A/N: I'm probably just going to skip the rest of Jason and Miguel's respective suspensions and skip to them returning to West Valley High. One thing that kind of bothered me about the original Season 1 was the fact that Miguel didn't get to have dinner with the LaRussos. So, I'm rectifying that.
Disclaimer: I don't own the Karate Kid movies, Cobra Kai or anything else that I might reference.
The Dinner
Today was Friday.
And it was also the day when Miguel would have dinner with Sam's family.
Which was a big deal.
And he still hadn't gotten anything to bring as a gift.
Breakfast had gone by without any incident.
Yaya still hadn't told Mom that he was suspended and Mom still hadn't asked.
"I'm going to be heading outside for a little bit. Are you going to be okay by yourself?" Miguel asks.
Yaya gives him a dismissive wave of the hand. "I'll be fine. You had lunch here yesterday and the day before, so it's okay if you go somewhere else. Besides, you'd have a lot of explaining to do if Carmen came home early."
"Fair enough." Miguel concedes this point.
He already has his wallet and phone on him and he's wearing the watch Yaya gave him.
So, he doesn't really need anything else. Except for a key.
Miguel goes back to his room and finds his key to the apartment before putting on his shoes and exiting the apartment, closing the door behind him.
He walks towards Sensei's apartment.
Sensei's Pontiac Firebird is still parked outside the apartment, which is a good thing because he could ask Sensei what kind of gift he should get for Sam's parents.
Jason had suggested a bottle of nice wine or scotch but he could use a second opinion. Preferably from someone who had experience of this sort of thing.
Miguel knocks on the door of Sensei's apartment and waits.
"Alright! I'm… Oh, it's you. Hey, Diaz. I wasn't expecting to see you for another few hours." Sensei opens the door and looks outside.
Miguel nods. "Well, I'm here now. And there's something I want to ask you."
"Oh. Well, come on in. Don't just stand there." Sensei walks back into his apartment.
Miguel follows him. "Okay."
He watches as Sensei closes the door behind him.
Sensei's apartment looks relatively clean, which is different to what Miguel was expecting.
"Feel free to sit down." Sensei gestures to an empty recliner before sitting down himself.
Miguel sits down. "Thanks."
"So, what did you want to ask me?" Sensei asks.
Miguel lets out a breath. "Well, I'm having dinner with my girlfriend and her family today and I'm not sure if I should get them a gift or not."
"You can't just show up empty handed, Diaz." Sensei replies.
Miguel agrees. "Exactly. So, what do you think I should get them?"
"A good bottle of wine or some nice scotch." Sensei answers.
Miguel sits back in the recliner. "That's what Jason suggested."
"It's a damn good suggestion, Diaz. Anyway, I was kind of hoping that you and Kreese would join me for lunch to commemorate the end of the first week of you guys being my assistants. If you want to, that is." Sensei says.
Miguel nods. "That sounds like a great idea. Besides, I could probably use some time out of the apartment. I've caught up on everything that I'm missing in school so far."
"Great. We should probably go and pick Kreese up." Sensei suggests.
Miguel watches as Sensei rises from where he was sitting and gets his keys before he walks towards the door and opens it.
He gets up and follows Sensei out of the apartment.
The door closes behind them.
Sensei unlocks the Pontiac Firebird and gets into the driver's seat and puts on his seatbelt.
Miguel gets into the front passenger's seat.
He puts on his seatbelt before Sensei starts the car and turns on the radio.
It shouldn't take them that long to get to Jason's house.
….
Jason had managed to keep on top of any schoolwork he'd missed since his suspension.
Claire, Aisha, Leonard, Demetri and Hawk had kept him and Miguel informed about what they'd missed during their suspensions.
Jason did some schoolwork before training for a bit.
He had showered and gotten dressed before taking his wallet, phone and keys downstairs with him.
There was a knock on the door followed by the doorbell ringing.
Jason put on his shoes and went to open the door.
He looked out and saw Sensei and Miguel waiting for him.
Sensei's Pontiac Firebird was parked across the street.
"Good morning, Kreese." Sensei says.
Jason smiles. "Good morning, Sensei. So, are you and Miguel going to invite me for lunch? What's the occasion?"
"We are inviting you for lunch. Or, I am. I just wanted to celebrate the first week of you and Diaz being my assistants. And I wanted to celebrate the number of students at the dojo stabilising." Sensei replies.
Jason understands. "Oh. Well. I'll join you guys."
"Glad to hear it." Sensei answers.
Jason closes the door behind him.
They walk over to where Sensei parked his Pontiac Firebird.
Sensei unlocks the car and he gets into the driver's seat.
Miguel opens the door and gets into the front passenger seat.
Jason opens one of the doors at the back and gets into one of the backseats.
"I think we should put on our seatbelts. Just in case. It might get bumpy." Sensei suggests. Or, more accurately, commands.
Jason and Miguel put on their seatbelts without a word while Sensei does the same.
The silence stops when Sensei turns on the radio.
Jason and Miguel start talking while Sensei starts the car and occasionally interjects.
They drive off pretty quickly.
Or, it feels pretty quick given how Sensei drives.
….
Sensei parks the Pontiac Firebird outside a diner.
They get out of the car and walk into the diner.
A waitress notices them coming in and practically guides them to a booth after giving them menus.
Sensei sits down on one side of the booth while Jason and Miguel sit down on the other side.
"First of all, I just want to say "Thank you" for stepping up and being my assistants the last few days. Things are going to be a lot smoother next week because the number of students in class have stabilised. Second, I am going to help Diaz buy some booze to give to his girlfriend's parents because I'm the adult and I'm not sure liquor stores accept fake IDs. And, thirdly, I'm really proud of you guys." Sensei says.
Miguel smiles. "Thanks, Sensei."
"Thanks, Sensei." Jason also sounds grateful.
Sensei nods. "You're welcome."
They talk for a little bit before a different waitress walks over to their booth.
"Are you ready to order?" The waitress asks.
Jason and Miguel both nod.
Sensei looks at the waitress. "Three cheeseburgers with fries and three Cokes."
"Great. Your food will be ready soon. Let me know if you need anything else." The waitress takes the menus.
Sensei shakes his head. "We'll be fine, thanks."
"Alright." The waitress walks away.
Miguel looks at Sensei. "So, will you help me pick out a gift for Sam's parents after lunch?"
"Is this Sam person your girlfriend? I'll help you pick out a gift for her parents. No problem." Sensei replies.
Miguel looks relieved. "Great. And, yeah, Sam's my girlfriend. I probably should have said so earlier."
"Cool. And, what about you, Kreese? Do you have anything planned for today?" Sensei asks.
Jason nods. "I'm going to go to Claire's house and we're going to watch a movie. There'll be pizza and snacks, so I'll be looking forward to that."
"Good. You and Brown would need a bit of time to yourselves. And, Bobby approves. Which helps." Sensei remarks.
Jason smiles slightly. "Yeah. He's been pretty cool with everything."
A waitress brings over their drinks on a tray.
Sensei, Jason and Miguel take their respective drinks from the tray.
"So, Diaz, how long have you and your girlfriend been going out for?" Sensei asks.
Miguel thinks about it. "A few weeks. Before the cafeteria fight, I mean."
"Is she hot?" Sensei asks.
Miguel looks embarrassed. "Yeah. Looks aren't everything, though."
"Point taken. So, what has she got besides being hot?" Sensei asks.
Miguel scratches his head. "She used to do karate when she was younger. And she stopped when a close friend of her family died."
"Oh. Well. It's good that you have something in common. Mainly because it gives you something to talk about. And, I hope that the dinner goes well for you." Sensei answers.
Miguel nods. "Thanks, Sensei."
"I think it's a good idea for me to order gis now that the number of students in the dojo has stabilised." Sensei changes the subject.
Jason looks confused. "Can't you just buy them?"
"Good point, Kreese." Sensei replies.
The waitress who brought them their drinks earlier carries out their food on a tray and places it in front of them before giving each of them what they ordered.
They eat, drink and talk after the waitress walks off.
There is a minor debate over who pays for the meal, but Jason ends up paying for it.
They walk out of the diner and get back into Sensei's car.
Sensei looks for a liquor store or somewhere to buy Miguel a gift for Sam's parents and finds it.
And, it doesn't take too long for Miguel to find something.
Which is also good.
….
Miguel got off his bike and found somewhere to lock it.
He walked over to the dojo and saw Jason, Claire, Aisha, Leonard and Hawk along with the other students that had stayed congregating outside of it.
Jason and Claire had parked their cars near to the dojo.
They talk for a while until they see Sensei's Pontiac Firebird pull up and park almost outside the dojo.
Sensei gets out of the parked car and walks to front door of the dojo.
He unlocks the door and walks into the dojo.
Jason and Miguel walk into the dojo after that.
Claire, Aisha, Leonard and Hawk follow them along with everyone else.
"Everybody, fall in!" Sensei exclaims.
Everybody gets into their respective spots.
Jason and Miguel stand on either side of Sensei.
Sensei looks around the room. "Bow!"
Jason and Miguel bow the same time as Sensei does before everyone else bows.
"Fighting positions!" Sensei shouts.
Jason and Miguel watch as everybody gets into a fighting stance.
Sensei walks over to Hawk and lightly kicks his leg, causing him to stumble slightly. "Stabilise your base, Hawk! Keep your balance and make a full rotation when you strike."
Jason and Miguel watch as Sensei demonstrates.
"Yes, Sensei!" Hawk throws a punch.
Sensei walks up to Bert, who flinches. "Did you just flinch?"
He walks up to Edwin, who also flinches.
"We've got a room full of flinchers!" Sensei looks dumbstruck.
Everyone except Jason, Miguel, Claire, Aisha and Leonard yell out the same thing. "Yes, Sensei!"
"That wasn't a question!" Sensei exclaims.
Sensei looks around the room. "Raise your hand if you've never been punched in the face!"
Everyone raises their hand except for Jason, Miguel, Claire, Aisha and Leonard.
"It's okay. You can lower your hands now." Sensei instructs.
Sensei lets out a deep breath. "You've been going out of your way to avoid getting into fights your entire life. You've never had a broken nose or lost a tooth. And you've never gotten a concussion."
"So, I've thought of a solution. Everybody who put up their hands has to get punched in the face before you leave the dojo." Sensei continues.
Sensei quickly gives an order. "Alright. Kreese, Brown, Robinson, Cole. Line them up. Time to un-flinch this group."
Miguel watches as Sensei walks into his office.
Jason, Claire, Aisha and Leonard stand in the middle of the front of the room.
The other students form lines in front of them.
Miguel walks into Sensei's office.
He sees Sensei take a beer out from the mini fridge near his desk.
"Have Kreese, Brown, Robinson and Cole started punching people in the face yet? I was going to ask you to do it but you've got dinner with your girlfriend and her family later." Sensei takes a long sip of his beer.
Miguel checks. "I think they have."
"Is there blood?" Sensei asks.
Miguel almost starts to shake his head before he looks again. "Not yet. Oh wait. Now there's blood."
"You'd better get the first aid kit." Sensei deadpans.
Miguel's eyes widen. "We have a first aid kit?"
"Yeah. It would be pretty irresponsible of me not to have one, Diaz. And, the first aid kit is on my desk." Sensei points at the first aid kid.
Miguel grabs the first aid kit. "Okay. Thanks for helping me buy a gift for Sam's parents earlier. I really appreciate it."
"Don't mention it. You'd better get a move on, Diaz." Sensei finishes his beer.
Miguel walks out of Sensei's office and sees one of the students bleeding from the nose.
He stops the bleeding, but keeps the first aid kit just in case.
Jason, Claire, Aisha and Leonard finish their lines.
Sensei dismisses them early, so Miguel gives Sensei the first aid kit.
Everybody disperses after that.
Miguel walks over to where he left his bike and unlocks it.
He has enough time to get home, have a shower and change out of his gi before Sam will pick him up.
Besides, his gift for Sam's parents is in his room.
….
Miguel had a shower and changed into some clean clothes after he got back to the apartment.
There was a bottle of Laphroaig in a bag on his bed.
Miguel takes the bag and walks out of his room.
He walks through the hallway and sees Mom and Yaya in the kitchen.
"I changed my shift around a bit. Hopefully you won't mind if we meet your girlfriend." Mom announces.
Miguel shakes his head. "I don't mind. Training ended early, so you'll have time to meet her."
"Good. We promise not to be too nosy." Yaya interjects.
Miguel smiles. "Great."
"She seems nice." Mom adds.
Miguel nods. "She's really nice."
They talk for a little more until they hear a knock on the door.
"I think that's your girlfriend, Miggy." Mom says.
Miguel puts on his shoes before running to the door. "I'll get it!"
He opens the door and sees Sam standing in front of him.
"Hi, Miguel. Is it okay if I meet your family before we drive back to my house?" Sam asks.
Miguel nods. "Sure."
"Hi, Sam. It's good to finally meet you! I'm Carmen." Mom walks over to where Sam is standing and introduces herself.
Miguel watches as Sam steps into the apartment and closes the door behind her.
He goes to introduce Sam to Yaya. "And this is my Yaya."
"I'm Rosa. And it's good to finally meet you. I hope he's been treating you well." Yaya says.
Sam smiles. "He's been really great."
"I should hope so. I helped raise him, after all." Yaya replies.
Miguel looks a little embarrassed. "She's already my girlfriend, Yaya. It's not like you can say or do anything that would make her like me more."
"I know. I was just pointing it out." Yaya retorts.
Miguel nods. "Fair."
"Well, we'd better go. It's been nice meeting you." Sam interjects.
Miguel looks at Mom and Yaya. "I'll see you later."
He watches as Sam walks back to the door of the apartment and opens it before stepping outside and closing it.
Miguel follows her.
He watches as Sam unlocks her car and gets into the driver's seat.
Miguel opens the door and gets into the front passenger seat.
"Let's go." Sam starts the car.
Miguel looks over at her. "Yeah. Let's go."
They drive off.
Miguel hadn't been to Sam's house before, so he was looking forward to seeing what it was like.
….
Sam parked her car in the driveway of the LaRusso residence.
Miguel noticed a black Audi in the driveway.
He assumed it belonged to one, or both, of Sam's parents.
Miguel follows Sam to the front door of the house.
He watches as Sam knocks on the door.
Anthony opens the door and looks out at them.
"Oh. It's you. And you brought your boyfriend. I'll go get Mom and Dad." Anthony walks back into the house.
Miguel looks at Sam. "I probably should have asked, but is he always like that?
"He's like that a lot of the time." Sam replies.
Miguel understands. "Oh."
"Mom and Dad have been looking forward to having dinner with you and hopefully getting to know you better." Sam says.
Miguel smiles slightly. "Awesome."
Sam is about to say something when she is interrupted by two people walking to the door.
He recognised Daniel and Amanda almost instantly.
"Hello. It's so nice to meet you again." Daniel extended a hand to him.
Miguel shakes Daniel's hand. "It's nice to meet you again too, sir. I brought you a gift. If you want it."
He hands the bag containing the bottle of Laphroaig to Daniel.
"You don't have to be so formal. Come on in. And don't forget to take off your shoes." Daniel releases his grip on Miguel's hand.
Miguel and Sam follow Daniel inside the house before he closes the door.
They both pause to take off their shoes.
He looks around the house. "I don't think I've said it before, but this is a really nice place."
"Thank you. Feel free to have a look around. If you haven't had a look around already, I mean." Daniel answers before walking into the kitchen.
Miguel watches as Amanda follows Daniel into the kitchen.
He turns his attention back to Sam. "Would you mind showing me around? I know you showed me your house before, but it doesn't hurt to ask."
"Sure." Sam answers.
Miguel agrees. "Great. Lead the way."
"Alright." Sam walks towards stairs leading to the second floor of the house.
Miguel follows Sam up the stairs.
He watches as Sam walks down the hallway before stopping outside an open door.
They walk into the room.
He looks at Sam. "This is a pretty nice room. Sorry if I didn't say it before."
"Don't worry about it. You can have a closer look if you want." Sam replies.
Miguel nods. "Well, we came all this way. Why not?"
He looks around the room.
There is a desk in one part of the room with a laptop on it.
He can see a wardrobe and drawers.
There is a bed that looks like what Miguel was expecting a girl's bed to look like.
"So? What do you think? Now that you've got a chance to have a look around?" Sam asks.
Miguel looks around the room. "It's a nice room."
"Thanks." Sam replies.
Miguel watches as she sits down on the bed and positions herself so that she's sitting cross legged or something close to it.
He sits down on the bed beside Sam. "I've been meaning to ask, but what is the rest of your house like?"
"It's pretty nice. We have a pool. And the pool house used to be a home dojo." Sam answers.
Miguel is intrigued. "A home dojo?"
"Yeah. I could show you it after dinner if you want." Sam offers.
Miguel nods. "Oh. That would be nice."
They both lean in and are about to kiss before they hear a voice.
"Mom and Dad sent me up here to tell you that dinner's ready. Unless I'm interrupting something." Anthony says.
Miguel is about to say something before Sam does.
Sam just rolls her eyes. "You weren't interrupting anything. Don't be gross."
"Whatever." Anthony turns around and walks away.
Miguel stands up. "I think it's time to go downstairs."
"That might be a good idea." Sam agrees.
He watches as Sam stands up and walks out of the room.
They leave Sam's room and walk down the stairs.
Miguel and Sam walk into the dining room, or dining area, of the house and notice that the table has rectangular plates on it at each chair and chopsticks along with some small bowls. In the middle of the table is a larger plate with raw tuna that looked like it belonged in a sushi restaurant. And a knife. There is also a glass container of soya sauce on the table.
Amanda and Daniel are sitting on one side of the table while Anthony is sitting on the other side.
There are two empty chairs.
Miguel and Sam each sit down in the empty chairs.
"The yanagi, or yanagi ba depending on the region, is a knife used for cutting sashimi." Daniel explains.
Miguel feels like Daniel had given this explanation before, but doesn't say anything.
He watches as Daniel cuts pieces of sashimi from the tuna in front of them and offers up his plate so Daniel can put sashimi on it.
This process is repeated for everyone at the table, finishing with Daniel himself.
Miguel watches as Daniel puts the knife down. "So, do you travel a lot?"
"Not as much as we used to. I bought the knife on my last trip to Okinawa. So, what about you? How are things at your dojo? Or, should I say Cobra Kai?" Daniel asks.
Miguel smiles. "Things at my dojo are going great. We've got a few new students and they've been settling in well."
"I'm happy to hear it. Have you gotten in many fights since you started doing karate?" Daniel asks another question.
Miguel nods. "Yeah. I got in two fights since I started doing karate. I lost one, but I won the second one. Well, Jason and I won the second one. He's been in one more fight than me since he started doing karate."
"A good friend told me that karate is for defence only." Daniel remarks.
Miguel thinks about it. "He sounds like a good friend. And he sounds wise."
"He was. Mr Miyagi taught me everything he knew. And he was more than just a friend. He was like family." Daniel says.
Miguel understands. "Oh. Well. I wish I could have met him."
"I'm sure you would have gotten along well with him." Daniel replies.
Miguel is about to say something when Anthony interrupts. "Are we going to eat soon? I'm hungry."
"I think that would be a good idea." Daniel agrees.
They eat and talk.
Miguel was relieved that things were going so well.
He was almost certain that Sam had invited Kyler to her house when they were still dating and that it didn't go well.
So, he was doing better than someone who had picked on him.
….
Miguel helped clear away the plates when dinner was over even though he didn't have to.
"Do you want to see the pool house?" Sam asks.
Miguel nods. "Sure. I've still got time before I'd need to go home."
"Great." Sam answers.
Miguel follows Sam out of the house.
He sees the pool and looks at it briefly before following Sam.
They arrive at the pool house pretty quickly.
Miguel opens the door. "After you."
"Thanks." Sam says.
They walk into the pool house and notice that it's empty.
Miguel looks around. "So, is it always empty?"
"Dad's just moving some stuff around. Or, maybe he's decided to start training again. Not sure." Sam replies.
Miguel thinks about it. "It would be cool if he starts training again. I mean…"
"He stopped training when Mr Miyagi died. And then I kind of stopped. If Dad's training again, then maybe I should start training again." Sam interrupts.
Miguel smiles. "Yeah. Did you learn any cool moves?"
"You want me to demonstrate?" Sam retorts.
Miguel runs a hand through his hair. "Sure."
"Great." Sam gets into a fighting stance.
Miguel makes a show of inspecting her stance. "Good form. Let's see if you can back it up."
"Of course, I can." Sam throws two or three quick punches.
Miguel watches as she follows the punches up with a jumping kick before landing on her feet, twisting around and doing a leg sweep.
He smiles slightly. "That was impressive. So, what else have you got?"
"I've got a few other moves. But I kind of need your help with this next one." Sam replies.
Miguel nods. "Alright."
"Try to hit me." Sam gets into a more neutral stance.
Miguel is bemused by the request. "You sure?"
"Go for it." Sam answers.
Miguel gets into a fighting stance. "Okay."
He throws a punch and Sam blocks it.
"Try and land a kick on me this time." Sam almost orders.
Miguel tries to do a front kick.
But Sam blocks it.
Miguel grins. "Okay. What other moves have you got?"
"I've got a few other moves." Sam replies.
Miguel nods. "Cool."
"Try and sweep my legs this time." Sam says.
Miguel tries to sweep Sam's legs but Sam gets out of the way.
He stands up and does a side kick, but Sam dodges it.
Miguel does a roundhouse kick but Sam is able to block it.
He smiles. "Alright. I think that probably covers it. Besides, your parents might be wondering where we are. And you're my ride home."
"You're right. I think that covers it." Sam agrees.
They walk out of the pool house and back to the house.
Anthony had gone up to his room, but Daniel and Amanda are sitting at the dining table.
Miguel looks at them. "It was nice meeting you again. Thanks for being such good hosts."
"No problem. You're definitely a few steps up from Sam's last boyfriend." Daniel replies.
Miguel looks embarrassed. "Thanks."
"You're welcome. You're also welcome to come back any time." Amanda interjects.
Miguel accepts the invitation. "Great."
"We'd better let you go. See you around, Miguel." Daniel says.
Miguel nods. "See you around."
He follows Sam to the front of the house and watches as she opens the door after getting her keys.
They step outside before Sam closes the door behind them.
Sam unlocks her BMW and gets into the driver's seat.
Miguel gets into the passenger's seat.
They put on their seatbelts before Sam starts the car.
The drive from the LaRusso house back to Miguel's apartment doesn't take that long.
Sam doesn't turn on the radio, so they have more time to talk.
Miguel almost doesn't want the night to end, but he knows that it has to end at some point.
Sam parks across from Miguel's apartment.
Miguel looks around and sees that Sensei's car is parked outside his apartment.
"See you when your suspension is up." Sam says as Miguel gets out of her car.
Miguel smiles. "Yeah. We can still Skype or FaceTime or whatever, though."
"Yeah. Let's do that. Good night." Sam remarks.
Miguel closes the door of Sam's car and watches as she drives away.
He knocks on the door and waits until Mom opens it.
The dinner had gone great.
And he couldn't wait to tell the others about it.