"Cannonball!"

Nate and Bert both flinched when Chris darted up and jumped into deep end of the pool where they were swimming, causing a big wave that splashed water in their faces, knocking Bert's glasses right off. And no sooner did he retrieve them and they both wiped the chlorine from their eyes than Mitch came running close behind his friend.

"Jack Knife!" he yelled, leaping off the edge and grabbing his right knee to pull to the side before hitting the water and making waves of his own. He knocked Bert's glasses off his face again with the resulting splash.

When Mitch's head broke the surface, spitting water from his mouth like a fountain, Chris's grinning face greeted him. "Excellent!" he exclaimed, clapping Mitch's hand in a congratulatory high-five.

"Hey, be careful, you two," said Mr. LaRusso from where he was standing nearby next to his grill. Pointing at them with his spatula, he explained, "The pool's not really deep enough to be doing any fancy diving tricks."

Sitting in the lawn chair beside him, Sensei Lawrence rolled his eyes. "Please, now you're gonna pretend you can get a concussion underwater?" he asked with thinly-veiled sarcasm before tipping the can in his hand back to gulp down some Diet Coke.

As he stood there with an empty plate, waiting for Mr. LaRusso to finish grilling his first batch of burgers, Miguel studied Sensei Lawrence's face. He looked like he would have much preferred to be drinking a Coors Banquet instead. Time would only tell if this recent attempt at sobriety would turn out better than the previous tries.

"Hey, Sensei," said Miguel, shifting the weight between his legs, "about tomorrow…."

Sensei Lawrence held up a hand in a flash, cutting him off at the starting gate. "I don't wanna hear it. Nothing about the Tournament. Whatever it is, it can wait, alright? We told you guys, don't worry about that. Just relax and stuff your face or go jump in the pool." He downed another gulp of Diet Coke, finishing the can.

Miguel had no choice but to nod. "Yes, Sensei." It sounded like Sensei Lawrence was trying to convince himself not to worry about things more than anybody else. Little wonder why. He wanted to ask Sensei if he'd taken his last chance to reach out to Robby before it was too late. The last opportunity to stop things before whatever happened tomorrow happened.

Judging by the somber look on his face, even as he tried to mask it, Miguel guessed he had. And it hadn't worked. He could only speculate how his Sensei must have been feeling about the big day. He bet the pit in his stomach was much deeper than the one digging in his own.

"Viola," announced Mr. LaRusso, placing a grilled patty on the open-faced bun at the center of Miguel's plate before topping it with a slice of cheese. "The Famous LaRusso Limburger Burger."

Sensei Lawrence let out a single, derisive, unimpressed laugh. "Those are real meat patties, right?" he asked, eyeing the patties on the grill. "You're not gonna make us eat the veggie shit, are you?"

While the Senseis started arguing over the food being served at the party, Miguel's eyes drifted over to the pool to watch the other guys as they goofed around. Chris grabbed Mitch around his chest and, pulling a move right out of a pro-wrestling show, flipped him underwater. Bert, meanwhile, continued in vain to try to wipe the droplets from his lenses.

Swimming around Bert, Nate pointed out, "I told you you should've switched to contacts like me. The second time I got my glasses broken in a fight, I was, like, fuck that. Haven't looked back since."

"Chicks like guys with glasses," argued Bert.

Nate scoffed and splashed some more water in Bert's face. "What chicks?"

Putting his glasses back on, Bert retaliated back at him with another splash, and the two boys commenced a full-on water fight. They got so into it, the their waves started hitting outside the edge and onto the legs of Yasmine, who sat at the end of the nearest pool chair. She yelped when the cool water splashed her skin and shot Nate and Bert an icy glare for their incautious horseplay.

"Hey, Hobbits, watch it!" demanded Demetri from where he sat behind his girlfriend on their lounge chair.

But just when Nate and Bert looked like they might stop, a blur rushed past Demetri and Yasmine, screaming, "Can-Opener!" Anthony LaRusso leaped off the edge, hugging his left knee close to his body, and careened right into Bert and Nate, sending all three boys under the water, splashing Yasmine again while he did it.

While Chris and Mitch cheered at the display, Demetri suggested to Yasmine, "Maybe we should pick a chair a little further away from the pool."

"Heh, yeah, probably a good idea if you guys wanna avoid getting soaked," chuckled Hawk from the chair beside theirs, lifting his sunglasses to peek at the two as Demetri collected Yasmine's belongings and shuffled them to the chair on the other side of Sam, who'd been lounging on their left.

As soon as Demetri set her bag down, Yasmine grabbed the can of suntan spray on top and held it out to him. "Don't forget to get my lower back," she said with a wink, pulling her hair over her shoulder as she sat down on the edge of the new chair.

Hawk caught the way Demetri's smirk spread up the side of his face. "Oh yeah, I'll make sure it's all rubbed in, nice and thorough," said Demetri, popping the cap off. "Don't wanna take any unnecessary risks, what with the whole ozone layer looking like Swiss cheese these days."

"Speaking of cheese, here's your burger, Hawk," announced Miguel as he came up to where they were all lounging, offering the plate and cup in his hands to Hawk.

"Thanks, man," said Hawk, sitting up straight and accepting them.

"Don't get used to this delivery service," joked Miguel, patting his shoulder.

Taking a sip of his drink, Hawk asked him, "Aren't you gonna eat?"

Shrugging, Miguel answered, "Meh, not hungry." His stomach had been clenched tight like someone had their fist wrapped around it all day, thinking about what was happening tomorrow. So instead of eating, he took his towel, stretched it out over the now-vacant lounge chair beside Hawk, and laid stomach-down on it. Laying his chin on his arms, he stared out again at the guys playing around in the water for a minute before resting his eyes and letting the sun soak his back. He would force himself to relax, if necessary.

Glancing at Hawk's plate while he ate his burger, Yasmine turned around and said, "Demetri, think you can be a dear and see if there's anything over there I can eat?" She ran a finger down his cheek for extra encouragement.

Demetri's face flushed bright red. "Uh yeah, of course," he stammered, practically tripping over his long legs as he raced to stand up. Patting his skinny gut, he said, "I could use a burger myself."

"Yasmine, if you're back to not eating meat, my dad could grill you a veggie burger instead," offered Sam, picking at her fingernails.

"Hmm, actually, get me some of that macaroni salad," Yasmine called out to Demetri while he was walking away. Reaching over into her bag, she eyed Sam and said, "Your mom does make a pretty bomb macaroni salad."

Sam just smiled and giggled some under her breath, like she was in on a joke only she understood. She watched Yasmine pull out her sunhat from the bag and situate it on her head before stretching out on the chair, looking like she was ready to catch some rays like the rest of them. "Not much like the last party we had over here, huh?" she asked.

Sliding her sunglasses on, Yasmine agreed, "Definitely not."

Chris popped up at the edge of the pool. "Hey, Sam, do you guys got a net for some water volleyball?"

"Uh, yeah," answered Sam. "Go ask Anthony to check the garage, I think that's where Dad stored it."

She looked over at her little brother, who turned over to their father and called out, "Hey Dad, can you bring us over some drinks? We're thirsty!"

"You wanna jump in and join us?" asked Chris, bringing Sam's attention back to her teammate. "We could use another player, otherwise it's gonna be three-against-two. And, I mean, I'm cool with me and Nate destroying your little bro in a game of volleyball on our own, but I thought I'd give you the chance to join us, too."

Biting her bottom lip for a moment, Sam shook her head. "Sorry, maybe later."

While Chris shrugged and swam away, Yasmine raised an eyebrow over her reflective sunglasses at Sam. "What's up with you?" she asked. "You've been a drag ever since this party started. I mean, I know there aren't a ton of hot guys to scope out here—"

"Don't be mean," chided Sam.

"I'm just asking, what's up?" Yasmine clarified.

Picking at her fingernails again, Sam stared past her friend at Miguel and Hawk. Miguel still had his eyes closed while he sunbathed, but Sam was sure he was listening. And she felt Hawk's eyes staring at her from behind his sunglasses, too. "I know we're all supposed to be having a fun time," she answered, "but it doesn't change the fact that the All-Valley Tournament is tomorrow morning."

Yasmine made a face. "Ugh, I'm gonna be so glad once all this karate talk is done and over with."

"Demetri didn't explain how important this Tournament is?" inquired Hawk after swallowing another drink from his cup. "Because if Cobra Kai wins, the battle for the Valley is just beginning."

That got Miguel to crack open his eyes and lift himself up on his shoulders, paying closer attention to the conversation.

"Karate doesn't rule his life, or most of the Valley's, like it does all of yours," said Yasmine, eyeing Hawk, Miguel, and then Sam, like they were all out of their minds. "Like, so what's the big deal if those Cobra guys win? What, they'll continue to act like assholes? What's the difference if they're just assholes with a trophy now? It's not like it's gonna be the end of the world. Honestly, all of you would be better off getting a life outside karate."

"Well articulated, queen," praised Demetri upon returning and catching his girlfriend's speech, handing Yasmine her plate of macaroni salad and a drink.

"Easy for you to say, Demetri," said Miguel.

Demetri raised an eyebrow. "And what's that supposed to mean?"

"You don't have as much riding on this," Miguel said, the corners of his mouth creasing in a frown. Yasmine was right about one thing. Karate didn't mean the same thing to Demetri that it meant to him. "Like you said before, this is just going on your college resume, nothing more, right? You don't have any real clue what's riding on the outcome tomorrow. You gave up on Cobra Kai from the very start, you don't care at all about what fighting the dojo me, Hawk, Bert, and the others represented last year means. And you don't have to worry about upsetting Mr. LaRusso if you, by some miracle, beat Robby, right?"

Demetri, Hawk, and Sam all stared at him, various levels of surprised expressions etched on their faces in the wake of his small outburst. At least it wasn't as heated as some of his others. But that didn't stop Miguel's cheeks from warming in embarrassment, or keep him from regretting saying those words. Of course Demetri would want to see Cobra Kai lose. He'd had more than his fair share of problems ever since Sensei Kreese entered the picture, too. They all had.

"Wow, yikes," muttered Demetri with an indignant huff. Miguel let him have it without comment.

Yasmine lifted her sunglasses and squinted at Miguel. "So it sounds like the reason this is a big deal to you is because of drama between you and Robby. But what happens if you don't fight Robby tomorrow? Like, are you guaranteed a fight? How do these things even work?"

"It all really depends," Sam tried to explain. "Who makes it past the qualifying round, how they set up the fighting brackets. Depending on those things, we could end up fighting anyone. Like, Miguel, you know you might not even have to fight Robby at all, right? Who knows, maybe I'll fight him. You just can't know for sure. I'm crossing my fingers that Tory doesn't even make it past the qualifying rounds, or honestly any of the Cobra Kais, including Robby, but you know you have to be ready for anything to happen. We all do because nothing's guaranteed."

Miguel licked his bottom lip in nervousness as he listened to Sam, his stomach clenching tighter, knowing what she was saying wasn't wrong. Anything could happen.

Before Miguel could say anything in return, Nate's voice suddenly called out, "Head's up!"

A volleyball came flying at the group, and Miguel had just enough of a quick reflex to sit up and reach out his hand to smack it back to the pool from which it came. Mitch caught it, then both he and Chris waddled over to the edge of the pool.

"Hey, what's going on with you guys? Are you just gonna lie around all day and talk about the All-Valley?" asked Mitch. "It's Eagle Fangs versus Miyagi-Dos out here, and we got Anthony. Jump in and join the game. I mean, obviously you can't, Hawk, but Miguel, dude, we could use those fast reflexes. Bert's glasses keep getting waterlogged, we're losing by four now. We could use you."

Chris added, "And if Miguel's game, you really should reconsider, Sam."

Demetri laid a hand over his chest, looking offended. "What, I don't get an invite?"

"Are you good at volleyball?" interrogated Chris, arching a skeptical eyebrow.

"Fair point," conceded Demetri with a nod.

"Besides," said Mitch, "didn't Mr. LaRusso and Sensei Lawrence say not to worry about the Tournament? I mean, it is what it is at this point. Shouldn't we just have some fun for now?"

Miguel sighed, trying to think of a good reason to turn down the offer. But then he turned his head when he felt Hawk clap his shoulder. "Go on," Hawk urged him with a wide grin, letting his hand travel down to give an encouraging rub on his back. A bold gesture considering Sensei Lawrence wasn't very far away, and he'd be hard-pressed to chalk it up to a platonic touch if Sensei saw them. "Give Miyagi-Do a taste of what they're gonna be up against tomorrow."

Unable to come up with a counter-argument, and figuring Mitch and Chris were right, Miguel let a small smile replace his previous frown. He turned to Sam, raising his eyebrows. "I'm up for it if you are, Sam," he said, standing up from his chair.

Sam stopped picking at her fingernails and let a relaxing smile spread over her face, too. "I guess we should enjoy some friendly competition while we still have a chance, huh? Okay, okay, I'm in." Taking off her hat and sunglasses, she and Miguel joined their friends in the water.

As soon as they began their next round, Mr. LaRusso stepped up to the kids, standing between the group in their chairs and the ones in the pool. "Hey, isn't anyone gonna get out of the pool and come eat some burgers?" he asked, opening his arms, the spatula still grasped firmly in one of his hands. "What, are you expecting poolside delivery?"

In the water, Anthony cupped his hands around his mouth and called out, "Heck yeah we are. And while you're at it, when are you gonna bring us some freaking drinks already?"

At Miguel's request that evening, Hawk didn't have Sensei Lawrence drop him off at his house, choosing instead to join Miguel back to Reseda Heights. At first, Hawk thought Miguel just wanted to take advantage of the fact that his mother was going to be at work for a few more hours, and his grandma was out with her friends, so they'd have the apartment to themselves. And while Miguel assured him that was part of it, it quickly became apparent what he wanted more than anything at that moment was some close company.

"So, champ, how are you feeling about tomorrow?" asked Hawk after they situated themselves on the living room couch, a reassuring grin plastered on his face. Giving Miguel a light punch on the shoulder, he inquired, "Ready to lay the smackdown on all those Cobra douchebags?"

Miguel's eyes feel down to stare at where his hands were resting on his knees. "Uh, yeah. Definitely." The truth was, he felt like he was going to throw up. The anxiety had been culminating for months and months and now it had reached the boiling point. But, in a way, Miguel was happy about that. Because in twenty-four hours, it would at least finally be over. He told himself over and over he could handle whatever happened, because there was no way it could be worse than the anticipation had been.

Hawk raised an eyebrow. And, catching that look, Miguel knew must have been wearing his ambivalence openly on his face. "About what you told Demetri today at Mr. LaRusso's…."

Running a hand through his hair, Miguel tried to explain, "I keep thinking, I have to fight Robby. I mean, that's what Kreese wants, I know that's what he wants. And part of me really wants this, too, because it really feels like it's the only way to end things between us. I mean, that's how things should be, right? What other way can it happen? But there's another part of me that really, really hopes I won't have to, that maybe someone else will take him out of the Tournament first."

"Because of Sensei?" asked Hawk.

Miguel shrugged, crossing his arms over his chest and sinking a little more into the couch. "That's part of it, yeah," he answered. Would it be so hard for the universe to throw him that bit of mercy? If he had learned how to show some, didn't the universe owe him a little good karma in return? Didn't it owe it to him after everything he'd been through?

He mentally kicked himself, knowing that wasn't how things worked. He, more than anyone, hard learned the hard lesson that wasn't how the universe operated. But he could hope….

Hawk sighed. It sounded like a deeply irritated one as he narrowed his eyes. "I don't understand why Sensei doesn't just take care of Robby himself."

Sometimes it still surprised Miguel that Hawk seemed to pick up on things that were specifically bothering him without him having to just lay it all out in the open. He wondered if he was simply that much of an open book. At least when it came to Sensei, he guessed he was.

"That's what I told him," said Miguel, remembering that night at Mitch's house. And he had the feeling Sensei Lawrence had tried dealing with Robby, and for whatever reason couldn't get him away from Kreese. But he'd been too worried to ask for more details after that night. And he still didn't understand why Sensei couldn't just drag his son out of the dojo. But, regardless of the reason, the fact remained that Robby was still at Cobra Kai and would be fighting for that dojo the next morning.

"You know if I were fighting tomorrow, I'd just deal with him for you, let Sensei get mad at me instead for kicking his son's ass," Hawk reminded him, a sardonic smirk curling up the side of his face. "But I know you don't need me to beat any of those guys. You got this, man."

Miguel nodded. "I know." He wanted to tell Hawk he wished with all his being that he would be there fighting beside him, that they could have faced off together for that championship title. There was no one else he would have preferred to fight to earn the accolades of a two-time champ. But he knew Hawk was aware of that. And wishing it wouldn't make it come true. There was no point picking at that wound, especially if Hawk had done his part to make peace with it.

"And anyway, if pigs fly and Keene wins, I'll just put him in his place in the parking lot for you. Although that'd be kinda hard to pull off with a leg brace," joked Hawk with an uncomfortable, breathy laugh. Letting his witty smile soften, he stared at Miguel and asked more sincerely, "So tell me, what can I do to help?"

Now it was Miguel who chuckled. "Distract me, maybe?" he suggested, almost with a wince. He sounded desperate, pitiful even to his own ears.

Hawk looked amused by the request, however. "Distract you, huh?" he asked, scooting a bit closer, as much as the footrest his leg was propped up on would allow. Given the invitation, Miguel closed the gap between them on the couch instead. Hawk then ran his hand up his arm slowly. "Give you something else to think about besides the All-Valley?"

Hawk's hand continued traveling past his shoulder, not stopping until it came up to cup his jaw. And when his thumb stroked his cheek, Miguel sighed, letting the tension in his back muscles unwind. He wondered if Hawk could feel the heat that was starting to warm his face. "Yeah…."

For a brief moment, he thought about if he should bring up the subject of coming out to Sensei Lawrence again. Ever since Hawk came back to Eagle Fang after his fight with Cobra Kai, the wide chasm between him and Sensei had seemed to narrow. And after Hawk had shown him such an intimate gesture earlier at the pool party, Miguel considered the possibility that meant Hawk might be more reciprocating to the idea of telling him now.

But after mulling over it for a few seconds, Miguel decided against it. Not because he was worried about what Hawk might say but because there was simply too much going on. Thinking with a clearer head, he couldn't imagine a worst time to drop such a bombshell on Sensei Lawrence than the night before the All-Valley Tournament. Especially not knowing how Sensei would respond.

Besides, he didn't want to slow down the momentum they had going now.

Hawk muttered in a low voice, "I bet I can do that…."

Miguel let Hawk guide him in for a kiss. He closed his eyes and lost himself to feeling the moment, feeling the touch of his boyfriend's lips pressed against his own, feeling his other hand rest on his thigh, feeling what it was like to forget for just a moment what was waiting for him the next day. It surprised him how easy it was to feel all of those things at once as they sat pressed against each other on the couch like that.

He kept his eyes shut and let out another sigh when Hawk broke their kiss, and his skin heating up more when Hawk's mouth pressed the skin just under his jaw, making his pulse quicken. "No matter what happens tomorrow, I got your back," he then heard Hawk murmur by his ear before feeling his lips under the lobe. "Always."

While Hawk paid attention to his neck, Miguel opened his eyes, his breath hastening as he licked his bottom lip. He could have melted right then and there as Hawk reminded him of his loyalty, his love for him. Hawk had shown it to him many times since joining him at Eagle Fang. He'd joined Eagle Fang because he loved him. And hearing that declaration again emboldened him to make a move of his own. He could be as much a man of action, and he wanted to show his love in return.

Hawk made a noise when Miguel suddenly shuffled to sit on the right side of his lap, bringing his hands around his face to draw him in for a deeper kiss. But whatever surprise Hawk might have experienced by his boldness, he returned the gesture by wrapping his arms around Miguel's back, pulling him closer to him.

As their breaths began picking up even more, spurred on by each excited kiss, Hawk's hands wandered down Miguel's back, resting once they came to hover around his waistline. And as soon as Miguel released his mouth, he stared at him, brows raised and eyes electrified. "Yeah?" he asked.

Feeling Hawk's thumbs tracing around the waistband of his shorts, Miguel grinned back. "Yeah."