CHAPTER 33

After Miguel left the prison, he walked down the street, his father's words still echoing through his head.

"You. Have you ever considered that you might be the problem, Miguel?"

NO! That couldn't be true, could it? Could all of this actually be his fault? His dad had a point. Johnny and his dad were literally opposite in every way, and yet they had both stabbed him in the back. The only similarity in both situations… him! It was his fault!

Miguel was pulled out of his train of thought when he stepped into a Starbucks. He was absolutely starving as he hadn't eaten breakfast and lunch that day. The cafe was practically empty so he quickly bought himself a drink and a bagel and he was sitting down until he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around to see a young man, no more than 7 years older than him, sitting in a wheelchair.

"Excuse me. I'm really sorry to bother you but would you mind helping me tie my laces?" The man asked, tentatively. Noticing that he was in a motorised wheelchair and his movement was extremely restricted, Miguel nodded and did so. The man smiled at him after he did so. "Thank you so much."

"No problem." Miguel replied. The man sighed.

"Five years ago, I was lacing up my cleats and preparing for the NCAA Sugar Bowl football game. Now I need help tying my fucking shoes. Life can be a real bitch, huh?"

Miguel chuckled and nodded.

"Tell me about it. Do you mind if I ask what happened?" Miguel asked. The two of them then exchanged stories. Miguel told him all about his back injury and his paralysis after. After he did, the man, a guy named Garrick, told Miguel his horror story. Apparently, Garrick had been a wide receiver playing college football in Ohio State. However, in his junior year, he had developed a rare disease called…

"Motor Neurone Disease." Garrick explained. "My neurons in my spine and brain have slowly started to deteriorate. I was put in this stupid wheelchair six months ago and I'm definitely never getting out of it. There's no cure. I'm just going to get worse and worse, until..."

"Man, I'm really sorry." Miguel murmured. He felt so stupid for making such a big deal out of his issues. This man was going through a nightmare that was far worse than anything Miguel could ever have imagined. "Are you at least surrounded by your family?"

Garrick chuckled mirthlessly.

"I wish. My mom passed away when I was really young, and I never see my dad because he's always working to pay for hospital fees." Garrick replied. Miguel put his head in his hands. He now felt even more monumentally dumb. He had been sulking around at Carmen and Johnny, making himself into a victim, when he had two parents (well, one parent and one step-parent) who both cared a LOT about him.

"Man, I really don't know what to say." Miguel murmured. "That really sucks."

Garrick nodded.

"Yeah, yeah it does." He sighed. "You know, there's a 1/3 chance I don't live to see next year."

"There's a 2/3 chance you do." Miguel commently simply in reply. He then reached into his wallet and pulled out a blank cheque. He quickly scribbled down the required information on it and then handed it to Garrick. When Garrick read it, his eyes widened.

"This is… this is a cheque for 5000 dollars." He stammered. "I can't accept this!"

"Look, this isn't charity." Miguel stated. "If anything, this is for your dad. Hopefully, with this, you and him can spend a bit more time together as he'll get to work a little less. I know a thing or two about shitty dads, but I know a thing or two about good ones too, and from the sound of things, yours sounds like a pretty damn good one."

Garrick smiled widely at Miguel as he eventually accepted the cheque.

"Mate, I don't know what to say." Garrick said, grinning from ear to ear. "Thank you SO much."

"No problem." Miguel replied. "Look, I've gotta go. Could I get your number? Maybe we could hang out sometime?"

Garrick nodded and gave Miguel his number.

"All right. See you soon, man." Miguel said, before walking out of the cafe and getting into a cab, this time going home…

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What to do? What to do? Robby asked himself that question over and over again that afternoon as he travelled home from Cobra Kai training. He knew that he would NOT be training with Kreese any longer. He needed an out. But where would he go? He would NOT be going back to Daniel. That man had gotten him thrown in juvie. He had been his teacher when Robby did the worst thing he had ever done (kick Miguel over the balcony). He couldn't go to no sensei, because that would make him target number 1 for all of Cobras to attack on the streets. That left him with one more option…

Robby pulled into Johnny's compound. As he stepped out of the taxi, he shuddered at the eerily familiar surroundings. Last time he had been here, he had snapped Miguel's shoulder in his fit of anger. Although Miguel wasn't injured any more, Robby still felt pretty guilty for that. He knew that if he seriously wanted to join Johnny's dojo, he would have to face Miguel and apologise for what he did, and just hope and pray that Miguel was forgiving.

He knocked on Johnny's door but to his surprise, there was no one there. He sighed and sat down, concealed by bushes, in the corner of the compound as he waited for Johnny to come home.

The next car to pull into the compound was not Johnny's - Johnny was actually home as he was in Carmen's place - but was a cab. Stepping out of the cab was Miguel. The Ecuadorian couldn't see Robby as Robby was pretty well hidden, and Miguel was pretty distracted. He was holding a glass of champagne in his hands, and he knocked on his mom's door. Carmen and Johnny both answered it almost immediately, hoping beyond hope that it was their son. Miguel had been gone for 20 hours, 4 more and they would call the cops. They let out a massive relief when they saw Miguel standing there. A MASSIVE weight had been lifted from their shoulders. They raised an eyebrow when they saw the champagne glass in his hands. Miguel took a deep breath.

"Hey. Um… I know you guys didn't have an actual wedding, but I figure it's common courtesy to give you guys a wedding toast." Miguel said. "I was selfish, and I freaked out, and I'm so sorry. So here it is. Mom, I love you. I've known you both together, and I've known you both apart, and I can honestly say that I've never seen either of you a fraction as happy as when you are together. Johnny, that's right I'm not calling you sensei outside the dojo anymore if you're legally my step dad, I would say welcome to the family, but honestly, you've been in the family for 2 years now. What you two have is what I one day hope to find. But until then, cheers to you both. I love you guys."

"Oh, Miguel…" Carmen smiled, tears brimming in her eyes, as she embraced her son tightly. "I'm so…"

Here it was. Did they forgive him? Was she happy? Upset? Proud? Disappointed?"

"Exhausted right now that I feel like I'm delirious." Carmen mumbled. "I'm only 60% sure you're actually here right now, but if you are… I love you. And you are the best son a mother could ever have."

"Thanks, mom." Miguel murmured.

Meanwhile, Robby, who had seen the whole thing from his hiding spot, punched the wall in rage. WHAT THE HELL?! His anger towards Miguel came flooding back! Miguel had stolen everything he ever wanted: he had the family Robby had dreamed of his whole life! Kreese was right. You really didn't get anything without fighting tooth and nail for it. Robby then vowed then and there that he would do anything it took to win the All-Valley tournament. He was Cobra Kai's number 1 student, and he was proud of it…

So close, yet so far…

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The next month had absolutely flown by and before they knew it, it was July 18th, the night before the All-Valley. Although Kreese's students were training long into the night, Johnny didn't want Miguel and Hawk to do the same. They needed to be well-rested for the tournament the next day, more than they needed the extra hours of training. He had trained Miguel and Hawk with absolutely everything him and Jimmy had. They flipped tyres, jumped rope, ran sprints, and almost every physical drill under the sun. They watched replays of the All American Karate Tournament from last year and learned some of the techniques that the fighters used. They did stamina drills. Speed drills. Agility drills.

So, the night before the All-Valley, rather than training, Johnny took Miguel and Hawk to his favourite bar, where Jimmy and Bobby both joined them.

"So, you boys excited for the tournament tomorrow?" Bobby asked. Miguel and Hawk nodded.

"Yeah, I mean we trained like fucking soldiers. I'm excited to finally put the training to the test." Hawk replied. "There's only so much sparring you can do. We need the competitiveness. The game."

"Speaking of the game, you youngbloods fancy trying your luck against me at pool?" Jimmy asked. Miguel and Hawk looked at each other, trying not to smirk, and they nodded.

"Let's do it." Miguel said, and the two of them walked away. When they were gone, Bobby turned to Johnny.

"I'm really proud of you, Johnny. You raised two great kids there." Bobby remarked.

"I didn't do anything." Johnny replied, brushing off the compliment. Bobby shook his head.

"Yes, you did. Especially with Miguel. If you can't see the impact you had on them, you're blind." Bobby said. Johnny chuckled.

"Wow, I'm flattered. A priest is complimenting my parenting." Johnny joked. Bobby rolled his eyes and put his head in his hands.

"Okay, clearly you haven't grown up that much." Bobby replied. Johnny took a deep breath.

"In all seriousness, I need to get your opinion on something. Between me and Miguel. I've already spoken to his mom about it and she's on board, but I was wondering about your opinion."

"What is it?" Bobby asked, curiously. Johnny then told him the thing that him and Carmen had previously discussed, and he was about to talk to Miguel about. When he told his friend, Bobby's eyes widened.

"Well, what do you think?" Johnny asked, tentatively.

"Johnny… that's amazing!" Bobby exclaimed. "And of course he's going to say yes!"

15 minutes later, as Bobby was paying the bar tab, Jimmy, Hawk and Miguel returned to the pool table, grins on Miguel and Hawk's faces but a sour look on Jimmy's.

"Your kids suck, Johnny!" He exclaimed. "You know what they did? They hustled me! They won 100 bucks from me!"

Johnny chuckled as he looked at the gleeful expressions on Miguel and Hawk's face.

"Don't take it too hard, buddy. Miguel did the exact same thing to me in Vegas, but he robbed me of 200." Johnny replied.

"Hey! I didn't rob you! I just beat you at the game fairly. It was your decision to up the ante." Miguel exclaimed, indignantly.

"All right. I just paid the tab. I think it's time to wrap up for the night. You guys need to get some sleep." He said.

"You coming tomorrow?" Johnny asked. Bobby grinned.

"Of course I'm coming! I can't wait to see the look on that son of a bitch Kreese's face when you guys drive him out of the Valley forever!"

"Wow, calling someone a son of a bitch. Didn't think that was in a priest's vocabulary." Miguel remarked. Bobby glared at him and then turned to Johnny.

"That kid's seriously a man of your own heart, Johnny." Bobby remarked. "For the last time, I'm NOT A PRIEST!"

The rest of the group laughed, and they eventually went their separate ways. However, when Johnny and Miguel got into the car, Johnny didn't drive them home. He drove them up to their favourite spot in the city, at the top of the mountain. It was the same spot Johnny had taken Miguel to months earlier to vent about his dad, and he had an equally significant topic this time.

"Johnny, what are we doing here?" Miguel asked as he got out of the car and sat at the edge of the cliff, gazing at the gorgeous view. The beauty never got old.

"I want to talk to you about something. Just the two of us." Johnny replied. He took out a large file from the back of his car, and then he walked over to Miguel, sitting down beside him. Miguel looked at the cover of the file and his eyes widened.

"Oh, God! A State of L.A courthouse file? Is this about my driving?" Miguel asked in a panic. "I swear, it was a car that merely looked like mine that was going 140 miles an hour on an empty road. And I swear that garbage bin looked like a parking meter!"

"Miguel, relax. It's not about your driving." Johnny laughed. "Although I would like to hear about those stories later."

"Oh, um… okay. Then what is this about?" Miguel asked, curiously.

"These are, um… adoption papers." Johnny revealed. He took a deep breath and he began explaining. "Miguel, you taught me more about how to be a man than I ever taught you. You are hands down the best person I know, and I'm extremely blessed that I even had a minuscule part in raising you. I love you like you're my biological son. That's why, if you sign these adoption papers, you would legally become my son too, not just my step-son. There's no pressure or anything. I'd completely understand if you say no. It's entirely up to you."

Miguel's jaw dropped as he took in what Johnny was offering him, and he was absolutely speechless. It took him a solid minute to string words together and he replied…

"Johnny, you were damn well more than just a miniscule part in raising me." Miguel murmured. "You taught me how to shave. You taught me how to drive. You taught me how to fight. You taught me how to play basketball. You're my dad, Johnny, no more said. And I'd… I'd be honored to legally become your son."

Johnny's eyes widened, and although he hated to admit it, tears started to creep up on him.

"Miguel, I love you man." Johnny said.

"Love you too, Johnny." Miguel replied, hugging him. The two of them gazed up at the night sky for several moments in comfortable silence, before getting up.

"We should probably get going. You need to get some sleep. Big day tomorrow." Johnny said. "You nervous?"

Miguel smiled.

"Not really. I know that whether I win or not, I've got the best sensei in the world in my corner…"