That night, Miguel took Hawk to the hostel he'd been staying at. Nothing special. Cheap but clean, and the people there were friendly enough.

He directed Hawk into the small bedroom that had been serving as his temporary residence for over a week by that point. "You're lucky," Miguel said, pointing to the bunk bed as he lead Hawk up to it. "The guy who had this top spot before you left two days ago."

Stepping around Miguel to set his bag on the mattress, Hawk raised his eyebrows. "Yeah, lucky me. Would've hated to have to share a bed with you," he joked with a small, sly smile.

Miguel grinned, giving his shoulder a small shove. "Yeah, don't get any ideas."

Hawk started unpacking the things he would need for the night. Grabbing his own backpack, Miguel unzipped it and reached in to pull out the basketball shorts he'd been using as pajamas. Eli stopped what he was doing, his brows coming together inquisitively, and he leaned his shoulder against the bedpost, staring at Miguel. "Hey, so, can I ask why you came down here?"

Miguel's eyes widened. "You mean, you really didn't know at all?" Nobody had told him the details of his note?

Hawk rolled his shoulders. "All anyone knows is that you left the night of the Tournament."

"I'm surprised Sensei didn't tell Mr. LaRusso," remarked Miguel cautiously. Then he explained, "I left a note for my mom, and I knew she'd tell Sensei, since, y'know, they're together. I guess I just assumed the rest of you would learn it from him. I definitely thought he'd tell Mr. LaRusso, and then he'd let you know."

An uncomfortable beat passed between them at the second acknowledgment that day of them having separate Senseis now. Miguel had supposed that once Sensei Lawrence heard from his mother about the note he'd left her, the news would travel around both Eagle Fang and Miyagi-Do. But, then, the All-Valley Tournament was finished, wasn't it? The last thing holding the dojos together was over. Sensei Lawrence and Mr. LaRusso were probably back to hating each other again. Despite what Miguel had hoped when the dojos initially joined together, the two Senseis had barely held it together long enough to team up against Cobra Kai anyway.

"Wait, you didn't even leave Sensei Lawrence a note?" asked Hawk.

Miguel pressed his lips together, his mouth forming a thin line, and shook his head.

Hawk's brows creased for a second, and he leaned harder against the post. "Huh. Well, anyway, I mean, there's been rumors about why you left," he, uncrossing his arms and stuffing his hands in his jogger's pockets, "but you don't seem like the kind of guy who has to go on the run from the law. Bert and Nate think you had something to do with the cops arresting Kreese, and even though that would've been pretty badass if you did, I figured something else was probably up."

Miguel's face pinched. "Wait, Kreese got arrested?"

Hawk shrugged again, apparently not feeling up for elaborating more on that insane piece of trivia. Or maybe he didn't know the details himself. Well, either way, whatever happened to the King Cobra was gonna have to be a story for another day, Miguel supposed.

When Miguel looked at Hawk again, his friend's eyes held his own. "So, why did you come out here?" Eli repeated.

Sitting down on the bottom bunk, Miguel rested his arms on his knees, rubbing his thumb over his knuckles. Should he go into the whole thing with Hawk? About his quest to find his biological father? He supposed it was the straight-forward answer, but what came out of his mouth was, "I needed to find myself."

He blinked up at Hawk, watched for his reaction. He watched something go on behind Eli's blue eyes, though what it was exactly, he couldn't properly describe. And he wasn't prepared for when all Hawk said in response was, "Cool."

Miguel could only breathe out a dry chuckle to such a reaction. "Really?" he asked. "You spend all that effort buying a bus ticket and tracking me down to another country, and you're good with that answer?"

"Hey, man, I get it," said Hawk, turning around and returning his attention to the backpack on his bed. Miguel waited a minute to see if he'd elaborate more, but all Hawk did was pull out his own shorts, along with a toothbrush and his cellphone charger. And Miguel guessed that really was where the conversation would end for now.

"Can I ask you a question, next?" asked Miguel.

Hawk gave a nod. "Sure, what?"

Miguel swallowed the lump in his throat. "I know you said you won the boys' championship, and that Tory won for the girls'. But which dojo won the Grand Championship?"

He knew the answer just by the look on Eli's face. Just like he'd known the answer when Sensei Lawrence had asked Hawk who shaved off his hair even before he muttered, "Cobra Kai."

Hearing it again did twist a knot in Miguel's stomach this time. He remembered the bet Sensei Lawrence and Mr. LaRusso made with Kreese and Silver. So, Eagle Fang and Miyagi-Do were going to close down now? Jesus. That was surreal to think about. It almost didn't even feel true. "I'm sorry, Hawk," was all he could think to say. "I know you just joined Miyagi-Do—"

"I don't care about that," remarked Hawk, walking past Miguel and toward the bathroom. He called out behind him, "You got any toothpaste, by the way? I totally forgot to bring some with me."

Furrowing his eyebrows, Miguel stood up from his bed. "Uh, yeah," he said, pulling the tube out of his backpack and following Hawk. His friend's nonchalance left him stunned. Handing him the toothpaste, he asked, "It doesn't bother you, the dojo getting shut down?"

"All that shit's back home," said Hawk, prepping his brush. Eyeing Miguel, he added, "Besides, they only needed me at Miyagi-Do to beat Robby. And I did that. For now, how about we get ready to hit the sack? I had a long ride today, and I'd like to get some sleep."

With that declaration, Hawk went to brushing his teeth, turning his eyes to stare down at the sink, ignoring both Miguel and the cracked bathroom mirror.

Miguel stood there for another minute, no less stunned, before slowly turning back and heading back to the bedroom. He thought his own earlier detachment to the reality of what must've been going on back home between the dojos was on account of having been here for a while. But Hawk straight-up didn't seem to care at all. He hadn't expected that reaction.

The comment about Miyagi-Do only needing him to beat Robby settled harder in Miguel's gut than Hawk's comment about Cobra Kai's grand victory.

The two of them got ready for bed without too much more conversation. Miguel didn't know what else to say. He was still too busy reeling from the reality that Hawk was here with him at all, that was wild and unbelievable enough. The fact that he didn't seem to give a crap about whoever must have been going on with the dojos backs home just had Miguel half-convinced this was some sort of hallucination, that he would wake up tomorrow and Hawk would be gone.

If Miguel had been the kind of guy to toss back tequila shots, he would have believed that had the distinct possibility of happening. But in the entire time he'd been there, Miguel had bought exactly one beer. On his first night. To numb the guilt of having done that to his mother.

So he knew this very much was his reality. Didn't stop it from being wild. But maybe he could use a little wild. After all, wasn't that what propelled him to get on his own bus to come down here?

Plugging his charger into the wall, Eli hooked it up to his phone. He stared at the screen for a few seconds before glancing at Miguel. There was a hint of shame to his eyes as he set his cell down on the nightstand. "Uh, sorry if this wakes you up at three. I'd put it on vibrate but…."

Miguel nodded, sparing him from having to say it. "I know." It wasn't like he'd been getting the most restful of sleep since he'd arrived in Mexico City anyway.

He waited until Hawk climbed up on the top bunk before flicking off the lights and crawling under his own covers. Resting his head on the pillow, Miguel let out a deep sigh, deflating.

The minutes ticked by while Miguel lied there in his bed, staring up at the bunk above him, his fingers picking at loose strands in the blanket while his mind floated in contemplation. The sounds of the city didn't even reach him as he mulled over his thoughts for a long time.

Then he broke the silence. "Hawk?"

A few seconds of quiet answered him, and Miguel thought it must have meant his bunkmate had fallen asleep. But then there came a soft reply. "Yeah?"

Miguel asked, "How did it feel beating Robby at the Tournament?"

Another few seconds of silence.

"Hawk?"

Silence again.

Just when Miguel was about to take the hint, and got ready to turn on his side to sleep, he heard Hawk mutter, "It felt fucking awesome."