─────── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───────
──EPISODE THREE

                "YOU HAVE NO IDEA how hot that bikini looks on you, babe," Hawk smirked, his cold hands resting on his girlfriend's waist, "It's insane, you look incredible."

Élodie scoffed, turning to kiss him, "You're such a boy," she rolled her eyes and he shook his head, "Hey, I'm just trying to appreciate my gorgeous girlfriend."

"And we're just trying to play volleyball without being violently sick at you two eating eachothers faces off, so if you don't mind," Demetri huffed, brows furrowed at the PDA before him, "Mulligan, send it back."

"There's no mulligans in volleyball," Hawk deadpanned, before swivelling Élodie round and picking her up to kiss her.

She was enjoying the fact he seemed to be so desperate to flaunt their relationship, particularly as he didn't seem afraid of PDA right now.

"Says you," Demetri replied, and Élodie laughed, "C'mon, water break, you morons."

"Which translates directly into 'Elidie' language as makeout break, right?" Demetri grimaced, and Élodie couldn't help but giggle at their ship name, "Maybe," she said, dragging the word out as Eli picked her up fully so that her legs wrapped around his torso.

Demetri picked up a towel from the net to dry himself, and two girls wandering past seemed to take notice, "Cobra Kai? You guys won that karate tournament, right?"

Élodie pulled away from kissing her boyfriend for a moment to watch the exchange as Demetri awkwardly replied, "The All Valley... The Rumble in Reseda? Yes, uh, we, uh... We certainly did."

"Cool," the two girls giggled, clearly impressed, and Élodie watched Eli roll his eyes.

"We're gonna go for a swim, but maybe play with you later?" one of the girls asked, and Élodie could see the happiness on Demetri's face as he formulated his (albeit terrible) reply, "Most def. Uh, that means most definitely."

The girls nodded with a giggle, walking off as Demetri turned to his friends and Élodie hopped away from her boyfriend to teasingly nudge Demetri's shoulder, "Look at you, player!"

Eli huffed, "It'd be nice if you actually earned the Cobra Kai cred you're so happy to take."

"Baby you were literally disqualified from the tournament," Élodie joked, but she realised quickly that it didn't land well and Eli was pissed off, "Sorry... Not that you didn't kick ass," she winked, kissing him quickly on the corner of his mouth.

"When are you ever gonna sign up?" Eli asked, his attention back on Demetri who just shrugged, "I don't know. I'm kind of enjoying the gain without the pain."

"At risk of Eli going crazy... You could always join Miyagi-Do, 'Metri. It might be a little more... your energy, less aggressive." Élodie shrugged.

Eli didn't say anything, and Demetri knew better than to continue the conversation, so he was lucky when Miguel came wandering over.

"Hawk," he greeted, before swallowing hard as he lost his breath for a moment when he saw Élodie, and how Hawk's hands sat low on her waist, "Hey, uh, El."

"No more of this. Look, it's a beautiful day out. The beach is packed with babes," Eli's hand hung loosely around Élodie's waist and she was acutely aware of how closely trained on their movements Miguel was, "No more sulking about Sam."

"Dude, I love Sam to pieces but honestly the sooner you try to move on, the better," Élodie smiled, and Miguel could tell that her words weren't about Sam.

He knew she was right, and didn't want to continue to risk losing their friendship because of his pining.

"I'm not sulking about Sam. It's about Sensei," he replied, stone-faced. The couple looked at him confused, "Is this about his rap sheet? My parents read it online. I think it makes him more badass," Eli shrugged, and Élodie rolled her eyes, "Of course you do baby."

"It's about him and Robby Keene."

Élodie eyed him confusedly as he folded his arms across his chest, "I think Robby Keene is Sensei's son..."

———

Élodie stood meekly beside the boys in the Cobra Kai dojo as they intensely discussed the debacle about Robby being Johnny's son.

Élodie had been forced to endure her boyfriend tirelessly researching online.

"So, I did a deep-dive online, and you were right. Sensei is definitely Keene's father," Eli told Miguel, who nodded, "I just don't understand why he wouldn't tell us."

"I don't know, but I know Robby and him don't have a very good relationship," Élodie shrugged, "Robby's always lived with his mom... he hardly even mentioned his dad when we were dating."

She knew Eli hated even thinking about Élodie and Robby together but he was too engrossed in the issue at hand to do more than curling his hand a little more around her frame.

"It explains why he's giving us shit for kicking Keene's ass at the tournament."

"Show no mercy, unless it's his son."

"Then we gotta be pussies," Eli grunted, and Élodie shook her head, "Oh my god you're like a child who's learned a new word and won't stop saying it. Nothing about showing mercy makes you a pussy."

Neither Eli or Miguel looked impressed, but she didn't care, continuing to snap at them, "This is my whole issue with the dojo. This 'don't be a pussy' mindset reeks of weird toxic masculinity... You're not a pussy for not being desperate to look big and strong all the time."

"You guys, have you seen the commercial?" Aisha interrupted before things could get too tense, "Sam's dad started his own dojo and he disses Cobra Kai. I can't believe you have anything to do with them, Élodie."

"Because at Miyagi-Do, it's not about the money. It's about the karate," Élodie heard, fighting off a smile, "No mercy, right boys?" she smirked, "I've gotta get to training. I'll call you later, babe."

She kissed Eli quickly before spinning on her heel to leave the dojo with a spring in her step.

If they wanted to be petty, she could be petty too.

———

"I can't believe people would rather join Cobra Kai," Sam huffed as she watched their new recruits retreat from the dojo, "How can anyone have any respect for them when they're such assholes. Sorry, El."

Élodie shrugged, "You're not wrong. I mean Eli's my boyfriend but... Eli and Hawk are different people, and when he's with them he becomes less my Eli."

"Does that not worry you?" Robby asked, concern etched on his features. He cared about her too much to be complicit with letting her worry about her relationship, "If he cares about you he won't let Cobra Kai change him."

Élodie debated her answer for a moment.

"It scares me, but when we're together he can be so much like his old self," she sighed sadly, "We'll see I guess. Karate seems more hassle than it's worth at the moment."

Mr LaRusso reappeared now, "We're putting on a demo at Valley Fest, so no more of that negativity, Miss Marshall," he half-smiled, a reassuring hand on her shoulder, "We've got this, okay?"

Great, she thought, more drama with Cobra Kai was most certainly impending.

———

"What was earlier all about, El?"

Élodie swallowed hard, the voice of her boyfriend sending chills down her spine as she turned to face him, nerves clear on her face.

"Eli—,"

"You said you didn't want the karate thing to get between us, but you're helping stir the pot," he grumbled, but something in his expression told her he was hiding something from her, "You're putting on a demonstration for Miyagi-Do later too?"

She nodded shyly, "You heard, then? You're doing what you can to help your dojo, I'm just doing what I can to help mine. We can spend some time together at Valley Fest before then too..."

He gulped, "Sure we can, El."

She shook her head, "Eli this doesn't have to be an issue. We're trying to recruit students, that's all."

He stepped closer, cupping her face in his cold palms. He stared intently into her eyes, as if searching for an answer to some unknown question.

He almost seemed as though he was going to apologise, but he said nothing.

"What?" Élodie looked away, his intense gaze making her nervous.

"Nevermind. I'll pick you up for Valley Fest, so we get a bit of time together I guess," his expression was almost unreadable, as if he was hiding something from her.

"Okay," she replied quietly, "I've gotta go prepare but I'll look forward to it."

———

Élodie and Eli had been wandering Valley Fest for almost an hour, going on rides and playing games together as if none of the drama they'd been experiencing even existed.

The dichotomy between Eli in Cobra Kai mode and when they were alone baffled Élodie, but she was enjoying the evening anyway.

She had to go and get ready for the demo shortly, so they were trying one last game before they'd part ways for a short while.

"Please?" she begged, her best puppy-dog eyes on show as she tried to convince him to play a ring toss game, for which the prize was a giant cuddly husky, "Look at its little face!"

Eli smiled adoringly, knowing that she wasn't going to give in and that it would make her happy, so he sighed jokingly and agreed, "C'mon then princess."

She grinned, kissing his cheek as he got ready to ring-toss his way to appeasing her desperation for the cuddly toy, "You got this baby."

Five minutes and two attempts later, Eli just about managed to win the teddy and Elodie was ecstatic, pulling the toy to her chest and grinning broadly at her boyfriend, "He's so cute! Look at him."

Eli shook his head with a small laugh, heart swelling at how excited she was, "He?"

"Yeah," she nodded in confirmation, "And his name is Anakin," she watched his reaction to see if he would understand why.

"You're using our childhood breakup to inspire his name, eh?" he pulled a face, and Élodie pulled him closer by the neck to kiss him, crushing Anakin slightly between their chests, "Shut up. It's a do over, since we couldn't share that toy we can share him. Respect our son please Moskowitz!"

Eli went to ridicule her teasingly, "God you're so dorky sometimes, I love you."

Élodie's eyes glistened, her whole face lighting up at his words, "You... you do?"

"Shit I'm sorry... I shouldn't have just dropped that on you, princess," he looked down, the look on his face reminding her of pre-Hawk Eli and sending her heart racing even faster, "No Eli, I love you too. I do..."

She'd not contemplated that until now, too much on her mind to even ponder if she loved him. But it felt right to say, and she was certain of it after the hour of fun they'd spent just the two of them.

She was on cloud nine.

"I love you, Hawk," she beamed, pulling him in for a deep but somewhat brief kiss, utterly elated. Maybe she'd been wrong about everything. Maybe he was still the boy she'd first fallen for, just masked slightly by the persona he was confident in.

Eli went to make a joke but refrained, simply kissing her again, feeling all of a sudden all the more guilty for what was about to happen.

———

"All right, all right, all right! Coming up next, do I have a treat for you... Please direct your attention to the LaRusso Auto Group for a presentation from Miyagi-Do Karate."

Élodie felt herself suddenly become enveloped with nerves, her chest heaving as she realised she was about to go out there in front of so many people.

She squeezed her newly acquired toy tightly, hoping to calm down as she thought about Eli. She placed the toy down just backstage, drawing in a breath so deep she was certain she'd consumed all of the oxygen it was possible to consume.

She stepped onto the stage, trying to calm her nerves as her eyes met the kind smile of Moon and Demetri in the audience. Her confidence faltered when she couldn't spot her boyfriend, but she tried not to let this worry her.

Perhaps he'd just gotten there late and was at the back, or something.

She performed perfectly, well in-sync with Robby, Sam and Mr LaRusso.

She felt proud for not letting her Sensei down, but moreover was relieved that she'd not messed up despite the anxiety coursing so feverishly through her veins.

She stopped, breathing heavy as Mr LaRusso smiled out at the crowd, "And now, time
for the grand finale!"

But just as he wheeled out the ice for the grand finale, the demonstration was interrupted by something that only sunk Élodie's heart.

"Cobra Kai! Cobra Kai! Cobra Kai! Cobra Kai!"

Out ran the Cobra Kai students in two lines, Eli right at the front with a stony and yet slightly guilty expression, drawing attention away from the Miyagi-Do demonstration.

"What the hell is going on here?" Daniel asked as the crowd cheered for the Cobra Kais. They stormed onto the stage nearest, chanting and demonstrating their own karate skills with their usual aggression.

Élodie's heart was in her throat, watching her boyfriend once again prioritise Cobra Kai over her. She'd told him this wasn't about competition, and yet he was front and centre in humiliating her and her dojo just because he thought he was above everyone now.

"Cobras, show them what real karate looks like!" Johnny shouted, and they all complied, Eli's eyes not meeting Élodie's once during the routine.

Well, not at first whilst showing off was his only concern.

Pulling Demetri on stage, he performed an incredible kick to a board that would've otherwise left Élodie dumbstruck.

But as his eyes finally met hers as he grinned at his achievement, the bitter taste of his betrayal was all that lingered at the forefront of her mouth.

His eyes seemed to plead with her for forgiveness even as the smug smile graced his face, but she couldn't bare to look at him any longer, storming away from Valley Fest altogether, leaving behind both her boyfriend and the stupid token of their relationship she regretted ever begging him to win for her.

She was right; Cobra Kai would always come first. And she wasn't going to let herself be second best.

─────── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───────
AUTHOR'S NOTE !
ok a LOT just happened but ... i hope u enjoyed
even tho this broke my heart, i ship eli and élodie
too much for my own good as the writer lmao

thank u for all the feedback recently !!! promise
there'll be more élodie & miguel content soon,
aswell as more drama, cos i miss their friendship & writing their interactions hahahah !!