fuck, just when you thought you had a handle on yourself, Logan would find a way to make your breath catch again. “Now, what was it you said back at the bar? That this other dude kissed you last night?”

You managed to nod dumbly.

Logan just made an appraising noise and took his time looking you over head to toe. His gaze made you feel hot all over, something deep inside you coiling tight. After what felt like an eternity under his stare, Logan leaned in and mimicked the move you placed on him back at the bar, smirking as he nudged your nose with his. You were so close to breathing out please, regardless of how desperate you would sound.

But Logan was merciful and pressed his lips purposefully to yours. That feeling in your chest burst as you sighed into his kiss, wrapping your arms over his shoulders and burying your fingers in the dark hair at the nape of his neck. Logan pulled you closer to him by the waist, a low hum of approval reverberating in his throat. You suddenly felt like you had to be closer to him, that close wasn’t close enough- it was a feeling you’d never experienced before. His long fingers gripped your hips as he deepened the kiss; his scent was intoxicating and you couldn’t help clawing at his shoulders.

When he finally pulled back for a breath and rested his forehead against yours, you were panting hard, chest rising and falling faster than it had in a long time.

“Fuck,” he half laughed.

“Yeah.”

“Care to have one more drink at my place?” he asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Logan,” you tutted, but smiled. “I’m not stupid.”

“Never thought you were, knew you’d be smart enough to read between the lines,” he grinned.

You considered the offer for a moment. You wanted to- everything inside you wanted to follow Logan home and have him fuck you until you couldn’t see straight. But you didn’t want him to hurt you, and you knew you were already letting yourself get carried away. “Maybe next time.”

“I really fucking hope so,” he said. Logan leaned in and kissed you softly once more. “Let me call you a car.”

“I can just take the train.”

“Absolutely not. It’s late and you’re alone and I have a driver,” he said matter-of-factly. “Just let me do this.”

You nodded. “Ok.”

By the time you made it out of the park and back to the sidewalk, a shiny black Mercedes was pulled up to the curb. Logan opened the back door for you and took your hand in his. “Don’t be a stranger,” he smiled. Your only response was to pull him in by the back of his neck and kiss him long and hard. You could feel the smile on his lips as he returned the kiss with the same fury. There was a small pop as you parted from him and slid into the back seat.

“Night, Logan.”

“Goodnight, darling.”

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TAGGED: @abroadcastofthemind @adepressedstudentslife @theshadowkingsqueen

Park Sora - June 10, 2021 Set

Take Me Back to the Start

by indecisivebehaviors

His plan is simple: get his son to like him again, make sure Miguel doesn’t get hurt, keep his kids from getting into too much trouble and not fuck up for once.

All he has to do is stay the hell away from LaRusso this time, and everything would be fine.

Somehow, that turns out to be a lot harder than he thought.

or; Johnny wakes up back in 2018 with a wicked hangover and decides to not fuck up for once.

Words: 725, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English

Fandoms: Cobra Kai (Web Series)

Rating: Mature

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: Multi

Characters: Johnny Lawrence, Robby Keene, Miguel Diaz (Cobra Kai), Eli “Hawk” Moskowitz, Demetri (Cobra Kai), Aisha Robinson, Samantha LaRusso, Anthony LaRusso, Daniel LaRusso, Amanda LaRusso, Carmen Diaz (Cobra Kai), Rosa Diaz (Cobra Kai), Louie LaRusso Jr., Anoush Norouzi, Lucille LaRusso, Bobby Brown (Karate Kid), Tommy (Karate Kid), Jimmy (Karate Kid)

Relationships: Robby Keene & Johnny Lawrence, Miguel Diaz & Johnny Lawrence, Background Amanda LaRusso/Daniel LaRusso, Daniel LaRusso/Johnny Lawrence, Minor or Background Relationship(s)

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Time Travel Fix-It, Johnny Lawrence Doing His Best, Found family bonding, Slow Burn, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, kind of, Canon Technically, But only in Johnny’s head, come for the bonding and stay for the eventual romance, when i say slow burn i really mean it, canon compliant through S2, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Unreliable Narrator

source https://archiveofourown.org/works/33853873

All That's Left

by high_emerald_clouds

Decades-old feuds and plans of revenge just go hand in hand with sensei LaRusso and sensei Lawrence–but time travel? That’s new.

Words: 3773, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English

Fandoms: Cobra Kai (Web Series), Karate Kid (Movies)

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence

Categories: F/M, Gen, M/M

Characters: Daniel LaRusso, Johnny Lawrence, Samantha LaRusso, Miguel Diaz (Cobra Kai), Robby Keene, Mr. Miyagi (Karate Kid), John Kreese, Terry Silver, Lucille LaRusso

Relationships: Daniel LaRusso/Johnny Lawrence

Additional Tags: Time Travel, Science Fiction, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, terry silver is a cartoon villain with cartoon villain schemes, Dialogue Heavy, Past Daniel LaRusso/Amanda LaRusso - Freeform, eventual daniel larusso/johnny lawrence

source https://archiveofourown.org/works/32873692

Go Hard or Go Home

by BackinBlack_80

Between his bum knee and his recent divorce, Daniel LaRusso is feeling old and over the hill. So, imagine his surprise when, after a referral to the best physical therapist in the Valley, it’s meeting the asshole who bullied him in high school that makes Daniel realise just how much life he still has in him.

Words: 2513, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Fandoms: Cobra Kai (Web Series), Karate Kid (Movies)

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: M/M

Characters: Johnny Lawrence, Daniel LaRusso, Amanda LaRusso, Bobby Brown (Karate Kid), Sid Weinberg, Lynn (Cobra Kai), Louie LaRusso Jr., Original Characters

Relationships: Daniel LaRusso/Johnny Lawrence

Additional Tags: Slow Burn, Angst, Smut, Alcoholism, Gym Sex, workout kink, Massages, Coming Out, Bisexuality, internalised biphobia, Happy Ending

source https://archiveofourown.org/works/35026624

Bright Eyes and Bushy Tails (2/6) - M

But, he reminded himself, Daniel was a professional. Maybe these guys from high school thought he couldn’t do his job and play the part. Daniel came prepared to every party he hosted, had his personality turned on and up to 10 from the moment he approached the table. Nothing and no one was going to stop him from milking every single one of them for all they were worth.

Especially Johnny, seeing as Daniel was sitting in his lap. Because he was a client, and that was all. Totally.

Park Sora - May 10, 2021 2nd Set

Me? Updating my long fic after ages? More likely than you think!

The one where Johnny and Daniel visit Bobby during his sermon together and Johnny reconciles with Miguel.

And other stuff happens…