"Do you think this would look good on me?" asked Moon. Standing there in the middle of the young women's section at the Macy's, she held a flowery purple blouse up to her person, glancing down as she did so to get an image in her mind of what she looked like in the shirt without a mirror nearby to show her.

Standing beside her, arms crossed and leaning against a shelf of folded jeans, Hawk arched an eyebrow at her inquiry. Was this a trick question, he wondered? In his experience, absolutely nobody ever wanted an honest answer whenever they asked a question like that. They were just looking for affirmation. If they wanted that, they should just say so. Because, honestly, he didn't think Moon would look good in that blouse. It was the wrong color for her. He knew it would be interpreted as callous if he said that, however. So he jutted his chin out to the shirt it had been hanging beside and said, "You look better in orange."

Was that the wrong thing to say? Moon was biting her bottom lip and sheepishly putting the blouse back on the rack, not even looking at the shirt he had pointed out. Hawk mentally kicked himself. He hadn't meant to hurt her feelings. This wasn't his sort of thing, though. For him, clothes shopping was straight-forward. You knew what you wanted, you went in, you got it, and you left. With girls, everything was a minefield when it came to what should've been a simple task.

He didn't even know why Moon would ask for his help. This was what chicks' girlfriends were for. Yeah, Yasmine had recently left for France, but Moon could've asked Aisha instead. Aisha was always talking about how she wished she had more girls to go out with, since she was the only one in Cobra Kai.

The only things Moon ended up purchasing from the store were a pair of earrings and a couple of headbands. As they left the Macy's, she reached down her hand and locked her fingers with his. Good, at least she wasn't upset about his comment, thought Hawk. "You want to get something to eat at the food court soon?" she asked while they walked the mall.

"Sure," he answered with a small smile. "I could stand to eat. You like Panda Express?" Orange chicken sounded good right then.

Moon grimaced slightly. "They don't have any vegan options," she pointed out.

"Oh. Right." Sometimes Hawk forgot about that. He'd never really paid any attention to vegan options on any menus, so he didn't know what Moon could eat anywhere, besides a place that offered a side-salad or something.

Thankfully, Moon had an alternative in mind. "The burger place has a black bean patty," she said. "And I already know they don't cook them on the same grill with the beef patties. We could both get what we want there."

"Sounds like a date, babe," Hawk said, his smile widening at her suggestion. He appreciated that at least she didn't try changing his dietary habits to match her own. He never could have given up eating meat, even if he wanted to. But he could meet her half-way. "Did I ever tell you that my Manic Panic hair-dye is vegan and cruelty-free?" he boasted.

The dimples on Moon's cheeks deepened as she grinned. "Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. I read it on the label," bragged Hawk. "Y'know, just doing my small part, making sure no animals were harmed in making my hair look this good." He liked the way she giggled at that.

They kept walking, and Moon's eyebrows raised on her forehead when she spotted the Yankee Candle store. "Oh, let's go in there first," she said, reaching into her purse to retrieve her phone. "I got a BOGO half-off coupon, and they put out their summer fragrances recently. I love their 'MidSummer's Night' scent!" She looked at Hawk and playfully added, "They're also vegan-friendly."

She gave a little tug on his hand, but Hawk's feet planted themselves on the floor. He couldn't go in that store. He'd already felt the pang of a headache when they had walked past the perfume section at Macy's, but Hawk knew if he stepped into Yankee Candle, it would be an instant sinus migraine. An individual scented candle was one thing, but a whole store full of them? Completely unbearable, he'd be lucky if he didn't throw up. No way he could be that weak in front of his girl. What kind of loser would he look like then?

So, seeing the look Moon was giving him, he lied, "I gotta make a call, actually. Go in and do your thing. I'll be right out here." She must not have suspected anything weird, because Moon went in to do her shopping.

Sitting down on a nearby bench, Hawk pulled out his phone and checked his texts. Ignoring a message from Demetri, he saw Miguel had also left him one: hey you up for a flick?

Hawk texted him back: out with moon right now but i'll let you know later

Miguel must've had his phone on him, since he immediately responded: lol i got you ;)

Smirking, Hawk embellished: lol she can't keep her hands off me. must be the hawkridge body spray. she got kissed on the beak of this man power

Miguel texted: lmao i can't with you man. aight let me know about the movie tho

He put his phone back in his pocket as Moon stepped out of Yankee Candle, holding the bag with her purchase in her hand. She held it up and called out, "Back. I also got their 'Beach Walk' fragrance. You won't believe how good it smells."

As she said that, a high school senior walking by wolf-whistled and told her, "I'd like to know how you smell, sweetcheeks."

Hawk flew up from his bench in a hot second and almost launched himself at the guy. Strike first, his mind told him. But Moon stepped in his path, putting her hands on his chest to restrain him. "Hawk, don't!" she said emphatically. His face hardened, however, at hearing the laugh the other guy threw at his attempts to come to Moon's aid. Narrowing his eyes, Hawk's arms shook by his sides at hearing that mocking laughter, and his fists curled tighter. But with his girlfriend holding him back, he had no choice but to watch as the goon walked off, getting away with his comment.

The crisis having passed, Moon reached down and tried to wrap a hand around one of Hawk's fists, but he pulled his hand away, suddenly not wanting to be touched, incensed as he was. Hawk was confused. Another guy had insulted his girl. Everything Sensei Lawrence had taught him told him he needed to show that asshole that he was the alpha. Why had Moon stopped him? Did she think Hawk would seriously lose in a fight against that piece of shit? Was this just her being a hippy again? Why wouldn't she let him defend her? What was the point of his karate lessons if he couldn't even protect her?

She must have noticed his confusion. Brushing her hair behind her shoulder, Moon said, "Listen, it's not the first time something like that has happened," she told him, her cheeks red with lingering embarrassment. "It probably won't be the last. But you can't just go around fighting every guy who cat-calls me, okay?" Hawk didn't see why not. "Don't worry, I can handle it."

Shaking his head in doubt, Hawk took a fuming breath and frowned. He thought she would be happy that he'd come to her defense. This really must have been part of her hippy outlook. She was all about those non-violent responses, to pretty much anything it looked like. Hawk couldn't understand that. Didn't she know that passivity would never make their enemies stop? Sometimes you had to fight back. And if it happened again within his earshot, he would fight, no matter what Moon said.

Wanting to put the whole thing behind her, Moon smiled again and said, "Well, I'm ready to eat if you are."

"Yeah, sure," Hawk said, rolling the tension from his shoulders.