The sun was moving past the trees in the park that December afternoon when Miguel checked the time on his phone. It had almost reached the hour he'd requested for the meetup. Slipping his cell back inside his pocket, Miguel shivered into his jacket as a strong breeze picked up. The bares trees would have rustled had there still been any leaves on them.

He wondered how much longer it would be before Hawk showed up….

Biting his bottom lip, picking at the chapped skin with his teeth, Miguel began to wonder. Hawk had been completely closed off to him lately. He wasn't even sure if he'd show up today at all. But hiding wasn't Hawk's style, he remembered. Hadn't been for a long time. He'd be here.

Miguel started pacing, kicking up loose rocks with his shoes. He worried about Hawk. His eagerness to fight had escalated past the point of reason. Sure, even back when Sensei Lawrence was in charge of things, Hawk was prone to letting his emotions get the better of him and making hot-headed decisions because of it. But now it really was like he saw himself as a soldier being sent out by his general.

If Hawk did show up, would he be bringing a fight with him? Things between Sensei Lawrence and Sensei Kreese were at the boiling point. Did Hawk consider him his enemy now, too?

Maybe. But Miguel wasn't scared of him. Worst case scenario, he knew he could take Hawk down in a fight. Was pretty sure, anyway. Yeah, he'd been out of it for a while, but with Sensei's help, he felt much more like his old self. If push came to shove, he'd strike back hard. But he hoped he wouldn't have to.

He looked up and, with no fanfare, there was Hawk, walking past the basketball court and up the trail to where Miguel said to meet him. They simply stood there for a moment, staring at one another like two cobras with their hoods raised, daring the other to make the first move.

"Are we gonna fight here?" asked Hawk, fists flexed by his sides, sounding so fatalistic as he said it; like that was the inevitable outcome. His eyes were deep-set, and his mouth creased in a harsh frown. He looked more exhausted than Miguel could ever remember him being.

"I'd rather talk, if it's all the same to you," answered Miguel, making a conscious effort to keep his own hands relaxed. Sensei Lawrence had been teaching them that there was a time to fight and a time to talk. This was one of the latter.

Hawk shifted back and forth on his feet for a few awkward seconds before nodding. "Alright." He followed Miguel as he led him over to sit on the park bench, the same one they'd shared that evening; what felt like forever ago.

Miguel sighed and stared at where his hands rested in his lap for a minute, trying to piece together how he wanted this to go. Where did he even expect this conversation to go in the first place? He couldn't say too much about what Sensei Lawrence was planning. Both because he didn't fully understand it himself, and what he did know he couldn't reveal, because Hawk would definitely go and snitch about it to Sensei Kreese. That was where they were at right now.

But still. Hawk was his friend. He should have been able to get into his head better than this, to at least try and see where he was coming from.

Before he could break the ice, Hawk bluntly declared, "If you're trying to get me to betray Sensei Kreese, this isn't gonna work." Casting a hard glare at Miguel, he added, "And nothing I say is gonna convince you to come back to Cobra Kai, will it?"

"I am back at Cobra Kai," Miguel stated with a defiant air, crossing his arms over his chest. He watched Hawk's upper lip curl in distaste. But when he opened his mouth, undoubtedly about to start them down a path that would lead to a venomous argument, or worse, Miguel took control. "I'm just trying to understand why you'd turn on Sensei."

He didn't bother specifying which one. He was allowed to be a little harsh. As far as he was concerned, there was only one true Sensei of Cobra Kai.

"Sensei Lawrence turned on us," retorted Hawk. When Miguel rolled his eyes, he went on, "Sensei Lawrence has been off the path ever since the All-Valley. Remember how he didn't tell us Robby was his son, not even when he chewed our asses out in front of the class? And then punished us for drilling him about it? And when he kicked Sensei Kreese out, he decided to betray what Cobra Kai originally stood for."

It seemed they were destined to have an argument regardless, but Miguel tried steering it around anyway. "Alright, let me rephrase my question. What's so great about Sensei Kreese then, huh?"

"He knows what it takes to win," answered Hawk. "Since he's taken over, things have really turned around for us. Now we're always the last men standing in a fight. Plus, he just knows so much about, well, everything. You should hear some of his stories. He's done so much cool shit."

Miguel responded, "I remember his stories not really adding up."

Hawk scowled. "So he's a little old and maybe mixes some things up. So what? If we did half as many badass things as he's done, we'd lose track of them, too."

"Okay, but what about the way he teaches?" Miguel parried back. "Don't you think maybe there's a reason Tory and those other guys chose to come back?" He'd heard a lot of things from them, things that lined up with what Sensei Lawrence had to say about back in the day when he and the original Cobras used to be students under Sensei Kreese.

"Because they're quitters," Hawk mumbled, his voice heavy with anger and accusation. "But I'm not." He made a fist with one hand and pressed it into the palm of the other, digging his knuckles hard into it. The gesture reminded Miguel of Sensei Lawrence.

He couldn't help but feel sorry for Hawk, even though he knew his friend wouldn't appreciate his pity. He was sorry for what the fight between Sensei Lawrence and Sensei Kreese was doing to them both. They should have been at the mall or something, joking around, having a good time. Perhaps even figuring out whatever it was they had going on, to explore more of what had happened that evening in this park….

Miguel ran his hand through his hair. "What about his personal war against Mr. LaRusso and Miyagi-Do?" he asked, his voice dropping low. "This is going way beyond the beef Mr. LaRusso and Sensei Lawrence have. Do you really think going after them's gonna make things better?"

"When the world shits on us, we gotta shit on it right back," Hawk emphasized. "If you expect me to apologize for going after Keene, don't hold your breath. I know Sensei Lawrence messed with your head, but I thought you would understand by now that you can't show your opponents any mercy. Robby got what he deserved. If anything, I wish I could've kicked his ass even harder."

That impulse to exact vengeance could be intoxicating. It wasn't as though Miguel didn't feel its pull himself. It wasn't like he hadn't imagined getting his own revenge on Robby, like he didn't feel even a shred of envy when Hawk talked about bloodying his nose. He easily imagined how great that must have felt.

But then Sensei Lawrence's advice echoed in his mind's ear, telling him that even though what happened to him wasn't fair, he still needed to be the honorable man. Whether or not he forgave Robby was up to him, but that was his choice to make. And in the meantime, he had to think of the bigger picture.

"You should've let me handle Robby," he told Hawk, his tone carrying a bit of a rough edge to it.

Hawk lowered his eyes and stared stolidly at his shoes. A long silence came over them until he opened his mouth faintly and said, "When Robby kicked you over the railing…When I-I saw you on the stairs, I thought…." His blue eyes narrowed as he trailed off, and his hands gripped the seat of the park bench so tight his knuckles went white.

Miguel didn't know why, until now, it hadn't crossed his mind that Hawk had seen it happen. "Hawk…."

"We didn't even know if you were gonna live, nobody would tell us anything!" exclaimed Hawk. "None of the adults understood, all they wanted was someone to blame, and they wanted to punish us. You know who did care, though? Sensei Kreese."

"Did he?" asked Miguel, raising an eyebrow.

Hawk's eyes got more narrow, even as he continued staring at his shoes. "I know you think he's just some hardass, but, dude, not even my parents got what it was like. But Sensei Kreese, he told me all this stuff about surviving a war, about these soldiers, his friends, he had to watch die right in front of him. And nobody here gave a shit when he came back. So he made Cobra Kai, to teach people to be badasses, to be winners and show no mercy, so they didn't have to go through all that. So when I thought you were gonna die…. He understood what I was feeling. Nobody else did."

Miguel believed Hawk was telling the truth. And a rush of sympathy swelled inside him, knowing for himself how it felt to be alone, where nobody else seemed to understand how upset and lost you were. He also knew how comforting it was to be reminded that someone did get you. When Sensei Lawrence came back to him, with the resolve to be his Sensei again, to start retraining him, it had brought more joy to Miguel than he'd experienced in months.

If Hawk saw Sensei Kreese through that lens, well, Miguel could at least understand that.

But even with all that being true, Miguel couldn't stop listening to his instincts, the gnawing in his stomach that told him Sensei Kreese was dangerous. At this point, he didn't even know if that feeling was rational. But Sensei Lawrence didn't trust him; he didn't want Sensei Kreese around any of them. That was enough to convince Miguel.

How in the world would he ever convince Hawk, though? Especially when most of his arguments rested on the foundation of, "Because Sensei Lawrence said so." Hawk would throw that back in face. He'd say he was being Sensei Lawrence's loyal lapdog.

Hawk lifted his face. A faint hint of a smile spread across his mouth. It relieved Miguel to see it. "I was so glad to hear you were going to be okay. Well, you know what I mean. And all that time you were getting better, I couldn't wait to see you back in Cobra Kai again. It was gonna be you and me, back on top, just like it used to be. And then after what happened here last time, I thought…I don't know, man. I thought maybe you were hoping for the same thing."

His voice was tight, like he was struggling with words he'd rather have suppressed. Something resembling guilt came over Hawk's face. Did he feel guilty for exposing these feelings to him? For being too soft?

Miguel froze, staring at Hawk with wide eyes. His heart pounded in his ribcage. "Hey, about that, about what happened here last time," he mumbled, almost unaware his lips were moving. "You know…."

"Yeah."

"I know I said we shouldn't have, but I don't want to just forget about it." Miguel slid his hand over and laid it on top of Hawk's.

Hawk perked a little. "Really?"

It was weird how, situated as they were in that park, Miguel could feel removed from the reality they actually lived in. Because for a moment, it didn't matter that they were rivals in a splintered dojo, dragged apart by circumstances rooted in history between their Senseis dating back way before they were born. They shouldn't have been fighting. They should have been trying to figure things out. Figuring this out.

Why shouldn't he go ahead down this road? Why not dive in? He was strong enough to kick himself to the surface now. He was a Cobra again, and Cobras weren't timid. Cobras didn't slither away because life was difficult.

"Do you want to try it, again?" he asked Hawk vaguely, licking his bottom lip to get his intentions across.

"Right now?" asked Hawk, raising his eyebrows. He hesitated but couldn't stop his smile from widening at the prospect being offered. It was like he, too, wanted to forget about this Cobra Kai schism for a minute and focus on this, on them. At Miguel's offer, his soldier front dropped. He looked less tired. More hopeful. "Uh, yeah."

Miguel leaned forward, and the two of them met for a kiss. It was tamer than the previous time, because a lot had happened since then. But after a first faint, closed-mouth press of their lips, Miguel could feel his blood pumping with invigoration. Dropping any remaining meekness, they kissed again, drawing out the intense sensation as hands laid on each other's bodies.

Not wanting to run from it this time, Miguel chased the good feelings tingling through him. And as they drew out a faint moan deep from his chest, it made Miguel want to try and find a way to fix the problem they'd found themselves caught in the middle of, so they could concentrate on this instead.

So when the kiss broke, Miguel opened his eyes, meeting Hawk's, and murmured, "If you don't trust Sensei Lawrence, do you at least trust me?"

"What?" Hawk's jaw slacked like something had dawned over him all of a sudden. His nostrils started flaring, breath picking up before a deep scowl soured his whole face. He yanked his hands back and jumped to his feet. "What the hell?! Was that your plan? Lower my guard and then come in for the attack?"

Miguel stood up, shaking his head. "What?! No, that's not what I meant!" He hadn't intended it that way in the slightest. But given the circumstances, he could see why this looked bad, why Hawk would think he was playing with his emotions. It made Miguel want to slap his forehead in frustration. Why did he act before thinking this through?

"I thought you were Cobra Kai, but that's such a pussy move. No wonder you won't come back, you couldn't handle Sensei Kreese's style if you're gonna be a little bitch like that. Why don't you go and join the rest of the Miyagi-Nerds?" Hawk spat, making Miguel's fists clench. "Did Sensei Lawrence put you up to this?" Now he just sounded paranoid.

"Put me up to kissing you?," asked Miguel, voice drenched with sarcasm, hoping the question sounded as ridiculous to Hawk's ears as the accusation actually was. "Oh yeah, totally, that's exactly what this was all about. You cracked our master plan, genius."

That was probably the wrong thing to say, because suddenly Hawk's hand reached out and grabbed a fistful of his shirt collar and his other reared back, looking like it was ready to form a fist.

Miguel's reflexes were lightning-quick. He grasped the wrist that gripped his shirt and twisted it, then shot out his other arm, knocking the heel of his palm square into Hawk's jaw. The hit sent Hawk stumbling backward, but he caught his footing before he fell. Grazing his knuckles across his jaw, Hawk gave him a look of such intense wrath that Miguel was worried they were going to get into a full fight, right then and there.

However, Hawk backed away, to Miguel's surprise. Had it registered to him that Miguel really was back in the game now? Or, judging by the hurt in his eyes, was this a fight he did not want anymore than Miguel did?

"You'd better hope Sensei Lawrence gets back in line with Sensei Kreese, or else he can expect the war to come to him, too, just like Miyagi-Do!" threatened Hawk, his eyes wild and distressed, putting a hasty distance between him and Miguel. "We're through talking after today! Get in my way and I'll take you down!"

With that last warning, he took off running. Miguel watched Hawk's back as he raced up the trail, waiting to see if he'd ever stop and look behind him. He never did. And once Hawk was out of sight, Miguel raced over to where he'd locked his bike. With his stomach twisted in painful knots, he began pedaling home at breakneck speed.

When he got back to Reseda Heights, he sat outside his apartment for a long time, sorting out his thoughts, trying to figure out what had went wrong.

He was so caught up in them that he didn't even notice Sensei Lawrence's car pull in until he got out and walked over to stand next to him. "Hey, Sensei," Miguel muttered, eyeing the pack of beers in Sensei Lawrence's hand, wondering from the look on his instructor's face if he had come back from Mr. LaRusso's. Of late, Sensei often had that expression bordering on annoyance and resentment whenever he returned from talking with Mr. LaRusso.

"Diaz, what are you doing out here?" asked Sensei Lawrence. "You didn't lock yourself out again, did you? Because the landlord's gonna be pissed if I have to jimmy that door open."

"No, Sensei. I've just needed some time to think," Miguel explained, crossing his arms over his knees. "I was talking with Hawk earlier."

Sitting down next to him, Sensei Lawrence cracked open one of the Coors bottles from its pack. "Oh yeah? How'd that go?"

Sensei Lawrence didn't need to hear the full details of what happened, but Miguel knew he could have used his guidance right about now. He was at a loss about what else to do. All he did know was that Sensei Kreese was bad news, and he wanted Hawk to get away from him before something really bad happened. "I don't think he's ever going to give up on Sensei Kreese. He doesn't see anything off about any of this, it's like he's totally bought into this made-up war Sensei Kreese wants to fight."

He saw the way Sensei Lawrence knitted his eyebrows together, how the corner of his mouth twitched. He looked almost guilty. But instead of offering any advice, he simply tilted his bottle back and downed a swig.

So Miguel tried again. "Sensei, Mr. Kreese was your Sensei. You said yourself his methods were outdated, so that means you know this whole thing is crazy, right?"

Sensei Lawrence's eyes lingered down at the ground for a few seconds before he took another big chug of his beer. "Yeah."