"Easiest day of practice ever," concluded Demetri after the lesson that evening.

"Always is when Sensei Lawrence doesn't show up," said Chris, chugging some water from his bottle. "Been a long time since we got to concentrate on meditation."

Demetri's smile spread across his whole face, looking like he was caught in a moment of nostalgia. "Ahhh, reminds me of the good old days, before Eagle Fang showed up at our door." Seeing the harsh glares Hawk and Mitch leveled him, he held up his hands and chuckled. "I'm just kidding, c'mon you guys. Well, maybe only eighty-five percent kidding."

Miguel had tensed a bit defensively at that exchange as well, but Sam pointed out, "It's just because it's still so soon after the All-Valley. Dad wants us to take things easy for a while. It's good to regroup and clear our heads after something big like that. Personally, I think we've all earned our summer vacation, and then some."

Sam was right about that, Miguel would agree to it. A day of meditation was actually pretty relaxing now that they didn't have the constant threat of an antagonistic rival dojo hanging over their heads. "We definitely earned this night at Golf 'N Stuff, that's for sure," he said. "After the last few months we've had, we need a night of fun."

"Well, I normally wouldn't say my idea of a fun time is going to my work place on one of my days off," remarked Chris, tossing his water bottle into his gym bag and throwing the straps over his shoulders, "but I'm always down for some mini-golf."

"Oh, speaking of which, I'm teaming up with Sam," said Demetri, collecting his bag. "She's the best mini-golfer of our little posse."

Sam flashed him a bright grin. "Thanks, Demetri."

"Can confirm, Sam will be hard to beat," Miguel remarked.

Eyeing the way Sam directed her smile to Miguel, Hawk smirked and said, "Well if we're just playing to win, maybe I should team up with Chris then. He's become the king of mini-golf."

Chris rolled his shoulders humbly but bragged, "You pick up a thing or two when you're working there during slow times."

"Can you even mini-golf on those things?" Mitch asked, gesturing to Hawk's crutches.

"I'll make it work," answered Hawk.

Playfully elbowing Hawk, Miguel said, "C'mon, you can't just abandon me for Chris like that. I'm actually pretty good at this game, too, y'know."

Capping his own water bottle, Nate piped in, "Well, I'm teaming up with Chris if Hawk isn't. I wanna win."

"You good being partners with me, Bert?" Mitch asked, turning his teammate as he threw his backpack over his shoulder.

"We'll show them no mercy," answered Bert, adjusting his new glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Well, maybe a little mercy."

"Cool!" exclaimed Mitch. "And, hey, after mini-golf, how about a round or two of laser tag?" Grinning, he ribbed Chris and said, "Maybe even a little Eagle Fang versus Miyagi-Do? Losing team buys pizzas? We'll totally wipe the floor with you guys, though."

"Dude!" hissed Hawk under his breath, his face pinching in distaste. "Ex-nay on the aser tag-lay."

Sam, Chris, and Nate all shot him disgusted glares, too.

Mitch shrugged. "What?" he asked. When Chris backhanded him on the chest, Mitch then saw the way Hawk's eyes darted to Demetri to gauge his reaction. Only then did a look of realization came over him, as it must have finally sunk in. "Oh, my bad, Demetri. Guess that wouldn't be too fun for you, huh?"

Demetri shook his head like it was no big deal, but his discomfort could still be read. "I mean, if you guys want to have a shoot-out, it's cool. Eli and I can just sit it out. He might be able to maneuver some mini-golf with those crutches, but I don't think laser tag's in the cards."

Giving his friend a smile, Hawk said, "Yeah, we'll stick to the arcade area. Maybe help you win Yaz another prize or something."

"Speaking of crutches," said Miguel, gesturing to Hawk's leg, "you get that brace taken off soon, right?"

Hawk's grin widened. "Yeah, next Saturday. Can't wait."

Miguel opened his mouth to respond but his words got caught in his throat as his eyes were drawn to the patio all of a sudden. The others followed his lead, stopping in their jovial conversations as well when they saw who was there. Sensei Lawrence had finally shown up. And stepping out of the dojo behind him were Robby and Tory.

His eyes as wide as saucers, Miguel clenched his jaw tight. He wanted to shoot Tory a small, reassuring smile since he knew this could only be good news, seeing her showing up at the dojo with Sensei. But his face may as well have been chiseled from solid rock for all the movement it was capable of at that moment because he couldn't take his eyes off Robby.

And it only took a few seconds for Robby to lock his sight on him, too. He gave him the same expression back.

Down at his sides, Miguel had to fight to keep his hands from folding into fists. It would've been nice if Sensei Lawrence had given him a head's up that he planned on bringing Robby to the dojo that day. Was that selfish though? He supposed he wasn't owed any warning that Sensei wanted to invite his son to join.

And what dojo would Robby be joining? Miyagi-Do or Eagle Fang?

Mr. LaRusso ran up to Sensei Lawrence's side to welcome the new students. Well, he looked relieved to see Robby at least, by the way he warmly wrapped a hand over his old student's shoulder; but he was pointedly less relieved at Tory's presence there. And when Miguel finally tore his eyes away from Robby to glance at Sam, she had her hands wrapped around her elbows and a grave expression on her face as she glared daggers at Tory.

For a minute, Miguel worried that the situation might lead to a blowup between them. But when Robby stepped down from the patio to make his way towards the rest of them where they were standing in the yard, Sam made it a point to turn her attention away from Tory and meet him.

"Hey, Robby," she greeted, clearly tense, judging by the stiffness in her shoulders, but still managing a small smile for him. A way of showing she wasn't going to hold what happened between them at the All-Valley Tournament against him.

Robby returned her smile. "Hey."

And with that exchange, Demetri, Chris, and Nate approached him, too with greetings of their own, welcoming him back to the dojo. And Miguel guessed he might have an answer as to which dojo Robby would be joining.

He let out a small sigh of relief and heard his own advice from his speech before the finals in his head: the fight was meant to end on the mats. Even if he and Robby technically never ended up fighting, it still ended on the mats. It had ended….

Miguel repeated the mantra in his head over and over. More for his sake than anyone else's, especially when he caught Robby glancing over Demetri's shoulder at him. It was only for a fleeting moment before Robby returned his attention to his old friends. And yet seeing those green eyes lock onto his made his jaw clench again.

While the Miyagi-Dos continued crowding Robby, Miguel walked over to the patio and stepped up to Sensei Lawrence. "Sensei…." Whatever question he was planning on asking evaporated on his tongue. His true feelings felt too petulant, but he didn't want to lie and say he felt okay with this when he didn't. So he didn't know what to say.

From the way his expression softened, Sensei Lawrence at least must have been picking up on those conflicted feelings. Miguel figured even if he couldn't find his words, his face must have been speaking for itself. "Hey, I know it's gonna take some time for everyone to adjust," said Sensei, wrapping a hand around his shoulder.

Adjust was certainly one word for it.

"And I'll talk with you more about it tonight when we get back home," added Sensei Lawrence. "…And Robby'll be there, too. I think it's way past due for the three of us to have a long talk with each other."

Miguel's brows furrowed and he bit the inside of his lip. His insides rumbled just thinking about being inside the same apartment with both Robby and Sensei. But surely this was better than what he'd been dreading all year up until the Tournament, right? Wasn't sitting together, trying to reach an understanding better than being forced to have Sensei choose who he'd rather see win in a fight? Or making him choose between them? Hadn't he, himself, called Sensei out to act like a real dad?

All Miguel could do was nod weakly, mumbling back, "Okay, Sensei."

Sensei gave him another pat on the shoulder. Miguel then watched him rejoin Mr. LaRusso and the two of them walked into the house. He guessed they were satisfied that a big brawl wasn't going to erupt among them as a result of the inclusion of these new students. So Miguel's eyes drifted back to Robby again.

What was supposed to happen between them now?

Miguel remembered back to that day with Sam in the In-N-Out. He cringed at the painful memory of his breakup, but he couldn't forget what he'd told Sam, about how he'd rather have Robby in Miyagi-Do than stomach another day of seeing him in Cobra Kai.

Well, it was time to put his money where his mouth was, wasn't it?

"Any other Cobras plan on joining?" Demetri asked Robby over where they were chatting, sounding less than thrilled by the idea.

Robby gave a small shrug. "Don't know yet. Maybe."

While Robby continued to talk, Tory had inched her way closer to the Eagle Fangs, who stood close by to the Miyagi-Dos but hadn't been as warmly welcoming of Robby so far. Crossing her arms, she stepped up beside Hawk and jutted her chin out a little at him. "Hey, can we talk for a sec?" she asked. Her eyes flitted to Demetri when he broke from the Miyagi-Dos and rushed over to Hawk's other side, and she quickly added, "Alone, I mean."

"Hey, anything you got to say to him, you can say in front of me," argued Demetri, getting up close to Tory's face.

"It's cool, Demetri," said Hawk, motioning for his friend to give them some space.

Demetri shook his head, his face pinched in exasperation, but he acquiesced. "Alright." But when they started making their way from the crowd, he called out to Tory, "But don't think just because you made the right choice at the eleventh hour means I'm dropping my guard around you."

Tory gave him a quick glare over her shoulder, arching an eyebrow and letting out a soft huff. "Whatever." When she and Hawk had put enough distance between them and the others, going over to the nearby tree, she leaned against it and noted simply, "So, I guess you were right about Sensei Kreese after all."

From the sound of her voice, Hawk wondered if she expected him to rub his correctness in her face. But he hated when people did that to him, especially when Sensei Lawrence had given him his I-told-you-so speech shortly after he'd left Cobra Kai to join Eagle Fang.

"It's not like it didn't take me a while to figure it out for myself," replied Hawk. "Are you gonna join Eagle Fang now?"

Tory pressed her lips together, hesitating before answering. "A couple of scouts approached me after the Tournament. They said I might have a shot at a scholarship. Like, to a real college and everything. So I guess I'll need a new place to keep practicing."

Hawk's eyes shot up his forehead in surprise. "Really? A karate scholarship? That's awesome! And yeah, you picked the right dojo to keep practicing. I mean, Miyagi-Do's not as lame as we thought, but ours is still the most badass. And I know the guys will like seeing you back."

She looked relieved at his response, judging by the risky smile curling at the corners of her mouth, even if her body remained stiff and guarded. Whether she was relieved that he was excited for her circumstances or that he didn't immediately want to kick her out of Eagle Fang after everything that had happened, it didn't matter. It put her more at ease to say what she wanted to say next.

"I also wanted to say, I'm…I'm sorry about your knee," Tory confessed, unfolding her arms just enough to gesture to the brace on his leg.

Hawk thought it over a second. A big part of him was still upset he'd been denied his chance to fight in the All-Valley Tournament because of his injury. And he supposed it would've been easy to hold onto that grudge. The same him from a year ago probably would've.

But a lot of things had changed. He'd been humbled too much, not from his injury but from the months he'd spent trying to make up for his own mistakes, to hold it over Tory's head. What if Demetri and Miguel hadn't given him his chance to atone for his actions and rehabilitate himself? And if anyone understood why Tory had done what she did, it was him. Could he still regret his act of mercy to her while she was standing in front of him now, apologizing?

So instead of getting angry, he let out an uneasy laugh. "Hey, I get it. I mean, you were there when I broke Demetri's arm. So I don't really got a leg to stand on." Glancing down at his right leg, he amended, "Well, I guess I still got a good one to stand on, right?"

To his surprise, Tory actually laughed.

"And I'm getting out of this thing soon anyway," he added.

Tory nodded. "That's good." She showed a bit more relief in the way the tension in her shoulders seemed to release. But there was still that uncertainty lined in her face, in the way she still had a hard time looking at him. Hawk recognized that look well. He'd worn it plenty himself when he'd first switched sides, around the Miyagi-Dos and especially around Demetri.

And behind that guilt? Hawk could see Tory's shame. She tried hiding it, just like he did, but he knew what to look for. The shame of having been fooled by Kreese for as long as they had. For trusting him as long as they did. And the shame in the wrongful actions they'd committed because of it.

Maybe because he'd given her the inch, she continued on with her apology. "And I'm sorry about your hair."

"Robby's the one who cut it," argued Hawk. He resisted the urge to run a hand through his hair at the mention of it. He'd done his hardest to put it out of his mind as best he could for the past several weeks, letting it grow back out on its own without obsessing over it, until it would finally be at a length he could style with. Some days had been better than others. "Did Kreese tell you to do that?" he asked Tory.

Tory gave a small nod. "Him and Mr. Silver."

That confirmation settled in Hawk's stomach like someone had dropped an anchor in it. But he couldn't say he was especially surprised. He didn't know Mr. Silver, but he had come to understand Sensei Kreese. While he'd expected Kreese to be angry at him for turning traitor on Cobra Kai, and so getting his kneecap busted didn't especially shock him, cutting his mohawk off had felt so personal. In a way only his old Sensei could've known would hurt him.

"Judging by how your friend has been staring at us this whole time, I guess it mustn't have taken too long for the Miyagi-Dos to stop hating your guts," remarked Tory, pulling Hawk out of his thoughts. He followed her eyesight over to Demetri; he might've still been talking to the others, but his friend's gaze kept traveling back to them. "What'd you say to convince them to give you a chance? I can't imagine you're the groveling type."

"Well, Demetri and I were friends before things, well, you know," said Hawk, leaning forward on his crutches, mouth twisting in discomfort. "The others took longer. And no, I didn't grovel. I don't grovel for anybody."

"Good," said Tory, her sharp eyebrows pinching at the bridge of her nose. "Because they're not gonna get it from me, either." Hawk recognized himself in that posture, remembering when he'd met the Miyagi-Dos' distrust of him with obstinance of his own.

What was it that his Senseis and even Miguel kept telling him repeatedly? Tory would need to have some patience. He didn't want to lie to her and say it would be easy being around the Miyagi-Dos after everything that had happened. But he hoped she knew she wouldn't have to do it alone. "Don't let the bad vibes from the guys at Miyagi-Do get to you," said Hawk. "Just give them time, they'll come around to you. Hell, they might end up liking you. Believe it or not, some of them even like me now."

"I don't care if they like me," said Tory, her voice laced with defensiveness.

Hawk knew there was no point trying to bulldoze down the wall she'd erected around herself. She'd have to dismantle it brick-by-brick as she interacted more with the others. But he could help her out by giving her that first bit of space necessary to start. "Alright. But turns out they're pretty good guys once you get to know them a little."

Tory let out another soft scoff, shaking her head at him in disbelief. "Even the Princess?"

"Well, to be honest, I'm not sure if she likes me all that much even now," he admitted, giving a quick glance over to where Sam was talking with Robby with the rest of the Miyagi-Dos. They weren't exactly what could be called friends, but at least they weren't enemies anymore.

Tory followed his gaze. She and Sam locked eyes on each other. And if looks could kill, both of them would be dead. Given the history between the two, Hawk certainly wasn't expecting them to be on speaking terms anytime soon.

He could hardly believe the words that came out of his mouth next. "But even Sam's not all that bad."

"Robby's not bad either, y'know," pointed out Tory, turning her eyes back on him. Hawk furrowed his brows and frowned. Robby showing up to Cobra Kai had been the first real case of division between him and Tory. She'd raised no objection when Kreese brought him in, and Hawk had never understood why. "He didn't mean for Miguel to get hurt like that. And…And I know he regrets that it happened."

Hawk gripped his crutches tighter. He hadn't wanted to hear that any more than Tory probably wanted to hear him speak up for Sam. He muttered back, "Yeah, well, he should be telling that to Miguel."

He and Tory both turned to watch as Miguel approached the group of Miyagi-Dos and Eagle Fangs. When it became apparent who he was there to see, the others parted from Robby, giving them a chance to stare at each other. And suddenly everyone went quiet.

Hawk caught Miguel's eyes when they drifted over to him, and he jutted his chin out to signal that he was there if he needed him. And then he narrowed his own eyes at Robby, his jaw clenching of its own accord. After everything he'd learned that year since joining Eagle Fang, he found he could forgive Tory for busting his kneecap, no problem. But forgive Robby for almost killing Miguel?

For a long minute, Miguel just stared at Robby, watched the way the other boy slipped his hands into his joggers' pockets, saw how his mouth pinched hard into a guarded frown. And then he felt that phantom tingle crawl up his spine again.

He wanted so badly to be mad. And there was a part of him that still was. Robby had come to represent so much to him. He was Sensei's real son. He was his rival. He'd almost killed him. He took his place in Cobra Kai. And yet, how much of that was due to the people around Robby who'd failed him? Sensei Kreese was no real Sensei. Mr. LaRusso admitted he let Robby down. And Sensei Lawrence confessed he'd failed him from day one.

Robby had been his own personal villain for so long, but even now, as he looked at him, for as angry as he was, Miguel couldn't find that old hate that had stewed in him for months during his rehabilitation. That anger that had manifested along with the physical pain and emotional anguish as he'd recovered from his injury, the anger that had made him wish he'd broken Robby's arm in the first place.

Across from him, Robby spoke up first. "I'm not really interested in a fight," he stated.

The muscles in his back still tense as he stood there, straight as a rod, Miguel responded, "Neither am I."

And yet, Miguel knew there would be a fight later. Maybe not in the physical sense of the term, but there would be arguments when it came to the both of them being in the same dojo with each other. There would be tension when trying to adjust and interact with each other's friends. There would be hurt feelings, especially where both their relationships with Sensei Lawrence were concerned. None of this was going to be easy.

And judging by the look on Robby's face as he continued to stare at him, as his stoicism finally dropped, he must've understood the reality of it, too. And Miguel figured he accepted the difficulty that would entail when he took the first step to getting the both of them on the path to recovery when he muttered the two words Miguel had been waiting a long time to hear.

"I'm sorry."

When the knock came at the door, Miguel was ready. Leaping off the couch, tucking his phone in his pocket, he yelled down the hallway, "Mom, Ya-Ya, I'm heading out! Be back later this evening!" He grabbed his jacket from where he'd flung it over one of the kitchen chairs before opening the apartment door with a big grin on his face, already knowing who was going to be on the other side to greet him.

"Yo, El Serpiente! Ready to put some pedal to the metal?"

Before Miguel could answer, his eyes widened big as they were immediately drawn to Hawk's hair, and he exclaimed in response, "Holy shit!"

Hawk's hair was styled back into a fanned mohawk, about the same size it had been when he'd first shown up to Cobra Kai sporting his new hairstyle after Sensei had first told him to flip the script. It felt like it had been forever since Miguel had seen it up like that.

Smile widening across his mouth, looking like he enjoyed Miguel's unexpected response, Hawk gently ran a hand across the side of his head and explained, "Yeah, it's finally grown out enough to start styling again. Gonna take a while for it to get long enough for liberty spikes, but to be honest, I kinda missed this style."

"It looks great!" said Miguel, giving Hawk their signature fist-bump to congratulate him. He noted how happy Hawk was. He'd been so miserable after it had been forcibly cut, and while Miguel knew he'd dealt with it as best he could over the past couple of months, Hawk must've been thrilled to finally be able to style it like he wanted now.

Miguel had been so distracted by the mohawk, he'd almost completely missed the fact that Hawk wasn't using his crutches anymore. That had been the whole reason they were going out that day, to celebrate him finally getting the brace removed. "How's the leg feeling?" he asked, gesturing to it.

"Good as new," answered Hawk, taking a step back and showing off just how good his leg felt with a fast spin kick as demonstration. "Can't wait to get back to practice for real on Monday."

"And I know who your first sparring partner can be," said Miguel, grinning. If the others treated Hawk anything like they'd treated him after his own recovery, he knew Hawk was gonna get frustrated fast. Then again, he'd probably just kick anyone in the face who tried pitying him.

Hawk returned the smile, looking like he'd read his mind. "Wouldn't have it any other way, man."

Once he stepped outside, locking the door behind him, Miguel spotted Hawk's motorcycle where he'd parked it. He could easily imagine how psyched Hawk must've been to be able to drive it again. His leg, his hair, his bike, getting everything back at once must've been exhilarating.

"I still don't get how you can keep up that hair in a helmet," remarked Miguel, trying to wrap his head around how the mohawk wasn't totally wrecked after the ride from Hawk's house over to his apartment. "I mean, mine's gonna look like a sweaty mess as soon as we get there. Didn't even bother with products this morning."

Hawk winked, his smirk curling up the side of his face. "What can I say, it's the power of the Hawk." While they started walking away from the apartment, he explained, "Mitch texted saying he's on his way to pick up Bert. They'll meet us at the Carl's Jr. on Sherman for some breakfast before we start cruising up the PCH."

Ever since Hawk had first told him how he and the other guys had taken to driving their motorcycles up the highways as a means of escapism after the insanity that followed the school fight, Miguel had been envious. Now, at last, he was joining them on their journey. While riding up The Snake with Hawk was indescribable, there was something equally as enticing about cruising with the guys as a group.

But before they met up with the others, Miguel decided he wanted to enjoy a few more minutes where it was just the two of them. So when they reached Hawk's bike, he playfully tugged on his hoodie, getting him to turn around so he could cup his hands on the sides of his face.

"Since we might not get much alone time with the guys today, how about one for the road?" he suggested before guiding Hawk into a deep kiss. He immediately felt Hawk's hands around his waist, and from there they traveled up to wrap around his back. Hawk pulled him in closer, encouraging him.

When they broke, Miguel ran his thumbs over Hawk's cheekbones. "Did you think over what we talked about last night?" he muttered, eyebrows raising on his forehead. "About finally telling Sensei about us?"

It was almost to the point where it felt like an open secret. Everyone else in the dojo knew. Tory had picked up on it only a couple of days into practice that week and asked him about it, before they even told her. And Miguel had a suspicion Robby had figured it out, too. They didn't talk about it - they still barely talked at all - but he didn't seem like the type who'd snitch to his dad about it just to be petty.

But anything short of kissing around Sensei Lawrence meant he'd only see what he wanted to see, and Miguel knew he'd have to be blunt and totally honest about what was going on before it sunk in for Sensei. And he was finally ready to tell him.

He watched as Hawk's eyes drifted over to Sensei Lawrence's apartment. Miguel studied his expression, noted the traces of unease in the way his brows knitted together, the way his Adams' apple bobbed when he swallowed.

When Hawk looked back at him, he asked, "You really trust Sensei with this?"

It was more of a loaded question than Hawk probably even realized. Miguel had spent months and months being confronted with the fact that Sensei Lawrence was capable of making terrible mistakes. He had abandoned Cobra Kai. He had cheated emotionally on his mom. He had to be reminded to care about his other students. He had put the burden of dealing with Kreese on all of them because he wouldn't handle things with Robby on his own.

Rather than being the perfect, infallible father figure, Sensei had reminded him repeatedly that he was painfully human.

But despite all that, Miguel was still prepared to go forward with it. Because even though Sensei Lawrence had made all those mistakes, he'd made efforts to correct them. He'd shown he was willing to grow. "I'm willing to give him a shot," he answered. "Are you?"

Hawk was quiet in thought for another few seconds before he rolled his shoulders. "Okay," he mumbled. Then, tugging on Miguel's back again, he pulled him into another kiss. "Yeah. I guess if he's here when we get back, you wanna go ahead and get it over with then?"

Miguel chuckled under his breath at the way he phrased it, but gave him one more kiss for encouragement. "Yeah. Sounds like a plan."

"And if things don't go completely to shit, maybe after that…." Hawk let his sentence trail off, but from the way his hands traveled down again to wrap around Miguel's waist while his eyebrows raised suggestively on his forehead, Miguel got the idea.

Letting out another breathy laugh, Miguel trailed his own hands down Hawk's hoodie and pressed his forehead against his, letting his grin serve as his answer to that suggestion.

Both their phones buzzed, and when Miguel did a quick check he said, "Bert says they're on their way to Carl's. I guess we should probably head out."

"Tell him we'll be there in ten. I'm starved." After Miguel shot out the text, Hawk quickly tossed him his helmet before putting on his own, swinging his leg over the bike to sit down as he pulled the key out of his pocket and started the engine.

Holding the helmet in his hands, Miguel took a moment to just stand there by the motorcycle and take in a deep breath, feeling how relaxed his muscles were, and how good the warm sun felt on his skin. While not all his worries were gone, he hadn't forgotten what it felt like to shoulder the stress he had been over the past half-year. Compared to that, he might as well have been weightless now.

Now that he didn't have to worry about karate wars threatening the future of the Valley, he could devote his energy to things like he was today. Going out and hitting the open road with his friends. Overcoming the obstacles of dating when so much was still new to them. Normal things. Yeah. He liked normal.

Miguel let that thought linger with a simple smile on his face before putting on his helmet and getting on the bike.

"You ready?" asked Hawk, glancing at him over his shoulder. When Miguel nodded, he flipped his visor down and turned back around. "Hold on tight."

Locking his arms around Hawk's waist while he nailed the kick-stand with his heel and revved up the engine, Miguel called out, "Let's fly!"