A winter rainstorm awaited Hawk when he stepped out of the dojo that evening. A heavy downpour, one that would drench him and ruin his hair in a second if he stepped out in it, even for the short trek to his car. What a shitty way to end what should have been a triumphant day for him.
"Hawk, let's talk."
He turned his head and followed the voice. There was Miguel, standing up from where he'd been leaning against the wall outside the Pawn Shop. He didn't look soaked, and with no sign of an umbrella, Hawk assumed he must have been waiting for him for some time, at least before the rain started. And he hadn't come inside to tell him he was there.
Miguel was staring at his face as he walked up to him, no doubt gawking at the new shiner adorning his eye and cheekbone. A badge of honor, in Hawk's opinion. A black-and-blue symbol of his commitment to getting even, no matter how long it took.
"News travels fast, huh?" remarked Hawk, a smirk curling up the side of his mouth. He was planning to FaceTime Miguel about it later that night after he got home, since he finished his talk with Sensei Kreese. But he wasn't so surprised word had gotten around to him already. He was glad, especially considering the outcome.
He also wondered who told Miguel. Sam? Demetri? Or someone else….
"So, it's true?" asked Miguel. "You got into a fight with Robby?"
"Yeah," he answered, jutting his chin out. "I settled the score. I wish you could've seen it. He didn't know what hit him. That asshole hasn't even been out of juvie for two days, and I reminded him that Cobra Kai doesn't forget."
He expected a big smile to light up Miguel's face, for him to show excitement that he'd been avenged. Hawk might have had to lie in brumation for a while, like Sensei Kreese had taught him to do, but he'd finally gotten his payback on Robby Keene for what he did. He hoped it might help Miguel finally start feeling better. He could be happy again.
But instead, Miguel looked shocked, with his slack mouth and pinched eyes, like he didn't know why Hawk would do what he did. "Why would you immediately escalate things like that?" he asked.
Miguel might as well have swept his leg out from under him, Hawk was thrown so suddenly off-balance. "What…What do you mean?" he stammered, the stirrings of uncertainty prickling at his insides.
"I'm hearing he tried avoiding the fight," said Miguel. "Is that true, too?"
"Yeah, he was spouting some bullshit about not wanting to fight me," Hawk replied, his skin beginning to heat up, even outside in the cold storm. "He must've thought I was a fucking dumbass to fall for that. You know better than anyone, those shitheads at Miyagi-Do wait until you're vulnerable before they go all-in. They always fight like a bunch of pussies. So I made sure he knew real fast that he wasn't going to get a chance to take advantage of any mercy from me, because I didn't plan on showing any."
Keene should have been grateful that all Hawk had left him with was a busted, bloody nose. He should have wrecked him so bad he ended up in the hospital. He deserved the same as he'd done to Miguel. Or at least a broken arm or something. If Hawk hadn't had to flee at the time, he might have done it. But his message had still come across loud and clear, which was the point.
Miguel let out a frustrated huff. "I thought we agreed that Cobra Kai and Miyagi-Do should stay away from each other for a while. And as soon as Robby gets out, you go looking for a fight right off the bat? Don't you realize this is just going to make things worse?"
How come he was treating him like the bad guy?
Shaking his head in disbelief, Hawk asked, "You're going to defend Robby?"
"I'm not defending Robby, don't even go there," Miguel emphasized, pointing his finger in Hawk's face as his voice rose above the sound of the rain pounding against the parking lot asphalt. Irritation and offense were thick in his voice. "I'm asking why you decided to blow things up between the dojos again. Didn't you learn anything after wrecking Miyagi-Do and taking their medal? How do you think they're gonna react now, huh?"
Hawk's mouth twisted in confusion. "I did this for you, man," he said, as though it should have been obvious.
"I didn't ask you to," argued Miguel.
He didn't have to ask him. They were Cobra Kai. When Robby hurt him, he hurt all of Cobra Kai. They were supposed to have each other's backs.
And yet, even with that being true, Miguel's words still stung. Hawk was so sure he had been doing the right thing. It was the only motivation that had driven him for months. Revenge against Miyagi-Do. Revenge against Robby Keene, specifically. And after Miguel's moping in the park that night, Hawk thought he would have appreciated some closure. He'd been so upset, seemed so unsure what he should do once Robby got out. Hawk had solved that problem for him.
All he'd wanted to do was get even. And here was Miguel, chewing him out for it.
It hurt. It hurt a lot.
Down by his sides, Hawk's hands curled into fists. His anger was beginning to boil. It seemed like nobody approved of his actions, ever. He didn't understand why. He did what he was instructed to do. He was protecting his dojo. And he got results. He was turning the tide of the war. Why should he feel guilty about that?
When he didn't have an immediate reply, Miguel suddenly declared, "Sensei Lawrence wants Cobra Kai back."
Hawk blinked, taking a few more seconds to process what he'd heard. His eyes darted once to the Cobra Kai dojo, as he felt the urgent need to run in and warn Sensei Kreese. But he recovered enough to look at Miguel again and say, "Well, we don't want him back."
Now it was Miguel's brown eyes that got as wide as deer's caught in the headlights. Then they narrowed. "This is his dojo," he argued.
"I told you, Sensei Kreese founded Cobra Kai," Hawk repeated.
"Maybe he founded the original Cobra Kai, but not this Cobra Kai." Miguel fixed an intense stare on him now. "Sensei Kreese wasn't the one who laid down the mats or wired the electricity or painted the walls of that dojo. And I sure as hell know he wasn't the one who cleaned the toilet, because I did that for months."
Hawk retorted, "Maybe not, but Sensei Kreese is the one who signed a contract."
"Sure, through a shady, underhanded deal," said Miguel. "But that seems to be the kind of guy he is."
That made the corner of Hawk's mouth twitch, and he spoke with a rough intonation as he told Miguel, "You don't know anything about Sensei Kreese." He hadn't heard all of Sensei Kreese's incredible stories, about all the crazy shit he'd seen in his lifetime, about all the amazing things he'd accomplished. About the origins of Cobra Kai itself, built by Sensei Kreese's sheer force of will to survive in a world that had tried to destroy him. Only Hawk knew about that.
"Sensei Lawrence told me a lot of things about Sensei Kreese," rebutted Miguel.
Hawk scoffed in disgust. "Yeah, I bet he did."
"It sounds like he's always been more a drill sergeant than a Sensei. Mercy, honor, the things Sensei Lawrence tried teaching us, do they mean anything to Sensei Kreese at all? Let me guess, is he the one who told you to get payback against Miyagi-Do?"
Hawk's face burned hot, and he was sure he was red now.
It all made sense. Miguel's arguing, it must have been because of Sensei Lawrence. He'd gotten to Miguel again. He always did. Probably filled his head with that same sometimes-show-mercy bullshit that had made them into complete losers before Sensei Kreese stepped in and put them back on track. The same shit that got Miguel hurt.
"So, the only reason you're mad about me fighting Robby is because it upset Sensei Lawrence," Hawk accused, a nasty edge to his tone. "He never liked us winning against his son. In every other case, we should be badasses, but when it came to Robby Keene, we always had to be a couple of pussies. And you always do what Sensei Lawrence wants."
Hawk hadn't wanted to risk a rupture with Miguel before, but this was getting out of hand. He had to put his foot down. What kind of friend would he be if he stood by, doing nothing, and let Sensei Lawrence take advantage of Miguel's loyalty and lead him blindly off a cliff again? He couldn't let it happen twice, not without putting up a fight. If that meant stepping on Miguel's toes and shoving some harsh truths down his throat, so be it.
Miguel's frown tightened. This time, it was his fists that were flexing by his sides. "Don't you understand? This is bigger than Robby. You've been talking about this war with Miyagi-Do. That's not something Sensei Lawrence ever wanted. He's getting really worried about what Sensei Kreese is teaching you guys. And he thinks if this keeps up, things are going to spiral out of control again."
"How can you listen to Sensei Lawrence?" Hawk demanded with a scowl. Sensei Lawrence had taught them restraint, and it resulted in all of them losing to Miyagi-Do. "His Cobra Kai was weak, he made us weak. Sensei Kreese has taught us about real strength, about winning the war, making sure we strike down our enemies before they ever get a chance to take advantage of us. Nobody is ever going to hurt us again."
Miguel looked at him like he'd sucker-punched him. "Listen to yourself. Don't you think that might be a little extreme?"
How could Miguel, of all people, act like the stakes weren't the highest they had ever been? "Extreme situations call for extreme measures," Hawk replied, squaring his shoulders back as he repeated his Sensei's words. He wasn't soft. He was strong, only as aggressive as he needed to be in order to win.
"Look, I don't care what you say, Sensei Kreese's style of karate sucks," declared Miguel, throwing his hands up in exasperation. He looked in way over his head. "All this talk about finishing your enemies off, about going to war, it's screwing with your head."
Hawk's fists curled so tight that his arms began shaking. Now he was pissed off. Where did Miguel get the nerve to come off like that? "No, Sensei Lawrence is screwing with your head."
Miguel's finger was back in his face again. "Sensei Lawrence is looking out for all of our best interests."
"You almost died because of him!" screamed Hawk. He was panting now, his shoulders rising and falling, seething with righteous indignation. How could Miguel stand there and continue defending Sensei Lawrence after everything that had happened? Had Sensei Lawrence told him to come here? Did he send Miguel here to fight his battle, treating him like some pawn? If so, Hawk hated him more than ever.
He wanted to grab Miguel and drag him into the dojo right that instant, so he could finally get Sensei Kreese to help him see that Sensei Lawrence was pulling the wool over his eyes, to see that he was being duped and being led on the wrong path.
The two Senseis didn't even compare. Sensei Lawrence couldn't even hold a candle to how dope Sensei Kreese was. Sensei Kreese was a war hero. Sensei Lawrence was a drunken loser. How could Hawk have ever thought his old Sensei used to be badass?
Miguel's expression morphed into a mixture of both anger and pain, making Hawk feel like he'd hit him below the belt. "That's not fair," Miguel muttered. He looked miserable right then, shoulders slumped, standing against the grey backdrop of the heavy rainstorm.
Seeing the effect his words were having, Hawk tried to calm himself. Maybe there had been too much venom in that particular bite. He didn't mean to make Miguel feel bad, but he had no clue what else he could say to make him understand. "Just come back to Cobra Kai," he pleaded, gesturing to the dojo with one hand, reaching out to grasp Miguel's with the other. Even slack in his hand, Miguel's fingers always felt warm. "The real Cobra Kai. Please."
Miguel had that same look on his face now that he did before he'd kissed him in the park, which just confused Hawk all the more. What had that business been about then? Why couldn't they just go back to that moment, when things seemed like they were going to be okay? Things made so much more sense in those few minutes when Miguel was leaning into him, pulling him closer to kiss him harder. How had they gotten from then to now? Could they go back?
What if he made a move now? Would that make things better, or worse? If he leaned forward and brought their lips together again? Would he be able to express himself in a way Miguel could follow, to see why he was doing the things he was? Miguel had said he couldn't handle any of that right now, but how else was Hawk supposed to explain things? Especially when it felt like his chest was going to crumble from the weight of it all inside him.
And, when Miguel opened his mouth faintly, for a fleeting moment Hawk thought he might have read his mind. That he could see those thoughts, understand those feelings inside him he would have such a difficult time forming into words if Miguel asked him to explain how he felt about him. If he couldn't comprehend his actions, could he at least comprehend his feelings?
"No," Miguel said finally. Deep down, both of them knew what that would mean.
So, this was really happening. It was going to come down to this, the line drawn in the sand.
Hawk dropped Miguel's hand and shuffled a couple of steps back on the pavement.
Miguel was going to take Sensei Lawrence's side in his move to retake Cobra Kai, and nothing Hawk could say was going to stop him. He couldn't compete with whatever Miguel had with Sensei Lawrence. Was he going to become his enemy, too? But they were supposed to be on the same side of this war. They were both Cobra Kai, and Cobra Kai was supposed to be for life….
"Hawk, wait." Closing the space between them again, Miguel reached his hands out, laying them on Hawk's shoulders warmly. He had an imploring look on his face, with his big eyes and raised brows. He was concerned for him. Why couldn't he see he should have been concerned for himself; that on the path he was currently on, he was just going to get hurt again? Because he always listened to Sensei Lawrence, no matter what…. "Dude, listen, why don't we—"
Whatever Miguel was going to say, Hawk didn't want to hear it. He narrowed his eyes and his scowl deepened, putting his own hands on Miguel's shoulders and viciously shoving him away. Miguel grabbed a nearby post and caught his footing before he tripped backwards out into the pouring rain.
Hawk thought with Miguel back in action, he wouldn't feel as alone as he had been. Now he felt more isolated than ever. And he couldn't take it anymore. He had to get out of there, right that second, or he was going to blow up.
His head pounded in confusion. He was as lost as he had been the day after the school brawl. He needed guidance, and he knew where to run to find it. The only person who had been there consistently for him over the past few months, without fail.
He turned around and raced back the short distance to the dojo. He needed to warn Sensei Kreese about what Sensei Lawrence was planning. He would know what to do.
When he grabbed the handle, he paused to give one more glance at Miguel. And he knew from that look, his friend was not going to follow him inside. Things could never go back to the way they were.
The bells jingled as he stormed inside, barely hearing Miguel call out his name as the door closed behind him. "Hawk…."