#and that's how daniel ends up joining terry for private lessons...

[ziltoidcoffee]

if terry and daniel got stuck in an elevator together how long would it take before they're making out in the corner

(Sorry I sat on this so long, anon! I was on vacation then went through some stuff. To answer this, I wrote a bit of a drabble. I’m imagining this as a missing scene some time in late season 4 after they’ve already met again! <3 Thank you!!)

Daniel is visibly seething when Terry shows up at the karate board meeting.

It’s not Terry thought his former student would be happy to see him, not after their tense reunion at Miyagi-do. But with Cobra Kai still in the tournament, Terry has every right to attend the meeting. Daniel’s just lucky John didn’t decide to join him. His co-sensei would normally go, but he wanted to give extra lessons to Keene. 

Instead, he gets what feels like a private show of Daniel’s inner cobra struggling to escape. It’s particularly evident when he stands up and exits the room, Daniels’s shoulders carrying more tension than Terry ever thought possible. He follows after into the hallway and watches the line of tension in Daniel’s back while he walks. When he stops at the elevator and pushes the button, he waits for the doors to open, his foot tapping like an angry rabbit. Terry can’t help but smile and is caught in the act as Daniel glances back.

“Are you stalking me now?” Daniel snaps, and his glare is meant to strike fear but does nothing but leave Terry breathless with want.

He does manage to answer after a moment. “Why are you so worried?” Terry inquiries, tilting his head to the side.

Daniel’s mouth twitches, and if he were an animal, he would likely bite. But he rolls his eyes and turns back to watch the doors come open. Terry follows him into the elevator, standing near the buttons, and his former student moves to the farthest corner away, watching him intently. “Floor?” he asks politely and hits the ground level for himself.

“The same,” he mutters and stares forward to avoid eye contact.

Terry can feel himself smirking while the doors close them inside. He counts three seconds before Daniel speaks again. “It’s pathetic that someone at your age has nothing better to do than torture a bunch of teenagers so you and your army buddy relive the glory days when. Shouldn’t you be lounging on some beach waiting for the end instead of teaching karate in some strip mall in Reseda?”

His words are meant to hurt, but Terry is only amused. He knew this would come up eventually. “Does it bother you?” he asks, turning his head to find dark, brown eyes staring back.

“Obviously!” Daniel shouts back, throwing his arms in the air. His voice is rising into nearly a shout, so loud the ding of the elevator is drowned out. “Who wouldn’t be upset by some geriatric psycho messing with the minds of innocent kids?” 

“That’s not what I meant, Danny,” Terry chuckles, stepping closer. Daniel glances down then back up to glare at him. “Does it bother you….that I didn’t come back…for you?”

Daniel’s face darkens instantly. “What?” he scoffs then comes forward, close enough that his swinging hands almost hit Terry in the face. “You’re sick in the head! As if I’d want anything to do with you again…ever!”

Those doe-like eyes are electric, sparking adrenaline and lighting Terry’s blood on fire. He had no idea how much he missed this between them until now. So many years were wasted that he would never get back. His lips are curling up into a smile he cannot restrain, and Daniel’s snarling at him so hard that his teeth are almost visible. “Really?” Terry asks, and Daniel huffs as if to agree. “Then why do I sense some…jealousy, Danny?”

Terry forgets how unpredictable Daniel can be when he grabs him by the front of his shirt, dragging him down until their faces are inches apart. “You,” he starts, the word so laced over with anger there’s almost no coherent beyond a growl, and Terry wants to let him finish or laugh in his face. But he’s too close now, all he can focus on is Daniel’s plush lips and sun-kissed skin. He doesn’t mean to swipe his tongue across his lips or take a deep, almost moaning breath, but the motion and sound are free before he realizes it.

Then Daniel is reeling back, blinking at him like he’s almost shocked. But he’s still clutching Terry’s shirt and standing within grasp. Terry can’t resist leaning down again, watching Daniel crane his head back to keep his gaze. When his former student goes silent, he doesn’t hold back.

“Say I’m wrong, Danny,” he begins. “Tell me with a straight face that you didn’t think about me. That you never wondered what I was doing or if I would ever seek you out again. Convince me that some part of you didn’t hope I would return and beg for your forgiveness.”

Daniel laughs with clear sarcasm. “Fuck you,” he hisses, and as he releases the shirt, the same hand is pulled into Terry’s grasp. 

He twists Daniel’s wrist until his former student is wincing, but the pain only lasts a second until he goes still. Then Terry takes a step to force his back against the wall, laughing all the while. “Isn’t this what you really missed all these years? Isn’t that what you wanted me to do back then?” he asks.

There’s a scoff from Daniel followed by a deep breath, and then his expression twists into something wicked. The last time he saw the other wear this expression was when Terry set him free at the club. But what follows next is unexpected and welcome all the same.

His free hand braces the back of Terry’s head, pulls down with the same violence he showed with the sweater, and crushes their mouths together in a bruising kiss. Terry almost whines at the contact, easing from Daniel’s wrist to grab his blouse and shove him against the wall. He kisses with as much intensity as he can manage, hoping to make up for all the decades they missed in the span of seconds.

Daniel’s tongue slips past his lips to lick at the roof of his mouth, and his fingers are wrapping around Terry’s ponytail, pulling at his hair until a wave of pain shoots through him. Terry ignores the ache, relishing in the opportunity to explore his former student’s mouth. He braces a free hand against the wall, not trusting his legs to do the job, and for a minute, there’s just heat and breath between them.

Then after what feels like a millisecond, the elevator dings to signal their arrival to the ground floor, and they pull back, panting as if they’ve been running. While Terry catches his breath, Daniel peers over his shoulder, but he doesn’t move, meaning they are likely alone.

“Admit it,” Terry blurts before he has a chance to consider his words.

Daniel’s fingers tighten in his hair, forcing Terry to grimace. “Admit what, Terry?”

God, how he missed that fire. “Admit you missed me, that you’re jealous I’m there instead of with you,” Terry tells him, the words coming out more breathy than he intends.

Another pause of silence, and for once, Daniel’s expression is almost unreadable. Then he bites his lip and eases the grip on his hair before pushing him off completely. Terry lets him go too, watching his former student march to the door while his heart thunders in his chest.

“You should be with me,” Daniel whispers, and Terry is glad he isn’t standing close enough to hear the gasp he lets out. “But you’re not. You’re there.”

With these words, he leaves the elevator, and the doors close behind him. Terry is alone once again, in a prison he made for himself.