I'm really sorry I wasn't specific before. In this story's universe, the events of the Karate Kid DID happen, but the events of Cobra Kai DID NOT. Miguel and Sam's generation graduated from high school without the karate war that is happening on the real show. Johnny is Miguel's stepfather but not his sensei.

CHAPTER 9

Sam sat cross-legged on her childhood bedroom floor. Although she was a 27 year old woman, whenever she was home, she always stayed in her childhood bedroom. However, this year, she would be spending only a couple of days with her family as she would be spending most of the holiday with Miguel. They would be spending Christmas Day with their respective families as they hadn't seen their families in ages, but other than that, they wanted to spend all of the spare time they had with each other. Besides, Sam had spent the past two weeks with her family, so she wanted the next two with Miguel.

It was December 21st, the night before Miguel came home, and she was making a sign to hold in the airport. She was debating what message to write on the sign when she heard a knock on the door.

"Come in!" Sam called. Her mom and dad walked into the room and Sam smiled at them.

"Hey, Sam." Her father, Daniel, said. "Can we talk to you?"

Sam saw the serious expressions on their faces and nodded.

"Sure, what's up?" Sam asked, confused, following them into the living room. They all sat on the sofa, and her parents looked at her.

"We need to talk about your boyfriend." Her dad said. Daniel had NOT approved of Sam dating a soldier, and Sam knew that. Her eyes narrowed.

"What about him?" Sam asked, her voice struggling to stay calm.

"I know that you're an adult now, and we can't tell you who you can and can't date…" Daniel started.

"You couldn't tell me who to date even when I was a teenager." Sam interrupted glaring at her dad. Her mom sighed.

"We just want you to be careful, sweetie." Amanda said. Sam was confused now.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"Well, you seem pretty invested in this relationship with him, huh?" Amanda said. Sam nodded.

"Yeah, of course. We've been dating for a year and 2 months." Sam said. Her parents nodded.

"Yeah, but you haven't seen him for a whole year, right? A lot could have changed in that time." Her dad continued. "Maybe he isn't as invested as you are. As harsh as it might sound, maybe he was just using you as someone to talk to while he was away."

Sam shook her head, furiously.

"No, no. You're wrong! You don't know him! You haven't met him before!" Sam exclaimed. Amanda nodded.

"You're right, we haven't. But we know our daughter. You're such a caring person, Sam, and we don't want your kindness to be taken advantage of like it was with Robby." Amanda replied.

"Well, thank you for your concern but I'm fine." Sam snapped. She couldn't believe what she was hearing from her parents. She wasn't a kid anymore! She was 27 years old, for God sake! She could handle herself!

"Look, we didn't mean to offend you, Sam. We're just trying to…"

"Look out for me, I know." Sam sighed. "And I appreciate it. But like I said, you guys don't know him."

Her parents nodded.

"Yeah, we'd love to meet him though! Can we meet him?" Amanda asked, smiling at her daughter. Sam shrugged.

"Well, if you guys promise to behave and not interrogate him like a murder suspect, then maybe in a week or so…"

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The next morning, when Sam woke up, she was a bundle of nerves. Although she was extremely excited to see Miguel again, her parents' words rang through her head.

"Maybe he isn't as invested as you are. Maybe he was just using you as someone to talk to while he was away."

Could they be right? Could Miguel actually just be using her? Although Sam loved Miguel so much, what if he didn't feel the same?

Sam's mind spun with her all of her insecurities and fears, but she forced herself to push them down. NO! This was Miguel, not some random stranger! She felt emotionally tethered to him in a way she didn't understand. A way that enabled her to know what he was feeling at all times, and she knew that he loved her as much as she loved him.

Sam went downstairs and was about to leave the house to grab a bite to eat before she left for the airport but to her annoyance, the garage didn't want to open. She sighed. She thought today was going to be smooth sailing but she guessed not.

Half an hour later, Sam and her family had managed to get Sam's car out, but the garage was still broken. Sam didn't care though. She quickly drove to Starbucks and ate some lunch, before preparing to set off for the airport.

She was ready to go! She had been a ball of nerves all day. Although her morning with the garage didn't start off great, she didn't let it get her down. She was extremely excited! She was seeing Miguel again soon!

As Sam stood in the airport, her homemade sign in hand, her heart pounded. She watched Miguel's flight go from 'landing' to 'arrived' and her hands started shaking from excitement. Miguel was officially in the country now. There was no way he could be delayed any longer, bar him being detained by Homeland Security. Half an hour later, she saw him…

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Miguel was hopping from foot to foot with nervousness as he stepped off the plane. Little did Sam know that Miguel was feeling the exact same fears and insecurities she was. What if Sam had met someone else and didn't care about him anymore? Although Miguel wasn't about to meet someone else while on mission in South Asia, Sam lived in the biggest city by population in America, and there was a good chance she had met someone else. After all, although he had spoken to her on the phone a lot, he knew that Sam probably needed more than that. A physical relationship if nothing else.

As Miguel walked through the airport, he felt himself getting more and more anxious, but as he exited baggage claim and looked up at all of the families awaiting their loved ones, his eyes honed in on one person on the far side of the group and all of his nerves disintegrated… Holding a 'Missed me? Now you gotta kiss me!' sign, waving and grinning widely at him was Sam!

Miguel quickly ran towards her, and Sam threw her arms around him, hugging him excruciatingly tightly. Tears leaked out of both of their eyes as they embraced each other for the first time in over a year. Miguel knew at that moment that Sam wasn't hooking up with someone else. He could see the love in her eyes when they looked at each other. Time stood still as he stood there holding the love of his life in his arms. Even though there were hundreds of people searching for their family member in the arrivals section of the airport, Miguel and Sam held on to one another, locked in an all consuming kiss. When the need for air overcame them, they finally broke apart but Sam kept her arms around his neck and Miguel kept his around her waist.

"I missed you so much." Sam murmured into his ear.

"I missed you too." Miguel whispered. "It's been such a long year!"

"Yeah, for you and me both! I can't believe that you're here," Sam whispered as she wrapped her arms around Miguel again. "I've waited so long just to hold you again."

The two walked out of the airport hand-in-hand and over to Sam's car. Miguel threw his duffel bag in the trunk of the car and shortly after, the two drove out of the airport parking lot together…

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As Sam drove, her eyes wandered from the road ahead over to Miguel in the passenger's seat. He didn't look to be injured, but he looked tired more than anything else. Bags drooped under his eyes and his face was etched with lines of exhaustion.

"Are you hungry? We could go somewhere to eat." Sam suggested. Miguel chuckled and smirked at her.

"Or… we could go straight to the hotel room." Miguel winked at her. Sam giggled.

"Are you sure? You're not tired or hungry?" She asked. Miguel chuckled.

"Sam, it's been a year. It literally takes just a strong gust of wind to get me to half mast. I vote for the hotel room."

Sam laughed and squeezed his hand. She had missed him so much.

"Don't have to tell me twice!" She replied, before speeding up towards their hotel room…

I got a couple of questions asking whether the story is based solely around Miguel, or around both Miguel and Sam. Unlike the other stories I've written, this one, when they are apart, is based around both of their respective perspectives.

One more thing, I know the story sounds overly cheerful right now. Trust me, a LOT of drama and action ensues in both Miguel's job, as well as his relationship with Sam