I can let go of all of my anger

Johnny finishes dabbing pastel petals on his current mural, leaning back on the ladder to ensure the distant flowers need minimal detailing. Studying the sunny backdrop and rolling flower fields in satisfaction, he lifts his paintbrush away from the brick wall and drops it inside the supply bucket on the step below him.

A smattering of sunlight in the sky indicates it’s midday. He’s been out there for nearly four hours and the time flew by, as it tended to when he focuses on his art. His body aches from perching on the short ladder for so long, but he does not mind the discomfort. Bending his knees, he descends on the ladder, boots touching ground and adjusting to the flatness of the alley. He grasps the supply bucket and looks up at the progress he’s made, squinting due to another flash of sunlight.

The mural depicts a rather classic scene of flower fields on a sunny day, not his type of piece at all, but he enjoys the concept for the flower shop he’s decorating. This current project of creating murals for an entire shopping district is more fun than he expected. Store owners he’s interacted with are open to his ideas and let his creativity flow. He’s been having such a great time that he’s going to miss this project when it’s over.

Bucket in hand, he makes his way through the side door of the flower shop. A jingling bell indicates his entrance. The owner sends him a nod in greeting while she speaks to a customer.

Since the owner, Stacy, doesn’t mind his going in and out, Johnny slips inside the restroom to wash and store his supplies as well as scrub his hands clean from residual paint. When he exits a few minutes later, the customer is leaving with a large flower arrangement. Stacy catches his eye.

“Danny came in while you were in there,” Stacy says, a fondness reaching her eyes. “He said he’s at your spot with burgers.”

As always when he hears Daniel’s name, Johnny can’t help the upward quirk of his lips. He’s reminded of the morning, waking up to the smell of Daniel’s cooking, of him wearing a silly apron in Johnny’s kitchenette while serving up pancakes, of Daniel’s soft “hey, good morning” when he notices Johnny observing the scene.

As a partner, Daniel really is something else.

“Cool,” Johnny’s skin flushes, “thanks, Stacy. Be back in a bit.”

As he goes out the side door, Stacy chimes, “see you.”

The bell jingles and Johnny’s eyes adjust to the light once again. He squints and walks a few stores down, where there are picnic tables and food trucks. He notes passerby taking a photo in front of a mural he completed for an auto shop, which depicts a schematic of a vintage car and points out each car part required to fix and operate the vehicle. That mural was more his speed, especially since he had an abundance of car knowledge. Accomplishment tinges his thoughts at the open admiration of something he made.

As he reaches the picnic tables, examining the mild crowds forming in the public area, he spots Daniel sitting and looking up at John and Marge, an older couple who owned an antique store. The couple laughs at something Daniel said, observing him with the same fondness everyone else does when they get to know him. Daniel’s natural charm used to annoy Johnny, but now that they were together, he couldn’t get enough of it.

Johnny approaches and rolls his eyes at the place settings already done and the meal carefully unpacked. That’s Daniel, alright.

Johnny weaves past crowds and sees John and Marge disperse, Daniel’s expression crinkling with leftover mirth. Johnny stands in front of Daniel. His lingering shadow has Daniel smiling wider.

“Hey,” Daniel says, “I snuck a peek at your latest. It’s looking really good.”

And he’s so sincere about the compliment that Johnny’s stomach flips in delight. It’s times like these he forgets about the karate war that ruined their previous lives, that made both of them single men caring for kids who struggled to reconcile what happened with Cobra Kai. Even with their enemies locked up, a valley of peace seems too good to be true.

To distract his wandering mind, Johnny clears his throat and sits at the table, a swoop of relief hitting his muscles at the first chance he’s had in hours to rest. He retrieves his burger and soda. “Thanks.” His fingers crinkle the paper as he finds the place to peel the wrapping away. “Been in the zone today. How’s work?”

“The newest Porsche came in early,” Daniel says, “so it’s hectic in the offices. I’m glad to get away for a little bit.”

“Hectic because of paperwork,” Johnny asks, “or hectic because everyone wants to be the first to test drive it?”

As Johnny chews on the burger, Daniel laughs. “Both, honestly,” he replies, taking a sip of his soda. “Straws were drawn. My cousin somehow won.”

That image makes Johnny’s brows shoot up in surprise. “Wow, man.”

“He didn’t destroy anything,” Daniel says, “but god, it was one of the most stressful moments of my life. And I’m including karate in that.”

They both snort in amusement. Johnny’s smiling too much, but Daniel is right there with him. Their eyes meet for a moment, and Johnny’s body buzzes at the fervent contact. A small inner voice in the back of his head teases ‘get a room.’

Johnny takes a sip of soda, then asks, “ready for practice today?”

“Mhm,” Daniel says, fondness reaching his eyes at the mention of the kids. “Sam’s been wanting to practice more on the balance wheel. What do you think?”

“Alright,” Johnny acquiesces.

They eat for a moment. As Daniel plucks out a fry, he murmurs, “you know, not too long ago, you would’ve fought me on that.”

Johnny hums in acknowledgment. It became clear to him in his ridiculous yet begrudgingly helpful therapy sessions that he didn’t necessarily want to fight Daniel—he wanted something else entirely. He’s accepted a lot about him ever since. He shrugs in answer to Daniel’s comment. “Why fight when we can put that energy elsewhere?”

Daniel’s tan skin takes on a deep scarlet. He bats his eyelashes at being caught off guard. Covering a grin with a bite of his burger, Johnny catches Daniel’s exasperated “you’re unbelievable, Johnny.”

As Johnny swallows the bite, he offers a quick “you’re just impressed you didn’t see it coming.”

Daniel shakes his head and huffs. He fights back the last of his blush and says, “Mike wants to come by after practice to talk about a lesson idea, by the way. I said sure.”

Johnny bobs his head; while the guy was intense at first, Mike was as passionate about karate as the rest of them. He might even give Chozen a run for his money.

The subject shifts. As they continue eating and talking, Johnny feels incredibly settled.

<>

[Johnny is pounding the stuffing out of a punching bag in the dojo the day he realizes he’s in love with Daniel. The bell ringing in his head is ‘it was never about the girl.’ He punctuated every word with a punch, mind racing at thoughts and memories he forgot about being brought to the surface.

And since the asshole has a bat signal, LaRusso arrives to say “guess therapy didn’t go well today, huh?”

Johnny pulls back his fist, unclenching it with considerable effort. He whirls around and frowns at LaRusso, who seemingly came from the dealership and wore a suit that matched his eyes.

Oh, this motherf-

“I’m fine,” Johnny says in what he wishes is a strong voice but truthfully comes out as a gasp from leftover adrenaline. He drops his arms to his sides to crack knuckles, giving him something to do instead of shouting.

Undeterred by the negative energy, LaRusso steps closer. Whatever smugness existed in his expression at the previous statement leaves him like flicking a switch. LaRusso is careful, more level as he says, “you’re doing a good thing, you know. Robby and Miguel already noticed how much better you’ve gotten at expressing yourself.”

The mention of his biological and adopted son disarms Johnny.

“And uh,” Daniel looks down sheepishly, “well, I know it’s not my place,” he shuffles on his feet, then meets Johnny’s gaze, “but I also noticed, and I’m glad you’re making progress.”

LaRusso means it, too, based on how his earnestness hesitates to hold eye contact for more than a few seconds at a time.

Johnny’s traitorous mind echoes ‘and that’s the scary part, isn’t it?’

Casting the thought aside, Johnny shifts his footing and says, “uh, thanks.”

Daniel musters an awkward smile, meant to be encouraging, and starts to babble. “I remember hating it at first, too. Therapy, I mean. It was Amanda’s idea and I didn’t wanna hear it at the time. But when things got—well, when we started to argue more, I learned a lot about myself and, well,” he shrugs, unable to regard anything but the floor, “I learned we weren’t on the same page. And that’s fine, I’m fine with that. The kids are amazing. I love Sam and Anthony so, so much.” Daniel’s dewy eyes flick up, something Johnny can’t name in them. “And I learned, you know, that I’m not the person I thought I was, and that’s okay. I like who I am. Now, at least. Didn’t used to—but I’ve made peace with it.”

Johnny stands there, absorbing the spaces between the words, what Daniel’s trying to say but failing to do so. And Johnny, to his complete and utter surprise, understands completely. He’s never understood something so wholly, actually.

“What I’m saying,” Daniel goes on, “badly, that is,” he huffs out a laugh at himself, “is I get it. I get wanting to punch the lights outta something, but also,” his tone grows humorous, “could you maybe not destroy the punching bag I buy after this?”

Tension leaves Johnny’s body as he glances over the ruined punching bag. He expels an amused snort.

Daniel keeps going, a sparkle in his eye, “because while this one’s six feet under, I don’t wanna get another one after the next one I buy. These things are getting expensive.”

Sighing to hold back a flush, Johnny rolls his eyes and says, “right, we can’t have one of the richest guys in town bankrupt, huh?”

They share a laugh. What LaRusso said about therapy did make him feel better.

“Really, though,” Daniel says, getting them back on track, “I get it. I get you.”

The last line has Johnny’s mind stumbling. Since Daniel probably didn’t mean anything by it, Johnny tosses his lapse of judgment into the abyss. Johnny doesn’t want to misinterpret Daniel’s kindness. He bobs his head and turns away, unhooking the punching bag to give himself something to do. When Johnny turns back around, LaRusso has gone out the door.

But that ‘in love with LaRusso’ thing?

Yeah, that isn’t going away anytime soon.]

<>

As the last of their students leave the dojo, Daniel changes into an old Eagle Fang gi and practices meditative exercises outside. He closes his eyes, focusing on the motions, and uses the reprieve to replay today’s lesson.

When the balance wheel was brought up, the kids were insistent that their senseis demonstrate before they gave it another shot. Johnny didn’t even hesitate and stepped to the edge of the pond, leaving Daniel no choice but to follow on the opposite side.

Never in his dreams did he think their balance routine would be a flawless and effortless execution. As they both stepped onto the wheel in sync, Daniel found he didn’t even have to think about what to do; his body responded to every move Johnny made, and vice versa.

Johnny was quick to describe to their students what they were doing, his mouth going a mile a minute. Daniel was too mesmerized to protest, catching only snatches of “trust” and “belief” and “confidence”. After Daniel remains silent a little too long—partly in awe, partly to focus, and maybe partly because he’s smitten—he realizes the students gathered around the pond are rather quiet. He does not look, but he feels a lot of eyes on him.

Breath for breath, Daniel and Johnny danced on the balance wheel. Daniel’s mind roars with thoughts, but he silences them all. To successfully practice on the wheel, it wasn’t only his body that had to match Johnny’s, it was his mind too.

And Johnny was calm. Masterfully calm. His movements were lazy, in fact. As if he didn’t need to contemplate anything. As if he simply knew Daniel would complement his strategy.

Their back-and-forth is smoother than anything Daniel has experienced before. It was simultaneously riding a wave and being lulled to sleep. When it is over and they hit dry land, Daniel holds back a frown at the routine ending too soon.

He hears Demetri’s “well, none of us can beat that” and snaps his attention back to their students.

Before Daniel can do it himself, Johnny spars, “sounds like you just volunteered yourself and Hawk. Let’s go, guys.”

Daniel huffs out a laugh at the answering groans from both teenagers. The rest of the kids clap and egg them onwards.

Even though Daniel refocuses on the kids for the remainder of the lesson, whispers are exchanged about his demonstration with Johnny. Daniel cannot make out any dialogue in particular, but what they did turned heads.

It’s not like he sought to hide his relationship with Johnny. Daniel and Johnny both talked about it, and they chose not to broadcast it. Until now.

As Daniel goes over the moments, completing his breathing exercises, his instincts register eyes on him. He straightens his posture and turns, opening his eyes.

Johnny, still in his white Miyagi-do gi, steps onto the grass, eyeing Daniel’s Eagle Fang gi with appreciation. The late afternoon sunlight bounces off Johnny’s blonde hair, a brightness enveloping his form. He approaches with a relaxed expression. “Hey, Chozen texted. He’ll be here with Mike in a minute.”

Daniel bobs his head, noting how quiet the dojo is when their students have left. As Johnny is emblazoned by light, Daniel’s breath catches in his throat. Johnny has no idea what he does to Daniel, honestly.

Squinting his eyes, Johnny stands a short distance away and crosses his arms, studying Daniel intently. “Okay, you’ve been looking at me funny all day. What’s goin’ on?”

The observation has Daniel smiling, affection overtaking his every nerve ending. He flicks his gaze up to Johnny and finds his voice. “Nothing’s going on, Johnny. Everything’s fine,” he emphasizes, stepping into Johnny’s personal space and holding his gaze, “hell, better than fine.”

A flash of relief flits across Johnny’s expression, gone in an instant as he tips his head down to adjust to Daniel’s closeness. “Oh, good.” A playfulness dances in the shadows between their faces. “Wanna elaborate?”

Daniel exhales through his nose in a gentle snort. “I just,” he bats his lashes to combat a streak of sunlight, “I can’t stop thinking about you, and being with you on that wheel,” he wants to kick himself for being sappy, but he continues, “I finally know what Mr. Miyagi was talking about when he said some things are just,” he struggles to find a synonym for ‘fate’ and ’destiny’ and ‘unexplainable’ that does them justice, but falls silent searching for it.

“Kismet,” Johnny supplies. Daniel’s brain lights up at the word as Johnny murmurs thoughtfully, “yeah, I get it. I get you.”

As Daniel is about to lean up and close the distance further between them, the sound of shoes on the wooden dojo floor pulls him back and away from the stolen moment.

Chozen approaches, Mike trailing behind him. “Daniel-san, Johnny-san,” he says by way of greeting.

“Hey guys,” Johnny says with a small smile, recovering faster than Daniel. All Daniel manages is a weak nod in greeting to the two men as they halted on the grass.

“Tory tells me you did balance wheel today,” Chozen converses, his gaze caught between mischievous and humorous, “and that senseis demonstrated.”

Daniel’s jaw clenches hard as Chozen examines his reaction. Johnny responds with a shrug, “yeah, you know how it is. Went well, I think.”

Chozen does not look away from Daniel as he clears his throat and murmurs, “yeah, went well.”

“Ah, good,” Chozen comments, trying to gauge Daniel’s buttoned-up emotions. When he comes up empty, he sends a swift glance in Johnny’s direction before removing his metaphorical foot from Daniel’s lungs.

Mike looks between the three with an expression that shifts from confused to contemplative. He erases his thoughts, however, when he notices Daniel looking and offers out “so, should we talk about my lesson plans?”

Daniel is grateful for the topic change. They move over to the practice deck to sit and talk. After Mike lays out his plans, Chozen breaks away to retrieve non-alcoholic beers. Daniel plays with the neck of his bottle while Johnny takes small sips of his, uneasy now that he’s sober. Since Mike’s lesson ideas include learning other karate forms, they set up a time to practice with and without their students.

Business done, they catch up. Chozen speaks about his last trip to Okinawa, which makes Daniel wistful and reminiscent of his summer there. Mike talks about the furniture store. Johnny brings up his painting project, downgrading himself as usual, which prompts Daniel to insist his art is really very good.

And that’s when it happens.

The contemplative look on Mike’s face from earlier returns. He shares the expression with Chozen, who has a glint in his eye.

When Mike regards Daniel and Johnny sitting on the wooden deck, he sets down his empty beer bottle and asks smoothly, “so, how long have you two been seeing each other?”

Shell shock freezes Daniel’s face. He glances between Mike’s casual indifference and Chozen’s smug smirk. The sun beating on them cooks and fries his brain for a solid minute. The heat simmers throughout his body, and he fears he’s blushing. It’s not out of shame—never—but it’s beyond words how Mike, of all people, figured it out and asked about it before anyone else.

“How’d you know?” Daniel finds himself saying, reigning in his bafflement. He senses Johnny’s eyes on him, then, and spares a glance.

Johnny’s the epitome of cool, as he always is these days, and says with a partially raised brow, “damn, that was impressive, man.”

Mike observes them, acknowledges Johnny’s compliment with a calm nod, and replies to Daniel, “I’ve always been good at reading people, man, especially the people that don’t wanna be read, or can’t be read easily.” He shrugs to disperse tension, keeping his tone unbothered. “And good for you two, honestly. It doesn’t take a genius to see you’re great for each other.”

“Hai,” Chozen says with an accepting nod, “agree.”

Daniel finds himself warmed by the easy approval from Chozen, as well as Mike’s kind words. His lips twitch upwards, and he fights back a choked voice. “Thanks guys.”

“Yeah,” Johnny’s knee not-so-accidentally knocks into Daniel’s as he murmurs a genuine, “thanks.”

Daniel hears the chirp of a bird before it flies off a nearby tree branch. Johnny’s expression is drawn and peaceful, a rare sight. Daniel takes a beat to appreciate it.

“Don’t know if I should ask,” Chozen says with caution, garnering Daniel’s full attention, “but do kids know?”

Daniel shakes his head, involuntarily wincing at how the secrecy makes him seem ashamed to be with Johnny; that wasn’t the case at all. He simply wants privacy, as well as the time to cherish what they have without interference. Daniel has never, ever been in such an easy relationship before. Once they got their individual and collective shit together, they were yin and yang.

And Johnny is on the same page as him about it, which shows when he teases, “not all of us have a psychic sixth sense like Mike.”

That gets a chuckle out of Mike and Chozen.

“But hey,” Johnny says, growing serious, “if the kids bring it up, we’ll obviously tell them. Until then, we’re good.”

Daniel nods in agreement. “Yeah.”

The two share a quick smile before sliding their gazes back to Chozen and Mike across from them, who seem satisfied with their approach. As the discussion shifts, Daniel continues to enjoy the good company around him on the dojo deck.

<>

{Daniel goes into Kumiko’s bonsai store on the day he discovers from Sam that Amanda is dating Carmen. The herbal scent of the small trees fills his nose and instantly regulates his racing thoughts. There were no customers at this hour, so he had the time to savor the space.

Kumiko comes out from the storeroom with a kind smile and a pair of clippers in her gloved hands. “Daniel-san, hai.”

The sound of the door closing jolts Daniel from a temporary reverie. Whenever he enters Mr. Miyagi’s dream store, a calm soothes him from head to toe. He manages a “hi, Kumiko.”

As she examines fragrant bonsai by the front window, she says, “Chozen and friend Johnny are in back.”

The mention of Johnny sets Daniel’s nerves on end. Kumiko notices him tense and, to his befuddlement, laughs at him.

“Come now,” Kumiko regards him with bemusement and a flash of concern, “what is wrong, Daniel-san?”

Daniel sighs, forcing himself to release stress. He takes a deep breath from his nose without closing his eyes; this isn’t the time or place to meditate. His voice comes out weak as he admits, “it’s been, uh, quite a day.”

Kumiko studies him for a moment, then returns her attention to an unruly bonsai tree. As she bends over and clips with her small shear, she says carefully, “Yukie once tell me ‘a shock reminds us we must disrupt ourselves to grow’.”

Her words simmer inside him as he turns them over for a moment. Soft instrumental music plays in the background. The shear snips. A persistent nudge in his mind wonders how Kumiko found out before him, but he finds it does not matter. In fact, he has no clue why he reacted with anything but acceptance. After all, Daniel couldn’t exactly judge, what with a growing fondness for all things Johnny Lawrence. Against his better wishes, he’s been seeing more and more of Johnny, the real Johnny, and finds him to be a great guy. An excellent guy. Unfortunately.

“Thanks, Kumiko,” Daniel murmurs, receiving a nod in acknowledgment from her.

The storeroom opens again. Chozen and Johnny carry boxes into the front of the store. When Johnny surveys him, he halts in the middle of the floor. Daniel is no better, unable to look away from his unexpected presence at the bonsai shop. He didn’t even know Chozen told Johnny about it, let alone invited him over—not that Daniel had a problem with that.

Johnny comes back to himself when Chozen nudges their shoulders. Blinking hard, he hands the box to Chozen’s now-empty hands, the older man setting them down by the counter.

“Daniel,” Johnny says, the word coming out rough from disuse. He clears his throat. “Uh, hi.”

“Hey,” Daniel says, an awkwardness surrounding the room. Johnny’s hands twitch as if wanting to do something with them. Daniel’s legs are rooted to the spot, though they jitter the longer their eyes lock.

“Um,” Johnny’s head shakes to disrupt whatever trance they were under, “could we, uh, talk for a sec outside?”

Daniel’s legs thank him as they come loose, ready to move again. “Yeah, sure.”

Johnny starts forward, and Daniel lets him take the lead out the door. The cooling air hits Daniel’s skin as they go to an alleyway; neither want to block foot traffic on the sidewalk.

When they’re settled on the side of the building, Johnny crosses his arms and looks at Daniel uneasily. “So, I guess you found out, huh?”

“Yup,” Daniel says, at a loss for how to articulate himself. He clenches his hands behind his back so he doesn’t show off a nervous tick.

“Yeah,” Johnny says breezily, “it’s pretty weird. But you know what? Nothin’ we can do about it.”

The hard-to-swallow pill being delivered so unceremoniously has Daniel bobbing his head. For some reason, it didn’t sound so unusual coming from Johnny’s mouth. It’s true: both of their respective relationships were over, and had been for quite a while. It didn’t make either of them love their kids, biological or surrogate, any less, and they were committed to making everything work as best as they could.

Daniel finds himself drawing out a “yeah, you’re right.”

Johnny’s brow quirks upward. “Did you admit I’m right?” His lips upturn, pride lighting up his eyes. “You don’t hear that every day.”

The Johnny-ism has Daniel huffing. While his mind didn’t grate with bitter annoyance as it used to, he pretends it does, sending over his best dupe expression. Johnny snickers at the expected reaction, fake as it was, then does a one-eighty by lightly touching one of Daniel’s shoulders. The skin beneath the fabric of Daniel’s shirt burns. He does not call attention to it for fear of the sudden contact being broken.

“Look, we’ll do what we always do,” Johnny says fluidly, “roll with the punches.”

“Right,” Daniel exhales, “yeah, thanks.”

Johnny’s eyes spark with a silent ‘a thank you too?’ The statement goes unspoken, but the message translates perfectly. Daniel cannot help an amused expression in return. Johnny removes his hand from Daniel’s shoulder, moving them forward with “let’s get back in there. I promised Chozen I’d help unpack the new bonsais.”

As Daniel follows Johnny back inside the shop, he becomes acclimated to the very real fact that he’s catching feelings.}

<>

The cafe in the Reseda shopping district is quite busy, Sam notices, especially in the middle of the afternoon. As she sits at one of the few unoccupied tables with Miguel, Robby, and Tory, Sam takes a sip of her iced raspberry tea. It’s unusually delicious.

Miguel’s knee playfully bumps into hers, making her smile at him. He smiles back, bright and steady.

“So,” Robby says after clearing his throat, “practice yesterday was weird, right?”

“Oh yeah,” Miguel responds without hesitation, “there’s definitely something going on between our senseis. Demetri wouldn’t shut up about it in the gaming chat last night.”

“Have you noticed anything, Sam?” Tory asks, her expression neutral on the topic.

“Um,” Sam’s mind bounces on memories of Dad, realizing in real time she hasn’t seen him as much lately, “I mean, I don’t know. I haven’t been paying much attention, I guess.”

Tory frowns deeply, and Miguel’s gaze weighs on her. Sam can imagine those puppy eyes without looking, the somber reflection in them.

If Sam were being honest, she wasn’t used to only seeing Dad when Mom allowed it. Outside the dojo and weekends, she didn’t have as much opportunity to connect with Dad. Even though he lives in an apartment nearby, it’s as if he’s on another planet. She misses him every day.

Miguel sighs, in solidarity with where Sam’s mind traveled. He was struggling too, especially with their moms’ relationship and not being able to see Johnny and Robby as often.

“Well,” Robby says, “if I know my Dad, he’s not gonna ‘fess unless we confront him straight up.”

Tory fiddles with her drink as she says breezily, “and we ask about how he may not be so straight.”

They all snort in amusement. Sam’s chest hurts for a multitude of reasons.

Casting a glance in her direction, Miguel notices her discomfort and changes the subject to talk about tonight’s dance. Sam wasn’t particularly in the mood to attend a school dance, but the others were looking forward to the event. She chats amiably about her dress and their plans to meet up early and snag the good food before it’s gone.

And as the uneasiness leaves her insides, Miguel inhales sharply. “Oh my god, is that Mr. L?”

Sam looks over Tory’s shoulder as the couple across from them turn around in their seats. Miguel is right; Dad is ordering at the counter, completely oblivious to their presence in the cafe. An easy expression lights up his face as he places his order. There is a note of familiarity in his smile as he addresses the employees. Based on how some of them laugh, Dad cracks a joke as he pays and moves over to the pickup counter to wait.

Sam cannot look away, her ears drowning out the ambient noise of patrons speaking at surrounding tables. When’s the last time she saw her dad so relaxed? She can’t remember.

Blinking several times, she realizes the others are saying her name. Have been repeating it a couple times.

“Hm?” Sam catches Tory’s eye across from her, who wears a concerned expression. She forces her gaze to flick over to Robby and Miguel, both boys torn at how to react.

Before Tory could reply, Robby blinks over at a side door. His eyes widen as they follow movement. He hisses, “oh my god, my Dad’s here too.”

Sensei Lawrence—Johnny—flits past the side of her vision. A dark red jacket and jeans is what she makes out as he walks right past them. Johnny’s retreating form approaches the pickup counter. Dad, who absently read something on his phone, looks up at Johnny.

Dad’s answering smile, half-shy and half-besotted, brands Sam’s brain into a stamp she’ll never forget.

This is it. This is happening. And Sam couldn’t believe she was so blind before.

As Dad and Johnny converse, the latter man also greeting the employees with a scarcely-seen open kindness, Miguel taps Sam’s shoulder. She suddenly cannot bear to look at him or anyone else at the table with her.

“Hey,” Miguel murmurs, “you okay?”

“I,” Sam’s voice sounds far away to her own ears, “I don’t know.”

She observes Dad retrieve his drink and thank the attendant. Johnny opens the front door of the cafe, which is thankfully some distance away from Sam; she didn’t know what she would do if either party saw the other now. The last image she sees is of her Dad’s flushed cheeks as Johnny holds open the door for him and takes his unoccupied hand.

As the door closes, all the noise rushes in on Sam at once, smacking her eardrums.

“Well,” Robby’s voice trails into her mind, “there’s no disputing that, huh?”

“Wait ‘til everyone else hears about this,” Tory says distantly. “I think Hawk has a betting pool.”

Even though Sam is disturbed by the idea, she gets back on track. “I don’t wanna talk about this right now, if that’s okay.”

“Course,” Miguel’s hand finds hers and squeezes, “this is an overwhelming change for all of us.”

“You can say that again,” Robby remarks, looking as conflicted as Sam felt, “I think we should set this aside for the day, not tell anyone else about this until we’ve had a minute to figure out how to talk to them about it.”

Sam finds herself nodding, with Miguel and Tory agreeing as well.

Shortly afterwards, they leave the cafe and part ways. Sam returns home to sneak a small meal before Mom comes back from work and gets dressed for the dance.

While it’s easy enough to avoid Mom in such a big house, it’s not so simple to avoid her younger brother.

Anthony peers into her room as she brushes out her hair in front of a mirror, dressed in a purple princess gown. “Hey, you missed dinner.”

Sam parts her glossed lips and looks over at Anthony hovering in the hall. “Uh, I ate earlier. I’m going to the dance, remember?”

“I know,” Anthony’s curls covering one eye render him sheepish as he switches his footing, “just asking for Mom, that’s all.”

“Oh,” Sam can’t hide her unease, “okay, tell her I should be back by midnight.”

“Mhm,” Anthony studies her for longer than normal, his expression mirroring her own discomfort, “hey, um, I gotta talk to you about something.”

“Okay,” Sam acquiesces, perplexed by his hesitant behavior, “come in then.”

Anthony crosses the threshold of her room and closes the door behind him in the blink of an eye. Sam sets down her hairbrush on the dresser, surprised at how swiftly he entered. “Okay great, because,” Anthony’s eyes flick over her nervously, “I’m pretty sure our Dad and Robby’s Dad are together.”

Sam’s mind is thrown into disarray. Any nerve endings that she’s calmed over these past hours are set alight with anxiety once again, a raw and open wound. Her voice is cotton in her ears as she asks, “and what makes you say that?”

Anthony’s voice comes in like the lash of a whip. “I’ve been paying a lot of attention to Dad since the separation. I know we don’t discuss it much, but,” he winces slightly, “Dad’s different, and not the normal kind of different we heard about from the family therapist when she gave us that whole ‘a lot of things are gonna change for you’ spiel.” Anthony punctuates the statement with appropriate air quotes, then plops his arms by his sides again. “I mean different, like, happy. Like he’s happy but he doesn’t wanna show he’s happy because he feels like it’ll make us act weird that he could be happy without Mom.”

Sam’s gaze bores into a wall as she absorbs his words.

“And,” Anthony continues, “I know you don’t wanna hear this, but I gotta say it: Dad seems happier than ever. Like, I know he loves Mom, loved Mom, whichever, and of course the guy loves the crap out of us, but-”

“He loves Johnny,” Sam fills in, wanting to shove a sword down her throat as the truth hits her worse than a car crash, “and probably has for a long time.”

“Oh my god,” Anthony nods with wide eyes, “okay, so I’m not crazy. You noticed too.”

Sickness coats Sam’s stomach as she offers, “I’m not supposed to tell anyone, but earlier when I was with Miguel, Robby, and Tory, we saw the two of them at a cafe acting…close.”

Anthony’s expression freezes in surprise. “Wait, really?”

She tips her head as she swallows thickly. “Mhm.” She forces a finger to touch her lips, then drops it. “Keep it quiet, though, ‘kay? What I saw already feels like a,” she pauses as the correct word surfaces, “violation.”

“Right,” Anthony nods and mimes locking his lips, “you got it. Uh,” he looks at the floor for a moment while gathering his thoughts, “yeah, I’m glad I’m not crazy. Thanks for, um, listening.”

Sam musters a very weak smile. “Sure.”

Anthony wishes her well at the dance, then hastily exits her room, making himself scarce in the house.

And Sam finds herself sitting in the middle of her room thinking about their conversation for so long that she almost misses her ride to the dance.

<>

Johnny is falling asleep next to Daniel when his phone rings.

Leaning over the side of the bed, Johnny picks up his pair of pants where they dropped on the floor. Searching a pant leg up until he reaches the clinking metal of his belt buckle, he procures his smartphone from his pocket. As he tosses the dress pants away in favor of the device, Daniel shifts and looks over at him blearily, turning on the light.

Robby’s name flashes on the front of Johnny’s screen. He sits up in bed and answers. “Robby?”

“Dad,” the relief and breathlessness of Robby’s voice confuses Johnny, “oh, thank god. Cobra Kai is back and we were so blindsided that we couldn’t-”

“Whoa,” Johnny’s legs curl under the covers as he prepares to exit the bed, his heart pounding in his dry throat, “say that one part again.”

“Yeah,” Robby’s voice is bitter, “Cobra Kai is back. They gunned right for us at the dance. We barely made it out of there.”

Johnny’s blood goes cold, his body numb. “Okay, I’m coming. Where are you?”

“Morty’s Gas Station lot,” Robby rattles off, “oh, and Dad?”

Johnny’s going to be sick. “Yeah, bud?”

“Could you call Mr. LaRusso too?” Robby lowers his voice. “I think Sam’s having a breakdown and Miguel and Tory aren’t having success consoling her.”

Daniel shifts to sit up in bed, catching mention of his name. Johnny can’t bear to look over as he processes Robby’s information.

“Uh huh,” Johnny manages, “be there soon.”

Robby ends the call. Johnny clutches the darkening smartphone in his hand. He doesn’t know whether to heave or scream.

“Hey,” Daniel says concernedly, “what’s going on?”

Johnny stares at the wall as he says, “that was Robby. Cobra Kai is back and the kids need us.”

As he leaves the bed and searches Daniel’s closet for his spare outfits, Daniel goes “wait, what?”

Johnny finds the duffel he has at Daniel’s place and retrieves a pair of pants and a blue hoodie. The implications of Cobra Kai have him sighing tiredly. “Yup, the world decided we don’t get to be happy anymore and had a bunch of Cobras beat up our kids.” He bites back a curse as his fingers catch on an unfastened belt buckle. “I think we’ll have to take both cars. They’re hiding out at Morty’s Gas Station.”

“Johnny,” Daniel’s voice sounds weak, “we put Kreese behind bars.”

As Johnny dresses hastily, putting pant legs over boxers, he says, “yeah, and of course that wasn’t enough. Kreese is a fuckin’ cockroach.” He sighs at himself again. “Should’ve known it wouldn’t be so easy.”

The sound of the sheets moving indicates Daniel is exiting the bed and approaching him. Johnny takes advantage of the silent moment to toss the hoodie over his head. He uses his hand to pat down any unruly blonde hairs sticking up.

Johnny returns Daniel’s burning gaze for the first time since he broke the news. Daniel’s eyes do the talking for him, crisscrossing between lamentation and torment. Johnny hadn’t noticed Daniel dressed so quickly, and was now staring at him.

“Before, you said,” Daniel sounds wrecked, his mind halting and course-correcting in seconds, “we can still be happy, Johnny. This doesn’t change that.”

Johnny tips his head down, looking to the side. He’s not sure about that, but he knows better than to say so.

And all at once, the solution presents itself to Johnny, coming into microscopic focus. But Johnny blinks it away, setting it aside for later. Now wasn’t the time to speak it aloud.

Despite the apprehension, there’s one thing for certain Johnny knows won’t change. Returning his attention to Daniel, Johnny says, “I’m crazy about you.”

Daniel’s face softens, but a part of him remains worried by Johnny’s earlier statement. Ultimately, he leans up and presses a light kiss to Johnny’s lips. Since Johnny didn’t know when they’d get time alone after this, he savors all three precious seconds of it before it slips from his fingers.

“I’m crazy about you too,” Daniel murmurs as he pulls back. “Make sure to circle the block for a few minutes before you show up to Morty’s. You live further away than me.”

Johnny nods, and at that, they are leaving Daniel’s apartment behind and driving away in separate cars.

As Johnny drives the long way, he thinks back to the previous hours. It was a rare occurrence to be able to spend an entire day with Daniel—no kids, no obligations—and Johnny was glad this was one of those days. They explored the shopping district aimlessly, bouncing from store to store and chatting with the owners that Johnny was getting to know so well from his painting. When day turned to night, Johnny parted from Daniel for a short time to dress for a fancy auto event. While Daniel tended to skip these events or go with Louie, Johnny agreed to attend. He decided to wear a blue suit and tie and call it a day.

Johnny returns to Daniel’s apartment in record time. He rings the bell and Daniel answers the door in a classic black suit.

And Daniel can’t seem to focus on anything but Johnny, smiling broadly as his breath catches on an awestruck “wow.”

The rest of the night goes incredibly well. Johnny schmoozes up to the rich at the event with the best of them; his old country club routine works like a charm. Johnny also used the opportunity to not only fundraise for the dojo, but to get potential art clients. He came away from the night with Daniel on his arm, client business cards in his pocket, and a dojo check to cash.

After all that, well, Daniel couldn’t take his hands—or lips—off Johnny. It’s no wonder they wound up back at Daniel’s apartment in bed.

But then, as he was falling asleep, Robby called. Johnny almost smacks his fist on the steering wheel as he turns the corner towards the gas station. He grips the wheel tight and clenches his jaw to compensate for his reaction. He curses in his head at Cobra Kai for ruining a fucking fantastic day.

When he enters the lot of Morty’s Gas Station, Daniel is already there speaking with Sam, Robby, Miguel, and Tory. Sam throws her arms around her father, holding Daniel for dear life. Daniel hugs back, visibly surprised at the fierceness of her affection.

Johnny notes his son’s expression in the headlights, relieved to see him parking and turning off his car. Johnny unbuckles and gets out of his car, instantly receiving an armful of teens hugging him. Robby and Miguel take his shoulders, while Tory lets out a rare laugh as she squishes in to hug him briefly. Miguel holds on a few beats longer, then gives away his spot to Robby, who holds him the longest.

When the kids pull away from him, Johnny catches sight of Daniel. They share a muted look, Daniel’s arm around his daughter’s shoulder. As for what to do next, the two have a silent conversation. Johnny nods in assent. Daniel ushers Sam towards his car. Sam manages a weak wave in farewell to Miguel, which he returns. When she’s inside the car, Daniel drives away; it takes all of Johnny’s self-restraint not to watch him go.

Without a word, Robby takes Tory’s hand and guides her to the back seats of Johnny’s car. Miguel takes the passenger seat, a somberness painting his face now that his girlfriend wasn’t here.

Once they settle in, Johnny drives in the direction of Tory’s apartment, as the complex where she lives with her mother and brother was closest. In the rear view mirror, Johnny notes Robby clutching Tory’s hand between them like a lifeline.

“Alright,” Johnny’s voice comes out cautious and quiet, “anything you can tell me about what happened would help.”

The tires on the tarmac is all Johnny hears for a moment, the three kids sharing glances with each other.

Then, Tory says, “the DJ was about to announce a slow dance when somebody grabbed the mic. Everybody turned to see what was going on. Some kid we’d never seen before in a snakeskin suit called the four of us out by name, said he’d come to finish what Kreese and Cobra Kai started.”

“They came outta nowhere after that, a whole bunch of them in snake outfits, some with the Cobra Kai emblem on them,” Robby picks up for Tory, unable to match Johnny’s glance in the rear view mirror, “their first hit nearly dislocated Sam’s shoulder. We tried our best to defend ourselves, but.”

Robby stops, sighing and looking at the floor of the car.

“Eventually,” Miguel says mechanically, “we couldn’t do anything except run.”

Johnny purses his lips as he drives and reflects on what they shared. If they didn’t recognize the kids right away as being from Cobra Kai, that means they were new recruits. “Did any of you get hurt?” He asks. “I got supplies in the glove.”

Miguel wordlessly unlatches the glove compartment in the passenger seat. He rifles around and finds a roll of gauze and tape. He tosses it to the back seat. Johnny takes advantage of a turn to look behind him and survey Robby bandaging Tory’s arm. Johnny parts his lips and takes a breath out, choosing not to comment.

He makes it to Tory’s area quicker than expected. For all his warring emotions, he manages to say what really matters: “You all did good. I’m proud of you.”

He catches Tory’s smile before she gathers herself to leave the car. She thanks him for the ride, promising Robby to call him tomorrow.

When she’s inside the house, Johnny sets off for his apartment. Miguel and Robby are silent for the rest of the drive. Johnny focuses on not crashing them into a pole. He holds onto the wheel hard to dissipate his frayed emotions.

The moment they arrive and safely park the car, Carmen and Rosa are exiting the apartment across from Johnny’s, concerned at Miguel’s late return home. Miguel expertly assures them he’s okay—though Johnny knows from experience that Miguel was hiding bruises and would ice them after his mother and grandmother went to sleep—and that he lost track of time. Johnny and Robby back up Miguel’s story. While both women observe Johnny suspiciously, neither push it and guide Miguel inside the apartment.

Robby procures the spare key to Johnny’s apartment before he could scramble for his own set. Once inside, Robby murmurs, “‘m gonna clean up and go to bed.”

“Uh huh,” Johnny says lightly, “talk tomorrow?”

As Robby disappears into the bedroom, he replies with a tired “yeah.”

When Johnny is left standing in the middle of the main room, he thinks of one thing: Cobra Kai has to be stopped before this goes any further.

<>

{Daniel arrives at the dojo on a quiet afternoon to practice kata alone. What he doesn’t expect is for Johnny to be there, replacing the shoji screens and adjusting the latticework. A flash of protectiveness over the Japanese-style room inspired by Mr. Miyagi is swiped away in an instant, a warmth covering Daniel’s opinion. Johnny meant zero harm in doing a little maintenance, and Daniel finds he’s grateful he won’t have to pay someone to update it.

As Daniel approaches through the wooden gate, Johnny sits and fits together the outer frame of the full-wall shoji screen, laying the material on the wooden practice platform. Johnny senses Daniel’s steps and looks over his shoulder, remaining in a crisscrossed position. His mouth twitches downwards, then he tips his head up to meet Daniel’s face.

“Oh,” Johnny says breezily, effectively glossing over any shock at Daniel’s arrival, “hey, Daniel.”

Daniel rounds the platform and decides to sit on the opposite side, the large shoji between them. “You didn’t have to, y’know.”

“Yeah,” Johnny exhales, casting his gaze to the screens, “I know. Just wanted to do something with my hands.”

Daniel’s thoughts swerve to a highway exit, grasping. “Miss being a handyman?”

“Ha,” Johnny’s finger pads tap the wood, “not the terrible pay, that’s for sure.” He considers for a moment, admitting, “I found peace in fixing stuff. Still do, I guess.”

Since Johnny isn’t meeting his eyes, Daniel decides to smile quietly at the relatable sentiment. “Well, thank you, really.”

Johnny’s eyes flick up at him with something unnameable in them; that’s been happening more and more often. “I’m not used to you thanking me,” Johnny offers up, “but, yeah, sure man. Uh.” He snaps a finger to jog his memory. “Oh! That reminds me. I wanted to ask about the dojo tapestries with the rules of karate on them.”

Daniel purses his lips at the change in subject, but nods nonetheless. The tapestries were copies of the originals from Mr. Miyagi’s dojo in Okinawa. They had been through serious wear and tear over the years, but Daniel clung to the Japanese lettering in Mr. Miyagi’s handwriting. “You want to replace them?”

“No, not exactly,” Johnny responds, to Daniel’s curiosity, “I wanted to paint a copy as a backup. Would that be okay?”

The idea of Johnny preserving and passing on the tapestries in this way, even though he has no idea of their heavy significance to Daniel, has Daniel breaking out into a small smile. He suddenly doesn’t remember why, or how, he could ever hate Johnny Lawrence.

“Yeah,” Daniel replies softly, “sure, I’d like that.”

Johnny catches a hint of Daniel’s thoughts in what must be a damning expression, because he tilts his head to the side. While holding Daniel’s stare, Johnny murmurs, “alright, what’s goin’ on with you? You’re being too nice.”

The latter remark, once upon a time, would have had Daniel’s blood boiling as he crafted a biting response, foaming at the mouth while he dished it out. Now, Daniel just felt calm. Found it amusing, in fact, that Johnny anticipated a fight after weeks of kind interactions between them. No malice.

Well, it’s about time Daniel made himself clear.

“You know, for the first time in a long time,” Daniel says, rising to his feet and circling the platform, “I see everything I’ve been blind to,” he approaches Johnny and sits close, very close to him, “and I like what I see.”

Johnny does not move or pull back, transfixed on Daniel’s earnestness. His breath catches on an “oh?”

Spurred on by the encouragement, Daniel continues, “all this time, I’ve been stuck in the past, refusing to see how things have changed, how we’ve changed. You for the better, me for the worse.”

“That’s not true,” Johnny protests, “you’re-”

“I lost my way for a while there,” Daniel spars, “I know that. You can’t deny that. Since the moment I saw you again, I’ve been a dick to you. I assumed you hadn’t changed, and that was horrible of me.”

Johnny’s expression falls, lashes batting towards the shoji. “Is this an apology?”

Daniel swallows thickly and replies, “yeah, let’s start there. I’m sorry, Johnny.”

At the sound of his name, Johnny’s misty eyes meet Daniel’s hesitantly. “Well, I was also a dick, which probably didn’t help.” He blinks to disperse moisture. “I accept your apology, but we share the blame. I’m sorry too.”

Daniel feels like somebody flayed him alive. He’s never been so free, so raw. “I accept your apology too.”

Johnny lets out a relieved breath, as if he’s been holding it forever. Maybe he has.

“Alright,” Johnny loosens his posture and studies Daniel with a lightness to his demeanor, “what were you saying about being stuck in the past?”

Oh, right; Daniel has to confess his love now. Shit.

“I was stuck in the past,” Daniel says, “but getting divorced put everything into perspective for me. I see it as a good thing, actually.” He shrugs to take the trepidation off his next words. “I realized that, ever since you came back into my life, I’ve kinda been obsessed with you, Johnny.”

Out of all the reactions Daniel predicted, he never could have imagined Johnny’s satisfied smirk and victorious declaration: “oh, I knew you were into me!” Johnny shakes his fist in his lap. “Yes!”

“What?” Daniel asks dumbly, blinking multiple times while heat rises in his neck and cheeks.

Johnny claps a hand on Daniel’s shoulder, his expression toying between teasing and affectionate. “Man, I’ve been waiting for you, but I knew I couldn’t rush. You had to get there on your own, and damn,” he unleashes a megawatt grin so powerful it rivals the sun shining on his blonde head, “I’m so glad you did before I got impatient and told you myself.”

Daniel forces out a breath to beat the heat coming over him in waves, huffing out a laugh of nervous energy. He’s not sure what to do with the latter information. As for the former, he asks, “how long have you been waiting, exactly?”

Johnny chuckles, bringing up the hand on Daniel’s shoulder to touch his cheek. The bends of the back of Johnny’s fingers has Daniel leaning into the comforting touch on instinct. “Even I don’t know the answer, so don’t worry your handsome face about that, yeah?”

Daniel worries his bottom lip, entranced. “You think I’m handsome?”

“I think a lotta things about you, Daniel,” Johnny says warmly, his eyes bursting with joy, “but I’m thinking we should start doing, huh?”

If Daniel’s brain wasn’t broken before, it definitely is now. He manages a “uh huh.”

Johnny laughs again, then takes Daniel’s face in his hands. Daniel can only smile back and lean into him, pliable and prepared.

When they kiss, Daniel learns what fated love tastes like: honey with a dash of sunlight.}

<>

It’s almost noon by the time Robby gets cleaned up from last night’s fiasco and enters the living room of Dad’s apartment. Dad is at the stove cooking omelets for the two of them.

“Hey, bud,” Dad greets with a side glance, “this’ll be ready in a few.”

“‘Kay,” Robby says, retrieving his phone discreetly, “thanks.”

“Uh huh,” Dad says.

Robby unlocks his phone and walks so he’s out of Dad’s eyeline. He opens up the group chat with Tory, Miguel, and Sam. Since his sleep was fitful, he’d become resolute. He types and hits send.

Robby: i’m gonna ask my dad about daniel

He doesn’t have to wait long for a response.

Miguel: i’m with you bro

Sam: i’ll ask my dad about yours too

Tory: good idea. let us know what happens

At the support, Robby slides his phone back in his pocket, makes a mental note to ask Dad if he can visit Tory later, and focuses on setting the kitchen table for them. Dad turns off the stove and slides the omelets from the pan to the plates. As he soaks the pan in the sink, Robby pours them both a glass of water.

Once they’re seated, Robby notices bags under Dad’s eyes; he must not have slept well either.

As Dad eats absently, he murmurs, “get any sleep?”

“Kinda,” Robby admits, taking small bites of his own omelet. “Hey, can I ask you something? Fair warning, it’s kinda personal.”

“You can ask me anything, Robby, you know that,” Dad says, taking a sip of his water.

Robby waits until he sets the glass down before asking, “are you and Sensei LaRusso a couple?”

The only indication Robby gets of his Dad’s surprise is a single blink of his lashes. His recovery time is impressive. His eyes flick from the plate to Robby’s direct gaze.

“Yeah,” Dad replies truthfully, “yeah, we are.”

Dad isn’t one to embellish. Just a simple confirmation of what Robby suspected. Dad does not ask how, why, what, when, or any of the other questions Robby would have expected him to ask, but that was never Dad’s style, not by a long shot.

Keeping himself neutral, Robby asks, “is Daniel good to you?”

“Course he is,” Dad says readily.

“Well, good,” Robby says, “you deserve somebody nice like him.” And he really means it. He keeps eating his omelet to clear any tension in the air, signaling they could move on from the conversation.

But his remark must have thrown Dad for a loop, because he murmurs, “thanks, that means a lot.”

Robby remains nonchalant, adding a little shrug to show this didn’t have to be a big deal.

Dad lets that sit for several beats, finishing up his omelet. “Alright, we gotta talk about the dance. I feel you’re holding out on me.”

Robby sighs. “Do we?”

“Yeah,” Dad studies Robby closely, “now come on.”

Since Dad won’t let up, Robby obliges.

<>

The morning after Anthony finds out what happened, he writes a note for Mom and bikes to Dad’s apartment. In record time, Anthony is knocking on Dad’s door.

Dad answers, stunned eyes roving over him. “Ant? Why’re you-”

Anthony shoots Dad his best ‘are you kidding me’ look. “Come on, I’m here to check on you and Sam.”

Dad leans against the door, exhaling a small sigh. He looks more unkempt than usual in baggy clothes, exhaustion marring his face. His mind races behind his unsteady gaze. “Kiddo, does your Mom know you’re here?”

“Yes,” Anthony says, then winces, “well, I left a note.”

“Anthony.” Dad closes his eyes and twists his hand around the back of the doorknob, sounding out every syllable of his name.

“It’ll be fine,” Anthony convinces, “now look, you expect me to not charge over here after I found out Sam almost got a chunk taken out by cobra freaks?”

Dad’s startled eyes fix on him, then turn the doorknob. He lets Anthony inside the apartment, closing the door behind him.

Surveying the main room, Sam is curled up with a blanket on the couch. The television plays softly in the background. The smell of something on the stove means a meal is being prepared. Anthony didn’t eat before leaving Mom’s house.

Reading his mind, Dad murmurs, “I’ll make another grilled cheese” and pads into the kitchen. Anthony registers the familiar sound of him shifting a pan on the stove and opening the deli drawer in the fridge before drowning it out.

Sam’s tired eyes and pale face regard Anthony lazily, as if her brain hasn’t processed him there yet. Anthony approaches with a slower walk, entering her vision. Sam blinks hard.

“Oh,” Sam says, “hey, Ant.”

Anthony manages a smile. “Hey.” He moves over to the couch, sitting a respectable distance away from her. “I heard from Demetri about last night. Are you feeling okay?”

Sam crosses her arms underneath the blanket and softens her voice. “I dunno. I’ve felt sick to my stomach ever since they lunged right at me.”

“They threw you off,” Anthony supplies, “makes sense. You’ll get better soon. Did you already talk about it with Dad?”

“Yeah,” Sam replies.

He chances a look over at the kitchen. Dad is at the stove toasting bread. It’s calculably far enough away that he won’t hear.

Leaning closer on the couch, Anthony says under his breath, “I think we should ask him about Johnny.”

Sam does not falter at the subject like she did the previous day. “Yeah, I’ve been debating it. With all this Cobra Kai crap, maybe we should while we have the chance.”

Anthony nods his head; a brother and sister speaking the same language is a rare occurrence. “Agreed.”

They sit and watch TV for a couple minutes. Sam texts something to someone on her phone. Dad arrives with grilled cheese sandwiches. Both Sam and Anthony thank him. Dad retrieves his own plate and finds a seat on a lounge chair.

“So, Dad,” Sam starts, Anthony holding his breath while he side eyes Dad on his left, “you look like you’ve been good lately. Above average good. Any particular reason?”

Plate on his lap, Dad’s brows furrow as he looks between them. His eyes narrow. Anthony struggles not to burst into laughter, and he thinks Sam fares no better.

Sighing for a third time, Dad goes “okay, you got me, I’m seeing Johnny.”

Anthony points at Dad in elation. “Yes,” he claps his hands together once, “vindication!”

Dad emits a chuckle and shakes his head at Anthony’s antics. “I have no idea how the hell you figured it out, but I’m glad I didn’t have to be the one to break it to you.”

“Why are you making it sound like a bad thing?” Anthony jokes, letting out a laugh. “Come on, Dad. We know you. Good for you!”

Dad huffs out, a tinge of embarrassment in his face, “thanks, I guess.”

“You don’t need to hide it anymore, you know,” Sam says carefully, “it’s okay.”

Anthony remembers how they reacted when Mom started dating Carmen: mostly confused, but they both agreed to let it be and not bring it up unless it came up naturally. The reality didn’t seem to sink in for Sam that their parents would date other people until she discovered Dad—her favorite—growing closer to Johnny. Having that knowledge come crashing down all at once—read: nothing will change the fact that their parents are moving on—must have been why Sam was so out of sorts yesterday. Cobra Kai resurrecting itself certainly didn’t help matters either.

Today, though, Sam is accepting the situation as it is, not how she sees it. And Anthony is secretly so proud of her.

Dad smiles brightly at Sam’s remark, his eyes shining with unshed tears. “I’ll keep that in mind, hon.”

Anthony draws up his legs on the cushion, holding himself as he grins mischievously. “So, tell us the gossip. How’d it happen?”

A side of Sam’s blanket thwacks him in the shoulder, making him laugh, as she says, “you don’t have to answer that, Dad.”

“Oh, thank goodness,” Dad jokes in amusement; it’s clear he wouldn’t have told, anyway.

Dad changed the subject to school while they ate grilled cheese sandwiches. Sam slyly texts something on her phone again, most likely telling the rest of the friend group about Dad’s admission. Other than Miguel arriving briefly to check in on Sam, they spend hours as a happy trio watching movie reruns, and Anthony realizes how much he’s missed Dad.

Mom calls but Anthony lets it go to voicemail.

<>

[It is after their first night together that Daniel finds Johnny’s sketchbook. Johnny left it out on the nightstand instead of filing it away in the drawer.

But then again, he didn’t think he’d have Daniel over, especially after they had a long, painful, necessary talk about their senseis. While ultimately therapeutic and, therefore, a good thing, Johnny just so happened to have sketches out that are incriminating. Oops.

Daniel is sitting in a chair beside the bed, washed and dressed in one of Johnny’s old hoodies, which he looks unfairly gorgeous in, when Johnny wakes up and notices him thumbing through the pages. He freezes; the only time Daniel had seen Johnny’s work was when he painted a copy of Mr. Miyagi’s tapestries, an assignment that didn’t show the extent of Johnny’s skills.

As if Daniel has a sixth sense, which he just might, he murmurs, “these are really good, Johnny. I knew you could paint, but this stuff is on another level.”

Johnny’s mind races, trying to remember whereabouts in the sketchbook is the previously-mentioned incriminating evidence, but Daniel looks at him, then, arching a brow that says ‘shut your thoughts up, would you?’ And that means he already saw the sketches of himself. More than that, Daniel didn’t seem to mind.

That’s something else, isn’t it?

“Uh,” Johnny sits up in bed, swiping at his messy hair to give himself something to focus on, “thanks.” He wants to bring up something else, anything else, but his brain can’t seem to get past the fact that Daniel genuinely complimented his work and is unfazed by Johnny’s love doodles of him.

Daniel pauses on a particular page, finger pad tracing the lines of his own sketched face. “Do you do these from memory?”

Johnny fights back the heat in his face as he says, “yeah. I, uh,” he remembers the painting he finished and forces out, “I was recreating old Polaroids for a mural when I-”

“Whoa, wait a minute,” Daniel stares at him with wide eyes, sketchbook forgotten, “you’re doing what now?”

Johnny’s red from blushing again, but he manages, “I, uh, got a contract to make murals for the Reseda shopping district. I’ve already done my first one and it, uh, required studying photography. So, uh, that’s why the sketching and the memory recall exercise.”

Daniel looks at him like he’s grown an extra head. His eyes, though, shine with affection. “Babe, that’s amazing. Why haven’t you mentioned it?”

Johnny opens his mouth, at a loss for words, and closes it again. He shrugs.

“Can I see it?” Daniel asks with delicacy. “The mural, I mean. And you can say no.”

While a part of him is worried Daniel won’t like it, the other part of him vibrates with excitement at Daniel seeing a piece of art he’s so proud of creating. Johnny swallows thickly to regain use of his vocal chords. “Yeah, we can go.”

Daniel smiles, youthful and relaxed. “Cool.” He sets the sketchbook on the nightstand, prepares to rise from his seat, then falters, looking at him eagerly. “Oh, and Johnny?”

Johnny shifts under the sheets. “Hm?”

Daniel reaches over and brushes a stray hair from Johnny’s forehead. His tone and touch are feather-light. “Good morning.”

Since Johnny can’t help himself, he grins devilishly. “Good morning.”

Before he can lean to the side to kiss him, Daniel stands and blocks him. Johnny snorts in amusement. Daniel winks down. “Now come on, get ready.”

Johnny does as he’s told, washing and dressing while Daniel manages breakfast in the kitchen. When Johnny confirms all is well with Robby staying over at Hawk’s, he drives Daniel to the shopping district. As they park and start walking, Johnny remembers Daniel’s still wearing his clothes. A swoop of satisfaction courses through him, then he makes a mental note that they’d need supplies at each other’s places for the next time this happens.

They reach the photography studio faster than Johnny expects. His hands grow clammy and his heart hammers as they walk to the opposite wall.

Deep breaths, he reminds himself.

Taking an exhale to dispel nervous energy, they round the corner and reach the mural. Daniel’s intake of breath resonates in the air, crystal clear.

Head tipped up, Daniel gazes at the mural as if bewitched. Johnny looks at the painting, which depicts Polaroids of the owner’s family on clotheslines, wishing he could view it from Daniel’s perspective.

“Wow,” Daniel murmurs, studying the family moments in each photo recreation.

Stepping forward, Daniel’s expression spills with equal amounts of disbelief and admiration. Daniel’s hand comes up to touch, but halts before his fingers graze the wall. Hovering an inch away, Daniel’s index finger traces the lines. He takes his time to soak it all in, so quiet and considerate that Johnny fears speaking will break the spell.

Blinking wetness from his eyes after a long time, Daniel reels back and turns away from the painting. When Daniel’s eyes find Johnny’s, it’s clear he went through something emotional, something that can’t be defined by words alone, and Johnny waits a moment for Daniel to recover.

“Oh,” Daniel breathes, “it’s beautiful.”

In the span of seconds, Daniel’s thoughts unfurl for Johnny to read. For Daniel, this mural is about family. It’s about capturing life’s important moments and treasuring the memories. It’s about seeing what you have and enjoying the time together while it lasts.

And through Daniel’s eyes, Johnny feels completely and utterly seen.

Daniel does not let up in his praise, looking directly at Johnny as he murmurs, “you’re really somethin’ else, Johnny Lawrence.”

Since he doesn’t want to crumble to pieces in the middle of a shopping district alley, Johnny restrains the might of his reaction. He offers a small smile, an acknowledgment that what was said was heard, loud and clear, but communicates he wants to unpack everything later. Daniel picks it up with no issue, to Johnny’s relief, and his expression remains openly warm and affectionate. Johnny’s insides buzz pleasantly, internally pinching himself at the reminder that he bagged The Daniel LaRusso and didn’t even have to work that hard to do it.

Johnny smirks and leans forward, keeping his voice low. “And I think I wanna go back home with you, Danny.”

While the nickname used to piss Daniel off, it only makes him chuckle in delight now. Starry eyes and a tipped head upwards look at him. “Oh, I’m happy to, dear.”

As they walk back to the car, Daniel slipping a hand into his, Johnny realizes there’s nothing he wouldn’t do for this man.]

<>

Daniel hangs up on what feels like his fiftieth phone call, taking a long breath in his office. Ever since he made his rare appearance at the weekend’s auto event—a mere two days ago, but it felt like an age had passed—business was better than ever at LaRusso Auto. They’d almost reached their record number of cars sold in a day, and it was early afternoon.

Leaning back in his chair, he grasps his coffee cup and takes a swig, which has gone cold from staying out so long. He sets the cup down and closes his eyes, sifting through his thoughts.

When speaking with investors, all of them inquired about Johnny, who made a positive impression at the event. One woman even asked if Johnny was available for a date, which made Daniel hold back a mirthful laugh as he declared Johnny was taken. None of them were any the wiser that he and Johnny are a couple. Daniel wants to keep it that way, at least until one of them inevitably slips up, especially if attending more events is in their future.

Johnny will get a kick out of somebody asking him out when Daniel tells him.

Daniel gives credit to Johnny for this renewed interest in his business. Customers were buying products straight off the shelves for the first time in years. If charm was all it took to increase revenue, Daniel should have figured this out long before now.

There’s a knock on his door. He sits straight-backed in his chair and opens his eyes, managing a “come in.”

The door opens. Amanda is behind it, entering with clacking heels. She closes the door and forces out a “hey.”

“Hey,” Daniel replies, “what’s up?”

Amanda keeps her expression and tone neutral as she replies, “I didn’t think I’d find out from an investor that you’re dating Johnny.”

Daniel purses his lips, trying to piece together not only the information, but who happened to be delivering said information. The former proves to be easier to deal with, as the latter comes with a promise broken that they wouldn’t speak of personal matters as colleagues. Besides, Daniel doesn’t know what would occur if he brought up Carmen.

Remaining closed-off yet cordial, Daniel states, “I never told any of our investors about that. Might I ask where this information is coming from?”

Amanda steps forward and takes the empty seat across from Daniel’s desk. Her posture sinks as she studies his response carefully. There is no ill intent in her eyes, but she’s perplexed. “It may not have been what the investor said, but based on how he spoke of you two, it wasn’t difficult for me to put things together.”

“Well,” Daniel says with a shrug, “I’m not going to try and deny the truth. You’re right, Amanda. I’m dating Johnny.”

She blinks a single time, then her mouth twists upwards. “Well, it sure took you long enough.”

A shock wave lights his insides. His brows shoot up as his mind halts dead in its tracks. “Sorry, what?”

Amanda smiles wider, eyes glittering in amusement. “Do you know why me and Carmen got so close?”

Frowning on instinct, Daniel shakes his head, confused by where this is going.

“Because it was clear to us that you and Johnny had something special,” Amanda says, “even though neither of you were aware at the time.”

Amanda knowing before Daniel himself did has him at a loss. His thoughts work on overdrive, trying to keep up. “So,” he says carefully, “you both decided to get out of our way?”

“An oversimplification,” she responds with a contemplative hum, “it’s not like we didn’t have our issues before that, but,” she shrugs, “I never wanted to be someone who held you back from what you really wanted.”

Daniel isn’t sure whether to deny the truth or accept it no matter how apocalyptic it was to him. He settles for somewhere in the middle. “I suppose I should thank you.”

“Aw,” Amanda waves her hand in a ‘don’t worry about it’ gesture, “I should thank you, too. We’re both happy, aren’t we?”

“Mm.” Daniel nods. A relief overcomes him, then, at finally having a conversation to clear the air. Even though it wasn’t how Daniel planned, at least they talked and can move forward. His mind wanders to the kids and the unfortunate circumstances which led to them running to him for comfort. “Oh, and while I have you, thanks for being cool about letting Sam and Ant stay over yesterday. I know it wasn’t one of my days, but the kids were insistent on being with me after…what happened.”

The vague mention of Cobra Kai sours Amanda’s mood, though she remains controlled in her expression. “Right,” Amanda says, “sure. I don’t mind if you see them a little more now and then.” Her voice is laced with pain, and she looks away pointedly. “I know they won’t say it, but they miss you.”

That became clear to Daniel when Sam didn’t want him to leave her alone the night of the dance. He sat vigil in the room he had for her in his apartment, covering her in blankets and waiting for her to fall asleep as if she were a scared child again. It was heart-wrenching to witness his iron-strong daughter shaking worse than a leaf. The following day wasn’t much better, a weakness making a home in Sam and burrowing into her bones. She’s never been so off-balance before. And Anthony put on a brave face, but Daniel knew his son wasn’t good either, just better at concealing his emotions.

When they were with him, though, Daniel could tell they were genuinely happy to spend time with him. It made Daniel realize that not only did his kids miss him, but he ached for them too. Their reactions to him dating Johnny were promising, and he hopes their family could return to a sense of new normalcy.

But with Cobra Kai back, Daniel had to act swiftly if he wanted his kids to be safe from karate maniacs.

Daniel tips his head in acknowledgment of Amanda’s comment, but does not speak more on the subject. “As for Cobra Kai,” he lifts his eyes to Amanda with resolve, “I’ll take care of it.”

Amanda searches his expression. While curious, she cannot breach his mental walls.

Giving up after an unsuccessful moment, she simply nods her head with an “okay” and rises from her seat. “So long as you don’t get yourself killed, we’re good.”

She exits the office before Daniel could respond. He gets back to work, wanting to wrap up before he has to drive to the dojo.

<>

Johnny enters the dojo already dressed for practice when he finds Daniel alone and fumbling to tie his gi. Stepping forward without hesitation, Johnny teases, “hey, take a breath, I’ll do it.”

Daniel whirls around in surprise as Johnny reaches him. “Hey, thanks.”

Johnny smiles and leans down for a kiss. Daniel melts into him, pressing a hint of longing as the quick peck deepens into tenderness. Daniel’s hands press against Johnny’s chest, fingers toying with the hem of the gi opening at his collarbone. Emotions pour out of Daniel, an exhaustion and a craving for touch that Johnny is happy to receive and counter with his own desire.

While Johnny simmers inside and out, he slips his arms around Daniel’s waist, reaching for the undone gi tie. Daniel pulls away from the kiss with dreamy eyes, keeping his hands where they were skimming skin.

Eyes fixed on Daniel, Johnny begins to tie the belt on Daniel’s gi without looking. Daniel’s expression shifts between ‘oh, I hate you’ and ‘oh, I love you’ as Johnny finesses the tie with a final soft yank. Not too tight, not too loose. Johnny smirks at him, then runs his hands across the belt, securing his arms around Daniel’s waist again. The embrace neither wants to break has Johnny enjoying the moment while it lasts.

“Tough day?” Johnny prompts with a light tone.

“Mm,” Daniel bats his dark lashes, palms resting over Johnny’s heart, “Amanda figured us out before I could tell her, which was um.”

“Ah.” Johnny nods once, in perfect understanding. Daniel did warn him about this, and Johnny agreed to tell Carmen too. Johnny’s conversation with Carmen went exactly as planned, in that Johnny mentioned it in passing so quickly that Carmen had little time to do anything besides say she was happy for him. But he figured Daniel would have a different experience.

“Yeah,” Daniel exhales, “and I’m pretty sure Ant told the rest of the kids at school today, but in fairness, he did ask.”

Johnny hums in mild approval. The two did both agree that if asked, they wouldn’t hold back. And Johnny fully trusted Daniel’s decision to say yes on behalf of both of them.

“And oh,” Daniel’s tone grows bemused, “an investor asked me if you were single.”

Johnny snickers. “Wait,” he grins, mind conjuring what must have been a hilarious phone exchange, “really?”

“Yeah, really.” Daniel rolls his eyes as Johnny lets out another laugh.

The last of his melody is interrupted by Daniel’s mouth on his, which has Johnny reciprocating without question. Daniel’s lips are gone just as abruptly, rendering Johnny dizzy for a few beats. Their foreheads lean against each other, hachimakis scraping together. Johnny’s eyes close as he catches his suspended breath. His mind whirs at Daniel’s subtle claim on him, not enough to be jealousy but enough to remind Johnny that it was them, always meant to be them as one.

Fluttering his lashes open, Johnny pulls his forehead back but keeps his arms firmly around Daniel’s waist. He studies Daniel’s softened expression and rumbles “want me to take point today?”

Daniel nods in response. Thankfully, Johnny had a lesson prepared to let the kids blow off steam after the unexpected attack at the dance.

“Speaking of,“ Daniel says in a low register, “I wanted to run something by you.”

Johnny already knows it’s about Cobra Kai; he’s been thinking about what to do too. “Sure.”

“I think we should take them down,” Daniel says fervently, hesitation catching on his syllables, “before they have a chance to strike again.”

While it is surprising to hear the bold idea of retaliation—with a secret dash of revenge—on Daniel’s lips, Johnny is overcome with the realization that they are of the same mind. Daniel’s pause indicates his worry for what will happen if they choose this path, but any pitfalls will be theirs to share. Johnny is okay with that; he believes they could do this without sacrificing their morals.

Johnny’s mouth parts. “Good,” his palms press against Daniel’s lower back, the gi fabric soft on his skin, “because that’s what I want too.”

Daniel’s eyes widen, taking in the very epiphany Johnny had a moment earlier. Hands creep up Johnny’s shoulders and wrap around his neck, inviting him closer. Daniel looks up in awe at him, quiet for a moment, then pushes himself upwards. Their lips meet once again, a short but poignant vow. Johnny’s heart pounds in his ears and chest, growing stronger with every touch. Daniel’s breath tickles Johnny’s cheek as he puffs out an exhale in disbelief.

Daniel’s smile permanently fixes to his face. “You wouldn’t be opposed to learning Mike’s tricks, would you?”

“No,” Johnny says, “I was gonna suggest it if you hadn’t.”

Daniel’s expression cements into fiery resolve. “We’ll master Mike’s forms and go after Kreese without getting anyone else involved. And we’ll get rid of Cobra Kai for good this time.” His voice thickens, a memory flashing across his eyes. “I don’t want our kids to keep getting hurt.”

Johnny tips his chin down and kisses Daniel’s hairline. “Neither do I,” he murmurs.

Knuckles knock against the wood beam outside the dojo. Chozen’s voice filters through the thick shoji screen. “Daniel-san, Johnny-san?”

They got so carried away Johnny forgot there were kids outside waiting on their karate lesson. Johnny loosens his hold as Daniel flushes and smiles up at him. “Yeah, Chozen?” Daniel chimes, his tone giving no indication of their compromised position.

“Kids want to collect bets,” humor laces into Chozen’s voice as shushes resound from nearby, “and have question.”

Delight bursts inside Johnny. He presses his mouth together hard so he doesn’t bark out a laugh. He should’ve known their resident troublemakers would concoct a scheme like this, but he didn’t expect the knowledge to be such a confidence boost. If anyone started this, it was definitely one of his Eagle Fang kids. He’s so goddamn proud.

When he takes stock of Daniel in his arms, Daniel emits a defeated sigh. Johnny anticipated Daniel wouldn’t be pleased. Somehow, that made the whole situation funnier.

Of course, he can’t hide his amusement from Daniel, because the guy reads Johnny like always and simply rolls his eyes. “You wanna take this one, babe?”

“Mm,” Johnny no longer holds in his massive grin, “would love to, babe.”

Daniel finally extricates himself from Johnny’s embrace. He moves over to fiddle with photographs framed on the dojo wall to give Johnny walking space. Johnny pads across the tatami mat and slides open the door spilling into the field.

As the assembled karate kids observe him raptly, Johnny leans against the side of the door and goes “sup?”

Demetri raises his hand. Everyone else, including Chozen, laughs at the eagerness. “Sensei,” he pipes up, “how long have you been with other Sensei?”

‘There’s money riding on this’ goes unsaid. Johnny’s mouth quirks upwards in amusement. Since he doesn’t want to leave them in suspense, he says, “three months.”

Kenny shouts out “pay up, y’all!” Devon standing next to him nudges his shoulder and claps while everybody else’s reactions range from laughter to sighs of defeat. Johnny’s smile stays pasted to his face while Kenny gets handed cash by Hawk, Tory, and, to his surprise, Miguel. A couple others line up too, snippets of bemused conversation occurring between the teenagers. Robby congratulates Kenny and Sam rolls her eyes at Miguel.

Daniel appears beside him, a steady and warm presence. Johnny slides his eyes over to him, noting Daniel’s careful surveyance of the scene. Daniel does not comment aloud, choosing instead to send Johnny his best ‘I can’t believe this, it’s so silly.’ Johnny sends back his own ‘give them a break, it’s funny.’

After a moment of chatter, Chozen decides to intervene and get the kids’ attention. Daniel exits the dojo to help, standing beside Chozen near the pond to get the kids ready with a warm up. The fact Johnny didn’t even have to ask gives him a fuzzy feeling inside.

As he observes the kids get into kata stances, Johnny prepares for the day’s lesson.

<> One Month Later <>

Miguel is sitting at the table dotted with Grandma Rosa’s cigarette ashes outside the apartment when Robby crosses the lot with wide eyes.

“Hey, uh,” Robby catches his breath as he stands before Miguel, “have you heard from my dad since practice?”

Miguel squints and looks up at Robby, the setting sun casting a reddish pink glow to the sky. “Uh, no,” he blinks as the information absorbs, “why?”

Robby sticks his hands in his jacket pockets, clenching them into nervous fists. “Well,” he takes a shaky exhale, “he said he was gonna pick up a couple things at the store and come right back. That was three hours ago.”

Fear spikes in Miguel’s heart. At those words, he could feel it: something isn’t right.

Going cross-eyed and distant, Miguel tries his very best to keep his voice steady. “Have you called?”

“Yeah,” Robby’s unwavering eyes meet his, “over and over. Voicemail every time.”

Miguel retrieves his own phone from his pants pocket. He hasn’t received any messages since practice, which was expected, but checks texts to Johnny in case he missed something. Nothing sent today.

Pressing dial on Johnny’s name, he listens to the endless ringing tone. No answer. Voicemail.

At the ‘hey, this is Johnny,’ Miguel hangs up and shakes his head. “Yeah,” he puts away the phone and mirrors Robby’s worried face, “weird.”

“Right?” Robby makes a shrugging motion. “This isn’t like him. Not anymore, anyway.”

Miguel searches his mind—ignoring his pounding chest—and is reminded of the other person who Johnny could either be with or would also be concerned if Johnny disappeared. “What about Mr. L? Maybe he knows something.”

“Right,” Robby nods, snapping his fingers, “good idea, dude.” He takes out his phone and plops on the other chair at the outdoor table. Robby keys in Mr. LaRusso’s number and puts the ringing on speaker.

They get an answer in under ten seconds. “Hey, Miguel, what’s up?”

“Hey, uh,” Miguel looks over at Robby with a spike of anxiousness, “I’m here with Robby and we were wondering if you’ve heard from Johnny since practice?”

“I,” the phone switches ears, “no,” Mr. LaRusso sounds puzzled, “why?”

“Well, um,” Miguel says hesitantly, “the thing is, neither have we. So um. D’you know where-”

“Wait, hang on,” Mr. LaRusso’s breath catches, “you’re telling me Johnny never came home from practice?”

“Yeah?” Miguel realizes he sounds scared and confused, a knee-jerk reaction, and clears his throat. “Uh, yeah. Yeah.”

“Okay,” Mr. LaRusso puts on his no-nonsense tone, “I’m coming over. Keep trying Johnny’s cell. I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

“Okay,” Miguel feels simultaneously guilty and grateful that an adult was arriving to handle the situation, “see you.”

“See you soon,” Mr. LaRusso says, ending the call.

Miguel looks from his phone screen to Robby sitting across from him. Robby’s expression is drawn, eyes coming in and out of focus. He’s clearly thinking too much, going in circles about Johnny. It takes all of Miguel’s power not to do the same.

The minutes pass quickly. Miguel dials Johnny and gets a voicemail message every time. Robby remains silent, though his inner tension grows with each failed call.

They soon recognize one of Mr. LaRusso’s cars pull up and park in the lot. Miguel’s heart races at the circumstances once more, reality creeping in like a bandit. Miguel closes his eyes, takes a breath, and opens them to stay centered.

When Mr. LaRusso walks over, Robby rises from his seat and musters a “thanks for coming, Mr. LaRusso.”

Mr. LaRusso sends him a tired “you know to call me Daniel, Robby.”

“Right,” Robby bobs his head, making an awkward foot tapping motion, “um,” he glances over his shoulder, “wanna do this over at my, uh, Dad’s place?”

“Sure,” Daniel manages a smile, observing Robby’s nervous tick and responding gently, “lead the way.”

Robby looks between Miguel and Daniel one last time, then spins around and starts walking. The two follow in step behind him as they cross the parking lot and Robby lets them inside Johnny’s apartment. The dimly-lit main room is freakishly quiet without Johnny’s colorful presence.

They migrate to the kitchen table, which barely fits the three of them, and take their seats uneasily.

Daniel, thankfully, wastes no time. “Alright, so I tried calling on my way over and I got the voicemail too. You said he’s been gone three hours?” He directs the question to both of them.

“Yeah,” Robby answers meekly, “since he dropped me back here after practice and said he was gonna pick up groceries.”

Both Miguel and Daniel frown at that. Daniel asks, once again in a kind voice, “did you guys need anything important?”

Robby blinks twice, gaze focused off to the side while he thinks. “Uh, no. Thanks, though.”

There is a slight pause that envelops them. Miguel feels like he’s an intruder. This shouldn’t involve him. And yet, Johnny was important to him too.

“You don’t think,” Robby’s voice coming in again, so vulnerable, has Miguel snapping back into awareness, “you don’t think he’d. You know.”

Robby’s uncharacteristic quietness when they were outside hits Miguel worse than a karate kick: Robby is worried Johnny relapsed.

Miguel wants to be sick at the thought. Johnny’s been good since he got sober, went to therapy, and did a bunch of other adult stuff that basically meant he had his shit together. It’s unlikely. But yet…Miguel has seen Johnny at rock bottom before. Johnny used to be so up and down, perfectly fine one second, then down in the gutter the next second. And Robby has deep-rooted trauma due to Johnny’s past absenteeism. While they’ve all healed, they couldn’t discount the possibility that Johnny broke his sobriety.

Daniel is suddenly reaching for Robby’s shoulder, coaxing Robby to meet his eyes. “Listen to me,” Daniel murmurs, resting a light hand on Robby’s forearm, “your Dad would never do anything to hurt you,” he looks at Miguel, acknowledging his presence there, “either of you. Okay?”

Miguel remembers to breathe, a deep exhale spawning from his chest to his nose, filling the tense air with movement. He looks at Daniel and believes him. Miguel swallows thickly and nods.

Daniel’s hand leaving his arm, Robby tips his head down once. They’re all in agreement; Johnny isn’t relapsing.

So what is it, then?

“There’s got to be a reasonable explanation,” Daniel insists, both to them and to himself.

As Daniel settles in his chair, hands in his lap, his smartphone rings. Daniel reaches quickly to get it. Miguel leans forward in his seat, heart beating fast because it could be, might be, and as Daniel looks at the screen, he lights up in relief and answers on speaker “Johnny, are you alright?”

Miguel gapes at the words. Robby whispers a “Dad” that sounds like a prayer.

“Oh LaRusso,” a voice that’s not—Miguel repeats—not Johnny, “you actually sound concerned. How cute.”

Daniel freezes, tenses up as his wild eyes glare holes into his phone, dropped on the tabletop at the first syllable of that voice, the voice that slithers in nightmares. The word “Kreese” exits Daniel as a hiss, knee-jerk and venomous.

“You know, Daniel,” Kreese says casually, “your dojo made my Johnny soft. He didn’t even put up a fight.”

“Because he hit my head,” a weak voice filters in from the background, “the coward’s way, asshole!”

And that’s Johnny, alright. Miguel’s heart rate spikes through the roof. No freaking way Kreese kidnapped Johnny. Or, should he say, yes freaking way, because that’s where Johnny’s been the past three hours.

The phone muffles for a scary few beats. Miguel imagines Johnny getting punched or kicked, and bile rises up his throat. Miguel swallows hard, an aftertaste in his mouth.

A scratching noise is on the phone speaker, and then, Kreese says, “I heard you’ve both been watching me, Daniel. I think it’s time we put an end to these games. Face me tonight, or your dojo becomes a thing of the past.”

Now that Daniel has gotten over his stunned demeanor, his face twists into something tough. “I’m not doing shit until you put Johnny on the phone. If you hurt him, I swear to god-”

“Fine,” Kreese acquiesces, as if he predicted the ask, “no need to start your threats yet.” There is the sound of a muffled phone scratching again, indicating footsteps.

Daniel clenches his hand into a fist so strongly that his knuckles are white. A danger glitters in Daniel’s dark eyes, untamed and unbidden, directed towards the phone screen. The opposite of anger, Robby is pale sitting beside Miguel.

And Miguel, well, he doesn’t know what to feel.

“Hey,” Johnny’s voice is casual, as if he were not—most likely—tied up and bleeding somewhere, “did you know there were snakes in the grass?”

The question is so puzzling to Miguel that he almost forgets to be scared. Daniel seemingly takes this in stride and lets out a tired snort, his clenched fist loosening at the processing of Johnny’s tone. “You know how snakes are,” Daniel replies coolly, “they always wind up in places they shouldn’t be.”

It clicks for Miguel that this must be some sort of code. He listens raptly.

“True,” Johnny says after a pause, weighing his words, “and oh, I wasn’t able to buy the last thing on my grocery list. Still, it’s not every day you get treated to an unexpected meeting with an old friend.”

The last two words come out as sarcastic, but covered in a kind enough tone to indicate Kreese isn’t listening too closely. All of this hidden knowledge has Miguel’s mind working on overdrive.

Clearly, Daniel knows everything Johnny isn’t saying, because he keeps the flow of conversation without missing a beat. “I’ll take care of that, don’t worry.”

“Great,” Johnny grows hesitant and breathy, perhaps meaning Kreese is impatient, “and hey, Danny?”

“Yeah?” Daniel asks, a tinge of nervousness springing from his throat. Miguel absently realizes he’s never heard Johnny call Daniel by that nickname before, though he’s not sure what to do with that information. Robby notices it too, blinking rapidly as if breaking from a trance.

Johnny is emboldened as he sounds out his next words. “Kick his ass for me, will you?”

Daniel doesn’t get a chance to respond. The phone is wrested away from Johnny. Kreese says, “I think that’s enough. Let’s discuss terms.”

“I want you out of the valley for good,” Daniel clips, “and I want Johnny back unharmed.”

Kreese laughs. “You’re so predictable, you know that? If that’s what you want your winnings to be, if you win,” he emphasizes the ‘if’, “then no problem. But what we should really talk about is what I want when I win.” He chuckles at the ‘when.’ “What I want,” Kreese says, “is your dojo. I will be the only one that practices karate in the valley when I leave you lying broken on the mat. Do we have a deal?”

Miguel wants to tell Daniel no, not to do it, but if he speaks now, he’ll inform Kreese of his eavesdropping, and that wouldn’t be smart. Beside him, though, Robby stares at Daniel with ‘say yes’ in his eyes, the intensity of it taking Miguel aback.

And it is in that conflicting moment that Daniel studies both of their opposite reactions. Daniel frowns, though his gaze is full of that fight, that fire that won him two karate championships as a bullied teenager. Miguel is already aware Daniel made up his mind the second he heard Kreese’s voice on the other side of the call. There’s nothing Miguel can do to change his mind, or Robby’s, or Johnny’s. He simply has to accept this is what has to happen. Cobra Kai struck first at the dance, and again by taking Johnny and Daniel by surprise. They would keep striking until one dojo is the victor.

Miguel sends Daniel a nonverbal ‘I may not like this, but I accept it.’ Daniel tips his head in understanding, then directs to the phone “you have a deal.”

“Good,” Kreese says with a smirk, “I’ll send you the details. Come alone. Goodbye, Daniel.”

The call ends. Silence festers in the kitchen. Miguel’s mind rewinds the conversation in his head over and over, fumbling at clues.

It is Robby who murmurs, “Daniel, you’ve been watching him?”

A sadness betraying his age lingers over Daniel’s face. “We have been,” Daniel parses out, a slow truthfulness, “since the dance, we’ve been trying to find where he’s training the new cobras. We found them in the woods. We’ve been spying and adapting our own methods, as well as learning new tricks, in case they ever made a move against any one of you kids again.”

The secrecy, if anything, only makes Miguel and Robby deflate. Miguel has suspected the two senseis were hiding something lately—his instincts are never wrong—so he isn’t surprised they’d been up to something all along. His senseis want to keep them all safe. Miguel understands.

But god, he’s exhausted.

“You were talking in code,” Miguel identifies with cautiousness, “what did it mean?”

Daniel’s mouth quirks upwards on one side, an unexpected reaction. “He was telling me where they are and to make sure you two are safe.”

The phone blinks with a text message. Daniel is sidetracked by reading Kreese’s message. Miguel cannot squint hard enough to read the specifics.

Daniel flicks his attention back to them, pocketing his phone. “Miguel, can Robby stay by you while I get this sorted out? Make up anything you have to so it’s not suspicious.”

“Yeah,” Miguel agrees without hesitation, “got it.”

“Will you be alright, Daniel?” Robby asks point blank.

Visibly surprised, Daniel blinks, then rises from his seat to disguise it. “Don’t worry about me.” Daniel manages a reassuring expression. “I’m gonna get your Dad back, okay?”

Robby purses his lips at the dodged answer, yet nods. ‘I know you will’ can be read on his face.

Daniel parts company. Miguel takes Robby over to the apartment. Grandma Rosa has probably woken from her nap and his Mom is due back from work soon.

As they enter, Miguel prepares to put on a show.

<>

Johnny is on hour four of his head pounding at the temples when the distinct sound of a car pulling up the warehouse has him looking at the door hopefully.

Daniel’s here.

Sitting up in the chair he’s tied to has Johnny’s back cracking at the lower spine. He uncorks the grip he’s had on his own fists, finger bones creaking at the unfurling of pent-up energy. The ropes across his wrists simmer with pain. He’s tried loosening them, but with several older Cobras and Kreese staring at him, he hadn’t gotten far. His legs, which bend at a strange angle, pang with muscle aches at the knees and ankles. His forehead is crusted with dried blood, mingling into his dirty hair.

God, he can’t wait to get busted out of here.

The car outside clicks off. There is a buzzing murmur.

From his perch on a table a couple feet away, Kreese gets on his feet. He steps forward and lurks closer to the entrance, smiling widely. In the time Johnny has been tied up, the handful of adult Cobras had prepared a fighting mat in the center of his vision, making sure Johnny had a prime spot for the action. Johnny counted five karate masters flanking him; if he had to, he would take them on. All of this is meant to intimidate him.

Soon enough, Johnny would be the one laughing.

A shadow shapes the warehouse entrance. In a few swift steps, Johnny could make out Daniel entering in a Miyagi-do gi and his sensei’s hachimaki. The pure white clothing shining on the bright lights made Daniel look like an angel.

And Johnny needs to get that thought out of his head immediately before he does something stupid.

Daniel turns to the side and finds Kreese standing in front of the mat. His gaze slides to Johnny’s position, and he inhales sharply at Johnny’s haggard appearance. Daniel glares at the Cobras surrounding them, then directs his disgust to Kreese. His words are a blaring warning. “I said I wanted Johnny unharmed.”

Unmoved, Kreese says, “I’m not responsible for what consequences Johnny received for his actions prior to our arrangement. Now,” he steps back onto the mat, “I think a best two out of three will suffice. Agreed?”

“Fine,” Daniel seethes, stepping forward as if on the prowl, “and if I see any of your guys try anything-”

“They’re simply here to call the match,” Kreese says with ease, continuing to step back until he settles on the opposite edge of the mat. From Johnny’s vantage point, it’s almost like Kreese is backing away from a predator.

Daniel’s hardened and determined stance solidifies as he steps onto the closest side of the mat. Johnny’s never seen Daniel quite this angry before.

Kreese is delighted that Daniel’s itching to rip him apart. “I’m ready when you are, LaRusso.”

Daniel opts not to reply. One of the Cobras steps up to the middle of the mat. He looks between the two competitors, forgoes the traditional bow and hand motion, and declares “fight!”

The Cobra hardly has time to step back before Daniel lunges for Kreese with exceptional speed. He aims a kick at Kreese’s side, which is blocked at the last second by Kreese’s lower arm. Kreese uses his other arm to reach for Daniel’s chest, but he too is blocked, Daniel’s hand pushing back with above-average strength. Kreese recovers in a blink and next tries to knock Daniel off balance with a kick of his own. Kreese overshoots the hit and starts to descend shakily, which Daniel exposes by landing a chop on Kreese’s chest.

“Point LaRusso,” the Cobra says grimly.

Kreese regains his footing and clenches his jaw as Daniel takes a step back, straightening his posture in preparation for the next round. Kreese’s eyes squint, dissecting Daniel’s composure with curiosity.

That’s the thing about Daniel—Johnny thinks to himself—he may be angry, but he isn’t foolish enough to let it overtake him. It’s a lesson Johnny didn’t learn until much later in life.

A throb in his temple has Johnny closing his eyes for a few beats. Exhaustion lays over him like a blanket, threatening to smother him into unconsciousness. Not yet, he tells himself.

He opens his eyes just in time to hear “fight!”

Kreese attacks. He tries to land blows on Daniel, but every single one is blocked with equal swiftness as their delivery. Their movements are too fast for Johnny to track, eyes darting from fists to feet. Kreese grows frustrated, though finds an opening as Daniel parries a kick. Daniel’s chest is hit by Kreese’s hand.

The “point Kreese” makes Johnny wince, dread filling him up inside. Shit. They were tied. The next point wins.

Daniel resets on the mat, taking a breath to steady himself. Kreese sends him a signature smirk, trying to goad him. Daniel does nothing to acknowledge it, remaining focused on the match.

The dojo is riding on this. The safety of their kids is riding on this. Johnny’s either going to be sick or scream. He swallows spit to wash away the sensation of the former, clamps on his molars to fight back the latter. Wounds itch at his skin, but he thinks eyesforwardfaceforwardstayawake to combat the pain.

Edges of his vision blurring, Johnny barely hears the “fight!” He blinks hard to focus.

And Daniel launches himself up on the mat, gaining air as he forms a decisive strike. Mike taught them this move, and where Johnny struggled, Daniel picked it up immediately.

In seconds, Daniel’s aerial kick had downed Kreese, the hit in the face so hard he couldn’t control his descent. Kreese lands on his side groaning while Daniel’s feet touch the end of the mat with a soft thud. Daniel regains balance and turns around, Kreese unable to get up.

While the Cobras beside him are quiet, Johnny can’t help the exhaled chuckle that escapes him, a smile upturning as he looks at Daniel.

Damn, he didn’t think Mike was right when he said the move led to temporary incapacitation. But based on how Kreese is relatively immovable, Daniel performed the move to perfection.

One of the Cobras recovered from the shock of the swift finishing blow and murmurs “point. LaRusso wins.”

Ignoring the dumbstruck Cobras, Johnny finds his voice again, though it comes out raw and throaty: “Hell yeah he did.”

At his words, Daniel sends a worried glance over to him. Eyes sliding over him briefly, taking in his worsening appearance while tied to the chair, Daniel steels himself. He looks away and walks to the center of the mat.

Approaching Kreese, who could do nothing but look up, Daniel says measuredly, “I want you and your Cobras out of San Fernando by sunset tomorrow. If you’re not,” his gaze burns a hole in Kreese, “I have plenty more ways to kick your ass.”

Johnny would do anything to kiss Daniel right now. His arms strain at the ropes around his wrists in discomfort that grows increasingly skin-crawling. Not to mention the tiredness.

Because goddamn, Johnny’s so, so tired.

Daniel steps off the mat, leaving Kreese on the floor. The other Cobras rush to their sensei, though Johnny doesn’t pay attention to them, because Daniel’s eyes were on him, concern spilling out onto the crow’s feet as Daniel crosses the rest of the distance between them in a swift bound.

Johnny tips his head up as Daniel stands in front of him, gaze roving across his bleeding head. “Hey,” Daniel murmurs, so quietly that Johnny almost doesn’t pick it up, “hang on.”

Daniel’s face and front leave Johnny’s vision. Daniel’s presence and touch behind him indicates Daniel is going to untie him. Since Johnny doesn’t see a knife or anything sharp laying around, Daniel will have to unknot his wrists by hand.

Taking a breath, he senses Daniel kneel down behind him. Fingertips fumble around Johnny’s lower arms, soft yet determined. Johnny naturally slackens his hands, the strange grip he’s had on them to remain controlled, wishing he could help. Daniel takes this as permission to divert his attention to the ropes.

Johnny loses track of time, his headache a steady pounding, but he at last feels the tight ropes fall away from his wrists. His hands and shoulders hurt from being stuck in the same position for hours. He bites back a groan of pain and rolls his shoulders forward, bones cracking back into a comfortable place.

Rising to his feet, Daniel’s front comes back into view. A hand reaches out to touch his shoulder, body hovering closely. “Ready?” Daniel asks.

Johnny inhales deeply, rolls on the balls of his feet, and stands on an exhale. His nerves scream, blurring his vision for a beat. He shuts his eyes to refocus, making a fist and releasing it after a few seconds. Shit, this hurts.

An arm around his back has Johnny opening his eyes. Looking to his right, Daniel ducks his head under Johnny’s shoulder to support one side. They meet each other’s eyes, Johnny’s apologetic yet teasing ‘sorry, babe’ being answered with a ‘we’ll talk about this later.’

Then, they make it out of the warehouse and into the woods, the starry night sky guiding them towards Daniel’s parked car. The cool air tickles Johnny’s face, temporarily distracting him from the fact his mind is pressing fast forward on the images rolling past his eyes.

They are standing on the passenger’s side of the car when Daniel untucks himself from Johnny’s armpit, taking weight off slowly in case Johnny is too unsteady. Daniel manages to open the door for Johnny as he bends and sits inside the car. A new flash of pain in his nerves has him hiding a groan as he adjusts in the seat. Johnny fusses with the seatbelt, clicking it into place while Daniel helps close the door and rounds the car. The unlatching and slamming of the door opposite him indicates Daniel entering the driver’s seat. The engine roars to life seemingly in seconds, Johnny observing Daniel as he drives away.

“I need you to stay awake for me, alright?” Daniel says, eyes firmly on the road but his profile and voice indicating a shaking worry. “I’m gonna get you to an ER, but the nearest one is a few miles away. Okay?”

Cheek pressing against the leather of the seat, Johnny manages an “okay.” It comes out distant to his own ears.

Daniel must notice, because he glances for a split second at Johnny’s face and cannot mask his distress as he returns his attention to driving. “We’re gonna talk, okay?” He winces. “Will that help?”

“Mm,” Johnny says, realizing he was getting dried blood on leather but feeling too fuzzy to remark on it, “‘bout what?”

“Anything,” Daniel says, making a sharp turn at the wheel, “as long as you keep talking.”

Johnny feels dizzy, and he smiles wide. “Music to my ears,” he teases.

Daniel huffs, as expected, and responds with “you know what I mean.”

Johnny snickers, blinking a few times to find his focus. The circumstances of his getting captured hit him, stress spiking as faces swim in his memory. “Are Robby and Miguel okay?”

“Yeah,” Daniel says, assuaging Johnny’s fears, “don’t worry, okay? I’ll call once you’re getting checked out by a doctor to have Robby stay with Miguel overnight.”

Johnny lets out a small breath, which hurts his chest. Putting the trust of his kids in Daniel’s hands is easier than anticipated, though he is unsurprised at Daniel’s paternal instinct spreading to every student who attended their dojo. “Thanks,” he mumbles.

Daniel turns sharply in the opposite direction, streetlights passing by the edges of Johnny’s vision. Daniel’s mouth turns into a thin line for a few beats as he concentrates, then forms into a frown.

It takes Johnny too many seconds to realize he’s not just frowning. Daniel’s in pain.

The silence between them lasts a few seconds too long. Johnny’s mind whirs as Daniel murmurs, “don’t have to thank me. I feel like I got us into this mess.”

Johnny’s attention is split in two; momentarily, he forgets his injuries and his permeating sleepiness. “You didn’t,” he insists, “we share this decision, as we share this pain.”

Daniel’s eyes dart nervously to him, but it is all Johnny needs to confirm his theory: Daniel hurt himself in the fight, and is trying to hide it.

“Where is it?” Johnny asks gently, giving himself a mental kick for not noticing earlier, even though he was hardly of sound logic to do so.

There is a long stretch where Johnny suspects Daniel won’t respond at all. But that’s not how they do things. Not anymore. Johnny studies the night sky passing through Daniel’s window to pass the time, bright lights keeping him from falling unconscious. Johnny waits, because patience has become a valuable strategy with Daniel’s tendency to overthink.

Finally, Daniel controls a sigh and admits, “that last kick fractured a bone on the left side of my foot.”

Johnny absorbs the information fully, then asks with a careful tone, “please tell me you’re not driving with a fractured right foot.”

“I’m not,” Daniel says immediately, with complete honesty, “it’s my left.”

Johnny breathes through his nose to dispel worried energy. He tips his head in acknowledgment. “Badass of you, man.”

Daniel scoffs as he pulls onto a highway. “Nothing badass about it when you can’t control the landing.”

Johnny tries to replay the moment in his head, though only comes up with “you couldn’t tell,” admiration and affection overcome his voice, “and doing that took serious balls.”

When it’s clear Johnny won’t let up on the compliments, Daniel sighs out a “okay fine. Can we talk about something else now?”

“Mm,” Johnny doesn’t want to, though finds that searching his mind for a topic distracts him from residual pain, “found out from Stacy that one of their stores is emptying out and ready for a new owner. Think Chozen and Kumiko would be interested?”

Daniel’s mouth upturns at the mention of the bonsai store. “Y’know, they just might be, especially when they find out their very own Johnny Lawrence is painting murals.”

Johnny snorts at the slight tease in Daniel’s words, familiar and so welcomed Johnny could weep. “Well,” Johnny ponders, “Kumiko did like the painted pots I made for her scented bonsais in the front. Maybe I could do a better bonsai mural than the ones we got on the gis, but make it similar enough that it’s clear both businesses were inspired by the same man.”

Affected by his words, Daniel’s expression smooths out into something softer. The car moves at a moderate pace, perhaps because they are getting closer to their destination. “Yeah,” Daniel says dreamily, “that would be good.”

The quietness that falls over them this time is calmer, more amiable. In another couple minutes, the car is parking and stopping in the hospital parking lot.

As the two get inside the building and Johnny is swept away, he closes his eyes in a peaceful rest.

<>

“Go fish,” Sam says.

“Dang,” Tory comments, “you’re on a roll, LaRusso.”

Daniel smiles at his daughter with pride. He’s been waiting for the results of his foot X-ray laid up in a hospital room for hours. While he insisted they didn’t have to visit, Sam, Anthony, Miguel, Robby and Tory all arrived within the hour, shuttled there by a frazzled Carmen and Amanda who kept going in and out of the room pestering doctors about both the X-rays and Johnny’s recovery. It was Miguel who brought the Go Fish deck with him, and while the group has been playing for a long time, none were bored of the repetitiveness yet.

He suspects, however, that the teenagers are distracting him and themselves in order to not worry about Johnny. They hadn’t heard about Johnny’s condition since he went in for tests, and that was hours and hours ago.

The cards are reset after Sam wins a round. Anthony gathers the deck and shuffles them, dealing out five cards per person.

Before they could start, Amanda enters and declares, “the doctor’s coming.”

There is a chorus of tired ‘woos’ as Carmen follows behind her shortly. The two women take seats across the room, giving Daniel and the kids space. Daniel surveys the teens gathered around him closely, all of them there to support him, and a swell of contentment makes a home in his chest.

The doctor enters, surprised at the large group in the room, then proceeds to explain Daniel has several small metatarsal fractures in his foot. While they could fit him with a boot, he would have to wear it for a longer period of eight weeks. Daniel frowns and agrees to the boot, which will get him checked out of the hospital that day.

The doctor exits the room to start the process, then Daniel lets the news sink in. For most of the rest of Sam’s senior year of high school, Daniel would not be able to practice karate in the dojo. He wouldn’t be much help when the kids train for their final competition.

Recognizing this, Sam and Anthony give him huge sidearm hugs, smothering him and making Daniel bark out a laugh. “I’m fine,” he says, though he’s not sure if he will be—not for a while, at least.

“Course you’ll be fine,” a familiar voice from the doorway says, causing Daniel’s head to whip to the side and drink in Johnny, dressed in jeans and a tee and smiling warmly at him, face glowing as if nothing bad ever happened, “you’ve got me, don’t ya?”

“Dad!” Robby scrambles out of his seat and rushes into his Dad’s arms. Johnny catches him and wraps him up tightly, laughing when Miguel throws himself at them too. Tory isn’t far behind, piling into the hug on Robby’s side and showcasing a rare grin at Johnny’s appearance.

Miguel mutters “are you okay” to Johnny, who grins wider and insists he’s okay, his concussion looked worse than it was, and Daniel is awash with relief at the truth in Johnny’s voice, not masking for the sake of their kids, strong and determined. Nothing could take Johnny down for long, Daniel thinks, and he can’t hold back the widening smile on his lips.

Johnny is pulling away from the group hug—though keeping his arms loosely around his sons while Tory hangs onto her boyfriend’s shoulder and chuckles—and sends a look to Daniel from his bed, communicating paragraphs all in one instant. Daniel could only let out a short chuckle-sigh that expresses his mixed emotions.

The glance is cut away by Sam and Anthony giving Johnny cheerful greetings, which are returned with enthusiasm. The sparkle in Sam and Anthony’s eyes, how genuine they are in their affection for Johnny, sends Daniel into another plane of existence, the closest he’s ever been to slap-happy.

Johnny responds to something Anthony says that makes all the teens laugh, and Daniel is coaxed out of a semi-dream state.

“Alright,” Johnny looks at Robby, “wanna get outta here in a little bit? I know you’ve got a test at school tomorrow.”

Robby makes an “ugh” sound that means ‘okay fine’ and ‘I hate that you remembered, Dad’ simultaneously.

“Can I come?” Tory asks. “I have the same test.”

“Sure,” Johnny acquiesces, then points a finger between Tory and Robby, “but no funny business, alright?”

The couple laughs and agrees to the terms.

Johnny sets his eyes back on the group as a whole. “I gotta talk to Danny for a couple minutes. Wait in the hall?”

There’s a string of okays from the teenagers. Anthony hastily gathers up the Go Fish cards and puts them in the deck, then follows Robby, Miguel, Tory, and Sam into the hallway. As Daniel sends Johnny a shy look, he remembers that Carmen and Amanda have been on the other side of the room this entire time and had remained quiet during the reunion. Daniel looks away from Johnny apologetically and casts his attention on the two women. Both of them are amused.

Johnny follows the eyeline and says “oh, hi ladies. Amanda,” he approaches Daniel’s bed and lowers himself into a chair absently as he focuses on her, “tell me, and be honest,” a teasing reaches his tone, “on a scale from one to ten, how infuriating is Danny gonna be with this cast on his foot?”

Daniel burns inwardly, expelling an embarrassed cough, as Amanda beams at Johnny and replies, “oh, it’s a ten. You’ll never hear the end of it.”

As Daniel flushes a fiery color, Johnny laughs and says, “yeah, that’s what I figured. Guy’s fussy enough as it is. And you know what he said to me on the drive over?”

“That he’s fine,” Amanda responds, a statement, not a question.

A crackle of conspiracy passes between Johnny and Amanda. Daniel very much wants to die.

“Got it in one,” Johnny says, snickering along with Amanda, “and now look what happened. I’m out, he’s staying in.”

While the two share a humorous look, Daniel can’t hold back his answering sigh and multisyllabic pronunciation of “Johnny,” which illustrates his exasperation enough to result in Johnny’s head whipping around to face him, hearty laughter in his bright blue eyes.

“Okay okay,” Johnny holds up brief hands in surrender, then drops them back onto his lap, “I’m done.”

“And on that note,” Daniel breaks contact with Johnny to see Amanda and Carmen rising from their seats, taking each other’s hand, then Amanda continuing, “we’ll let you two have a few minutes.”

Carmen squeezes Amanda’s hand and murmurs, “I’ll take Miggy home.” Her mouth quirks upwards. “And you know,” Carmen’s eyes shine as she hesitates for a beat, “you both deserve each other.”

Johnny instantly jokes “is that a compliment or a jab?”

“You decide,” Carmen fires back, winking at Daniel specifically. Since Daniel’s not sure how to react, he goes with a wary smile. Based on how Johnny snorts in bemusement, though, Daniel feels relatively confident that Carmen meant the best for them.

Amanda sends Carmen a mischievous look as she guides them out of the room. Once they’re gone, the hospital room emptier than it’s been in hours, Daniel lets out a soft breath at the quietness.

“So,” Johnny murmurs beside him, getting Daniel to tilt his head and recognize—with a pleased heartbeat—how close Johnny’s sitting at his bedside, “I got one—scratch that, two—very important things to say to you.”

Daniel’s brow climbs in curiosity. “Oh?”

“Yeah,” Johnny’s expression crinkles, “not sure if you wanna hear this first one,” he brings a hand onto the mattress, which Daniel covers with his own, “but I gotta say it: thank you for saving me from Kreese.”

Frowning on instinct, Daniel mutters, “you don’t gotta thank me for that.”

Johnny says gently, “I know I don’t, but I want to anyway. Kreese,” he flicks his gaze from their hands back to Daniel’s face, “he’s always found a way to throw me off balance. I know you know that and we’ve talked about this a lot, but I have to repeat it. I’ve gotten past what he’s done to me, but I knew if he came back, I couldn’t take him on my own. You not only came when I needed you,” Johnny’s mouth trembles, “but you made sure my kids were safe and that we’d never have to see him ever again. You don’t realize what that means, what you’ve given me, and that’s peace.” Johnny’s eyes threaten to water, but he blinks to hold them back. “Of course I have to thank you for that, and I thank you with all my goddamn heart.”

Daniel realizes with a start he’s been holding his breath and clutching the top of Johnny’s hand, so he lets out a shaky exhale and loosens his grip. He sniffles and nods, not trusting himself to speak after being so moved by Johnny’s words. Johnny insists he isn’t a poet, only a painter, but Daniel thinks that’s a lie.

Clearing his throat, Johnny continues, “this brings me to the second thing I gotta say to you, and I have to warn you,” he lets out a nervous breath, “it’s a biggie.”

At the rare anxiousness playing about Johnny’s form, the answer—to the question of ‘what is Johnny going to tell me’—comes to Daniel like a familiar tap on the shoulder. His mouth quirks upwards at the warmth of the words rising up inside him, dancing across his chest and mouth and mind.

And the cheeky part of Daniel truly can’t help himself, for better or worse, as he says, “I already know, Johnny.”

In a single second, Johnny’s eyes are fixated on him in sparkling surprise. “Oh?”

“Course,” Daniel responds.

Johnny insists, “I still need to say it out loud. You deserve that.”

Daniel smiles wider, insides filled with mirth. “Okay.”

“I love you, Danny LaRusso,” Johnny says fervently, “a fucking lot.”

The last words are so trademark Johnny that Daniel barks out a laugh, squeezing their grasped hands to punctuate delight. He’s pretty sure his heart eyes project across the planet. Johnny reciprocates the energy right back, both of them most likely looking like dumb teenagers.

Daniel’s voice softens as he murmurs the easiest words he’s ever had to speak: “I love you too, Johnny Lawrence.”

<> Several Weeks Later <>

They’re walking on the beach, a slow current wading near their feet, when Johnny decides to propose to Daniel.

Daniel’s foot has been healed for a short while, their respective kids brought their dojo to the top podium on the world karate stage, and Johnny finished his series of murals with his best one yet for Kumiko’s shop: a bonsai tree so lifelike that he’s caught several passerby touch the branches on the wall in amazement. The valley is truly at peace. Johnny’s never been happier, and he sure as hell knows Daniel feels the same.

Through everything, it became clear to Johnny that he wants Daniel by his side for the rest of his days. Why not make it official?

So in the middle of their walk on the beach, Johnny puts a hand on Daniel’s arm, signaling for him to stop for a moment and listen. Daniel waits expectantly, curiosity blooming in his eyes.

When Johnny gets down on one knee, he barely gets a chance to say anything before Daniel says, “yes, the answer is yes.”

Looking up at him, Johnny wants to retort with his usual ‘how’d you know what I was gonna say’, but finds he can’t do much more than smile, stand back up, and say “good.”

Since Johnny wants to strike in another way, he goes in for the kiss first. Daniel chuckles and lets him, leaning into it contentedly as the sun sets over the beach.