Cobrai Kai don’t get colds/Johnny Lawrence

[Sneesee]

So, it has been awhile since I have written anything to share here. But I binged watched Cobra Kai, and fell in love with Bad Boy Johnny Lawrence all over again. And nothing is more fun to me than torturing the male characters I adore. So, this story doesn’t have a specific time frame or is crucial to any storyline, let’s just say it’s somewhere between the end of the first season and beginning of the 2nd season. There are no spoilers, I don’t think. And no, Danny LaRusso does not make an appearance either. This story is 100% all Johnny.

 

After Miguel warmed the students up, Johnny Lawrence surveyed his class in the dojo.

“Okay class, today we are gonna learn-“ 

He was interrupted by several hacking coughs. Johnny narrowed his eyes at everyone and let out a heavy sigh.

“The hell, who was that?” 

“Sorry sensei,” Hawk croaked.

“What’s the matter Hawk?”

“Got a cold, sensei,” Hawk admitted sheepishly.

Johnny walked over to Hawk, eyeing him.

“Colds are for pussies,” Johnny muttered. “What are you gonna do Hawk? Pack it up and go home, or tough it out? Huh?”

“Tough it out sensei!” Hawk yelled and then stifled another coughing fit. 

“Great,” Johnny whispered as he turned around and headed back to the front of the class. He didn’t have the time, nor the patience to deal with Hawk and his little cold. 

Johnny pressed on with his lesson, using Miguel to demonstrate the new move. The class listened intently and the paired off to practice. Everyone except for Hawk, who stood alone, still coughing.

“No one wants to work with Hawk?” Johnny asked.

Everyone was silent, except for  Hawk, who sneezed softly into his elbow.

“Fine then, ya bunch of pansies. You afraid of Hawk’s little cold? I’ll work with him then. Carry on.”

Hawk tried to appear brave, but Johnny could see him trembling. 

“Don’t worry kid, I’ll take it easy on you, mostly,” he said with a wink. 

“Are you sure you want to work with me sensei? You don’t have to, I can just go.” 

“Yes I’m sure. Besides, Cobrai Kai like me? We never get sick.”

 

Three days later, Johnny questioned his decision making skills. He regretted working with Hawk, and should have sent the kid home after the first cough.

“Hey-ahhhhhh-sooooo!” Johnny sneezed openly, not giving a crap because he was home alone anyway. 

He grabbed a box of tissues from the bathroom and flopped down on his couch. He plucked a tissue out just in time to catch another huge sneeze.

“Ahhh-shooo! Damn it.”

He blew his nose and silently cursed Hawk for bringing his germs into the Cobrai Kai dojo.

Johnny hated being sick as much as he hated losing, maybe a little more.

He’d gone to bed the night before with a scratchy throat, but figured it was from yelling at his students that day. When he woke up and let out a heavy sneeze first thing, he knew he’d caught Hawk’s cold.

Somehow he was going to have to teach class In the afternoon, and hide his symptoms. He wasn’t about to show any kind of weakness in front of his students, no way. 

He got up and searched his cabinets for some medicine, but he had nothing for colds. He couldn’t even remember the last time he had a cold. One thing he did find was a bottle of whiskey. A shot of that could probably kill a few germs. 

After taking a swig right from the bottle, Johnny winced. It burned his tender throat and sinuses, causing his nasal passages to become irritated. He set down the bottle and braced the countertop as he inhaled sharply, and then sneezed forcefully. His nose became completely blocked from the sneeze. He needed more than whiskey to cover up this cold before class. He decided to make a quick run to the mini-mart down the street to pick up some cold medicine.

As he was leaving his apartment, Miquel’s mom was just coming out of her place. 

“Hi Johnny,” she called, waving and smiling.

“Hey Carmen,” he called back, his voice sounding a little hoarse. Quickly he jumped into his Challenger and sped out of the parking lot. He thought he caught a glimpse of Carmen looking a bit confused. He did not want her to see him sick.

At the mini-mart, Johnny stood in front of the sparse section of cold remedies. He had no clue what to get. A harsh coughing fit hit him, earning him several stares from the other customers. Screw them, he thought. Without reading anything, he grabbed several boxes and made his way to the register. As he tossed his purchase on the counter, his nose started to tickle and he was powerless against the oncoming sneeze. 

“Ha-ahhhhh-shoo!” 

He at least shielded that one with his elbow, and sniffled afterwards.

“Under the weather?” the dude asked.

Johnny rolled his eyes and thought, Thanks captain obvious.

“Yeah, something like that,” Johnny mumbled. 

Once he paid for everything, Johnny headed home and locked himself back in his apartment. He had a few hours to try to feel better before heading to the dojo. Ripping open one of the boxes, Johnny used the whiskey to wash down a couple of pills. Then he made his way back to the couch to take a short nap.

 

The sound of someone banging on his door startled him and woke him up. Who the hell is that?

“Who’s there?” He coughed.

“Sensei, it’s Miguel.”

Johnny groaned. He fell asleep and lost track of time. Mixing the medicine with alcohol probably wasn’t a great idea. 

“Are we going to the dojo?”

“Yeah, yeah, kid, definitely. Just give me a few minutes, okay?”

“Uh, okay.” 

Johnny stumbled into the bathroom to have a look. God he looked like crap. The cheap fluorescent lighting did nothing to hide his pale skin, pink nose, and purple circles under his eyes. Maybe he could just blame it on being hungover? Yeah, that might work. 

He grabbed his sunglasses, keys, and another swig of whiskey, and met Miguel at the door.

“Hey sensei, are you okay?”

“Just a little hungover, ya know, headache. I’ll be fine,” he lied. He put his sunglasses on and tossed the keys to Miguel. “You’re driving.”

Miguel stood there, stunned.

“Earth to Miguel? You,” Johnny pointed at him and then made a driving motion with his hands. “Drive.”

Without waiting for Miguel, Johnny got into the passenger’s side of the Challenger and let his head fall back against the headrest. How whole body ached, and he wasn’t sure if he’d be able to pull the act off.

Finally, Miguel slid into the drivers seat and began adjusting everything.

“Today, Miguel.”

“Yes, sensei.”

Miguel drove very carefully at first. Johnny noticed his speed and decided to try and boost Miguel’s confidence a little.

“The car can actually go a lot faster than that.”

Miguel shot him a nervous grin. Johnny shook his pounding head and began rubbing his temples.

“Are you sure you’re okay? I could always run the class today, if you want?”

Well, now that sounded like a great idea.

“We’ll see,” Johnny muttered.

“I have some Advil with me, if you need it for your headache.”

“Thanks.”

When they arrived at the dojo, all of the other students that were waiting outside stared in disbelief. Johnny and Miguel exited the car, and everyone was watching Miguel with wide eyes as he went to unlock the door. Johnny snorted, they were obviously all jealous. 

“Enough with the staring, pansies,” he growled. “Get inside.”

He took off his sunglasses, which was a big mistake. The glare from the sun hit him just right, urging him to sneeze. 

“Hehhh-ahhhh-shit!” 

He sniffled wetly, and noticed that a few of the straggling students were watching him.

“I said, get inside!” 

He hated the nasal quality he could hear in his own voice. The kids started shuffling inside, except for Hawk, who came walking towards Johnny.

“Bless you, sensei.”

Johnny eyed him wearily. At least Hawk seemed to be feeling better, so that was a good sign.

“Are you okay?”

“How about you mind your own damn business, I’m fi-fi-hih-ahhh-shoo! I’m fine!”

Hawk mumbled another blessing and then backed up and hightailed it inside the dojo. Johnny groaned, he wasn’t gonna make it through class. 

He was glad to see that everyone just about ready to start warming up. 

“Miss Robinson, you got the warm up. Miguel, my office, now.”

Miguel followed Johnny into the back office. Johnny sat down and coughed a few times.

“Listen, I’m gonna take you up on the offer to teach class today.”

Miguel’s eyes widened, and a huge smile broke out on his face.

“Do you mean it? I promise I won’t let you down, sensei.”

“I know you won’t.”

Johnny went over the moves he wanted Miguel to teach. Luckily they were moves he’d already taught Miguel. Johnny felt himself fading, and the drugs starting to wear off. Plus he forgot to bring more drugs with him. 

“Okay Miguel, you got this. I know you can do it. I’m just gonna stay in the office and sleep off my, uh, hangover.”

“Yeah, okay, sure, sensei.”

As Miguel started to walk away, Johnny sneezed violently.

“Bless you, sensei. I sure hope you didn’t catch Hawk’s cold,” Miguel said in a sarcastic tone.

“Just go teach the damn class.”

Miguel was thoughtful enough to close the door on his way out. Johnny dropped his head down on the desk, closed his eyes, listened to the sounds of the kids going through their karate moves, and fell back asleep.

 

Johnny awoke with a start, partly because he couldn’t breathe out of his nose, and also because he could hear Miguel talking to someone in a hushed voice.

“Miguel,” he croaked. 

Miguel quickly said goodbye and put his cell phone in his pocket and then turned towards Johnny.

“Yes sensei?”

“Who was that? On the phone?”

“Oh, just my mom. I was asking her what time dinner was and what she was making.” 

Johnny got the feeling he wasn’t being completely honest, but said nothing. His head hurt even more than before, his throat was on fire, and his nose was completely stuffed up. Johnny wanted to go home, finish off the bottle of whiskey, and sleep for three days.

“Want me to drive home?” Miguel offered. Johnny sensed that the kid was eager to show off in front of the other students.

“Yeah, sure.”

As they were leaving, Hawk stopped Johnny just outside the door.

“Sensei, I just wanted to say that my cold didn’t last very long at all, which is good. And that I hope you take care of yourself. That’s all. Bye.” 

Johnny watched him walk away and laughed softly. The kid was alright, even though he did get Johnny sick. 

The ride home was quiet except for the heavy metal music Johnny always listened to. Today it was just at a much lower volume due to his headache. At the apartment complex, Miguel handed the keys back to Johnny, and looked like he wanted to say something, but then decided not to.

“Bye sensei, see you tomorrow?”

“Not if I see you first,” Johnny said, realizing that was a lame old joke. But Miguel laughed so it was worth it.

Once inside his apartment, Johnny sat back down on his couch, blew his nose with some tissues, and then laid down. He didn’t even have enough energy to get up and take more medicine. How pathetic.

He had just started to drift off to sleep again, when he heard someone rapping at the door. It wasn’t loud like when Miguel did it. Johnny didn’t want to get up again.

“Whoever it is, go away.”

“Johnny? It’s me, Carmen.”

Johnny perked up a little. Carmen came over to see him? What could she possibly want?

“Hang on a minute.”

He got up and groaned, every muscle in his body screamed in protest, but he shuffled to the door and opened it.

“Hey, Carmen,” he said, smiling. He noticed she had a brown grocery bag in her arms.

“Hi Johnny, may I come in?”

She asked, but she was already sneaking past him to get inside.

“Sure, come on in,” he laughed, which turned into a coughing fit.

“That doesn’t sound good, Johnny. How long have you been sick?”

He sighed in resignation. He wasn’t able to hide his cold at all.

“Since this morning.”

“Ah, well good thing because I brought all kinds of stuff to help you feel better and they should shorten your cold too.”

While she unpacked the bag, Johnny came up next to her.

“What all did you bring?”

“I made some menudo, it’s good for anything. Kind of like a cure all. Lots of people use it for hangovers.”

He nodded at that. He bet it smelled amazing too, if she made it, not that he could smell it.

“I also brought you some regular chicken soup I made, some more tissues, some orange juice, and tea.”

He frowned at the tea, because he wasn’t a fan. But he was really touched by the fact that she did all of this for him.

“What made you do all of this? For me?” 

He had a feeling the answer was Miguel, that he asked her to help out his sensei.

“When Miguel mentioned you were, under the weather, I just thought I would like to help. You helped Miguel with his confidence, and I just wanted to do something nice for you. Plus I imagined you probably weren’t going to take very good care of yourself.” 

She said it with a grin, and he couldn’t help but smile back at her. And she was right. He sucked at taking care of himself. 

“Well, thank you,” he said. “You didn’t have to do this.”

“I know”

His nose began to act up again, but he wasn’t about to let loose with his normal, exceptionally loud sneeze. He might scare her. This time he was able to muffle it onto his elbow, away from her, because the last thing he wanted to do was get her sick too.

“Salud, Johnny!”

He stared at her, unsure of what she just said.

“It’s like, bless you.”

“Oh okay.”

“You know, you’re kind of cute when you’re sick,” she said, and playfully tapped him on the nose.

The tap created a tickle, which grew in intensity. He drew in a couple of ragged breaths, threw his arm over his nose, and once again sneezed, muffling it as best as he could.

“Haaa-ahhhh-shmpf!”

The sneeze knocked him a little off balance, and he staggered backwards a few feet.

“Whoa.”

“Bless! Johnny are you okay?”

“Just a little dizzy, I guess.”

“Go, sit down on the couch. I’ll bring you some menudo and some tea.”

After he sat down, he said, “Carmen?”

“Yeah Johnny?”

“Could you please spike the tea with some of that whiskey?”

She laughed.

“Sure Johnny.”

He made himself comfortable while she busied herself in his kitchen. He felt a little guilty, letting her do so much for him, but it was mostly her idea, plus he didn’t have the energy to get up and help anyway.

She brought everything out, and set it on the coffee table in front of him. He wanted to invite her to sit and stay with him, but he knew that wasn’t a good idea. She should go before she was exposed any longer.

“Carmen, I just want to say...” he started, but then wasn’t sure what he wanted to say. “What I mean is...”

She kept smiling at him, and he was just dumbstruck at how pretty she was and how he didn’t deserve her kindness. 

“Thanks, I guess is what I’m trying to say.”

Then he yanked a tissue out of the box, and held it in front of his face as he felt another sneeze building. He was really self-conscious, knowing that Carmen was watching him do the one thing that no one could truly control, the ultimate form of weakness. 

“Ahhhhh-shoo!”

“Salud. And goodnight Johnny. You eat this up and drink your special tea. Take some medicine and get some sleep. I’ll come check on you in the morning, if that’s ok?”

The look she was giving him, there was no way he could say no to her. 

“Yeah, ok. Thanks again.”

“Anytime Johnny.”

She left his apartment. He still didn’t know what he did to deserve it, but he was so glad she came over. He planned on following her orders, and couldn’t wait to see her the next day. And when he was feeling better, he thought he might just ask her out to dinner, as a thank you. 

 

The End

 

Edited September 18, 2020 by Sneesee