justabigassnerd - Tumblr blog

justabigassnerd · 8 days ago

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The Discovery

Pairing - Jake 'Hangman' Seresin x daughter!reader, Jake 'Hangman' Seresin x Bradley 'Rooster' Bradshaw

Word count - 4,824

Warnings - swearing, arguments, angst, fluff, Jake is a lil' rude

Summary - after receiving Javy's text, Jake decides to confront you about his newfound discovery to get to the bottom of it all

A/N - wow y'all it's time for another Hangman Junior fic!!! I definitely owed y'all Jake's reaction to the dating news so here it be! I do apologise that it's a short one, my brain truly was just not doing the damn thing. as per y'all, please send in requests, feedback, and enjoy!!!

‘Did you know our kids were dating?’

Bradley’s eyes were barely able to scan the message before Jake flipped the phone back around to face him, rereading the text as if it would magically change or Javy would text again, revealing it was a joke.

“There’s no way this is true. y/n hates Mateo,” Jake mutters, getting up from his seat and crossing the room to call Javy in privacy.

“I thought I hated you too at first,” Bradley murmurs to himself as Jake walks away, rolling his eyes at his husband’s dramatic reaction.

While Javy was in the process of receiving a very angry phone call from Jake, you and Mateo were none the wiser, continuing to spend your time together, constantly peppering each other in kisses as you lounged on the sofa. You spent the entire day together, only leaving the house once Javy came home much to your disappointment.

“I’ll see you tomorrow at school, Darling,” Mateo says softly, pressing a soft kiss to your lips in farewell.

“I’ll see you around, Asshat,” you respond with a soft smile, the nickname now no longer holding the same malice it used to. With one final kiss goodbye, you get into your car, drive home and instead of being greeted at the door by an overexcited Moose, you are greeted by your dad who stands before you with his arms folded across his chest.

“Hey Dad, what’s going on?” you ask worriedly, concerned about what could’ve happened.

“Why don’t you tell me?” Jake asks with a raised eyebrow as he gestures towards the living room with his head as you comply with his request, heading into the living room and sitting down on the sofa alongside Moose who settles his head against your leg.

“Okay, Dad, seriously, what’s going on? Is everything okay?” you ask again, growing concerned at your dad’s lack of an answer. Instead of responding, Jake opens his phone, showing you the text he had received as you read it carefully, your eyes widening slightly in shock when you realise what Javy had said.

“Would you care to explain why I got this text from Javy? And don’t give me that ‘it’s not what you think’ crap, Javy told me everything,” Jake says firmly, tucking his phone away in his pocket.

“Snitch,” you mutter annoyedly under your breath.

“What was that?” Jake asks, cocking his head slightly as if it would help him hear you better.

“We were just trying to figure out the best time to tell you. We’re still figuring things out,” you argue, trying to defend yourself.

“What has gotten into you? I thought I raised you better than this,” Jake scolds angrily, pacing as he talks.

“Raised me better than what? Having a boyfriend?” you question, your eyebrows furrowed as you try to make sense of your dad’s rant.

“I raised you better than to have a boyfriend like that,” Jake insists as you glare viciously at your dad.

“He’s Uncle Javy’s kid, are you saying you hate Javy now?” you ask.

“No. He’s my best friend. It’s Mateo I don’t trust. He’s nothing like his dad,” Jake says, his voice raising slightly as you stand up, disturbing Moose who whines softly at the sudden shift in tone.

“So what if he’s not like Javy? He’s his own person and he’s not as bad as you think,” you say desperately, trying to convince your dad that his snap judgement on Mateo was wrong.

“He’s been making Javy’s life miserable since he got here. You want to date someone like that?” Jake fires back.

“I’m not saying Mateo was right to treat him like that but he’s trying now. We’ve spoken about it and he’s genuinely putting in more of an effort to get to know Javy,” you argue, refusing to break the staring contest you’d initiated with your dad.

“He’s not a good kid, y/n. The sooner you realise that the better,” Jake says.

“Jake…” Bradley warns from the kitchen doorway, having been a silent observer up until now.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about. You don’t know him the way I do,” you say, angry tears welling in your eyes.

“You think you know him. But he’ll just break your heart,” Jake says as you scoff turning on your heels and storming out of the house, ignoring the calls of Jake and Bradley for you to come back as you jump into your car, instantly driving in the direction of Mateo’s house.

“Well, that was nicely handled,” Bradley comments, folding his arms across his chest as Jake rounds on Bradley, his face set.

“I notice you didn’t try to help,” Jake observes, his anger now directed at Bradley.

“It wasn’t my place. Plus, I don’t exactly have any problem with them dating,” Bradley shrugs, making Jake falter for a second.

“You what? How can you not have a problem? Mateo is bad news,” Jake argues as Bradley moves away from the doorway, crossing to Jake.

“You’re making a very quick judgement. y/n is right, we don’t know Mateo well enough to comment on whether or not he’s a good boyfriend for her,” Bradley says, watching as Jake rolls his eyes.

“I think I’ve got a pretty good grasp on what he’s like and he’ll treat y/n like shit if I don’t put a stop to it,” Jake says, exasperated that no one understands his point.

“Jake. You’ve raised y/n to make good decisions in life. She’s not the type of girl to just jump headfirst into situations she doesn’t understand. If things don’t work out then that’s the way it goes. We shouldn’t be judging Mateo after what he’s been through,” Bradley tries, keeping his voice level not to provoke Jake any more than he was already.

“He’s got an attitude problem and he’s been causing nothing but trouble since he got here. I don’t want that kind of influence around my daughter,” Jake fires back.

“He hasn’t had an easy life, Jake. Kids can lash out when they feel like the world’s against them,” Bradley explains, folding his arms across his chest.

“That’s just an excuse they use to deflect their actions. We all know that it’s bullshit,” Jake says angrily, making Bradley scoff slightly, shaking his head.

“I guess that makes me a bullshitter then,” Bradley mutters, making Jake stop in his tracks slightly.

“What do you mean?” Jake asks, faltering slightly at Bradley’s now dejected mood.

“I used to be like Mateo. When my mom died I turned into an asshole. I lashed out at everyone, Mav, my friends, and pretty much anyone who dared to be nice to me when my world was falling apart. It took me a while to work through that,” Bradley explains, his stomach twisting as he remembers the person he used to be when his grief consumed him.

“That’s different,” Jake splutters, suddenly on the defensive after Bradley’s words.

“It’s not, Jake. Mateo’s not had it easy and if y/n sees the person he can be and is supporting and loving him, then maybe he’s not that bad,” Bradley states, finally fed up with Jake’s attitude and leaving the room, making his way up to their room for some privacy with Moose in tow.

Meanwhile, you had just parked outside Javy’s house, pounding on the door as tears welled in your eyes.

“y/n/n, are you okay?” Javy asks as he opens the door, confusion and worry written across his face as you shake your head slightly.

“Can I see Mateo, please?” you ask quietly, folding your arms across your chest as Javy nods, ushering you inside.

“He’s in his room, you can just head straight up,” Javy says softly, allowing you to go up the stairs in search of Mateo while he stays in the hallway, wondering if his text had caused the upset.

While Javy tried to get to the bottom of what happened, you found yourself outside Mateo’s bedroom door, tentatively knocking on the door and waiting to be allowed in.

“What do you want, Dad?” you hear Mateo call through the door, clearly not moving to open the door.

“It’s me,” you say timidly, feeling tears roll down your cheeks as you talk. In a flash, the door was open and Mateo was looking at you worriedly.

“What’s wrong, Darling?” Mateo says, his question staying unanswered as you immediately bury yourself in his chest, winding your arms around his middle and hugging him tightly. Taking your cue, Mateo ushers you into the room, guiding you into his room and closing the door behind him before sitting you on his bed. Mateo holds you close as you cry, clinging to him like he was your last lifeline. Mateo didn’t once pry, letting you cry yourself out, his hand running up and down your back soothingly until you calmed down.

“I’m sorry,” you sniffle, pulling away from Mateo to wipe at your eyes, embarrassed that he’d seen you in such a state so soon into your relationship.

“Don’t be sorry. What’s gotten you like this?” Mateo questions softly, lifting his hand to gently wipe at your tears, his calloused thumbs gentle against your skin as you subconsciously lean into his touch.

“My dad…” you mutter, trying to find the right words to explain the situation. Clearly understanding your inner torment, Mateo remained quiet and patient, letting you find your words. Mateo listened patiently as you explained everything, his soft gaze never leaving yours. When you finish explaining, Mateo shifts to hold you close once more

“He doesn’t get a say in us, Darling. He can hate me as much as he wants, but that isn’t going to change how much you mean to me,” Mateo says reassuringly, resting his chin atop your head as you tuck yourself against him.

“I just don’t understand. I’m not doing anything wrong,” you mumble tearily, still struggling to understand your dad’s reaction.

“You’re right. You’re not doing anything wrong. He’s the one with the issues here,” Mateo mutters, a slight edge to his tone, his anger at your dad evident.

“It’s just that his opinion of me really matters. I don’t want him to hate me.” Your teary words broke Mateo’s heart as he held you close, wishing there was something he could do to ease your upset.

“I don’t think he hates you. And if he did, I’d talk to him and make sure he realises what a mistake he’s making,” Mateo promises quietly, wanting you to know you’d be supported no matter what. Before you could respond, your phone buzzed, making you pull it out of your pocket and study the text.

“Is that your old man?” Mateo asks softly as you shake your head.

“It’s Bradley. He’s asking if I want him to pack a bag to stay here a few nights,” you mumble, glancing up at Mateo who nods quickly.

“Say yes, you’re staying for as long as you want,” Mateo says instantly.

“What if Javy says no?” you ask, worried that Javy wouldn’t let you stay.

“He’ll say yes. He loves you,” Mateo assures, pressing a soft kiss on the top of your head as you text Bradley, asking if he could pack you a bag. As you hit send on the message, Mateo carefully detangles himself from your arms, making your eyebrows furrow as he stands up.

“Where are you going?” you ask.

“I’m gonna ask my dad if you can stay round. Stay here, I’ll grab you some snacks too,” Mateo says, pressing another kiss to the top of your head before exiting his room, closing the door behind him, and leaving you alone.

While Mateo was gone, you scrolled mindlessly through social media, watching random videos of people attempting to be funny in an attempt to take your mind off what had happened between you and your dad.

“My old man says you can stay for as long as you want, but we can’t sleep in the same room,” Mateo says as he enters the room, holding out a bar of your favourite chocolate towards you as you take it with a soft smile.

“Somehow I’m not surprised,” you joke as Mateo sits down alongside you once more.

You and Mateo spend some time together, cuddled up as you and Mateo watch some mindless tv show on his laptop before you hear Javy calling.

“y/n, Bradley’s here!” At Javy’s call, you push yourself off the bed, make your way downstairs and find Bradley at the door with a bag in one hand and Moose’s leash in the other.

“Hey, buddy.” You pet Moose, smiling as he licks your hand before Bradley hands you your bag.

“Moose and I are going to stay with Phoenix for a couple of days, if you need me, text me,” Bradley says as you place the bag down on the floor.

“Is everything okay?” you ask worriedly, concerned that you’d caused something between your dad and Bradley.

“Your dad and I just need a little time apart. I’m trusting you’ll be good for Javy?” Bradley says, looking at you pointedly.

“I’m always good,” you reply.

“And separate rooms for you and Mateo, okay?” Bradley warns, pointing at you and Mateo as you both roll your eyes.

“Yeah, yeah, we got it,” you grumble, feeling your face growing hot at Bradley’s words.

“I’ll see you later,” Bradley says, embracing you before leaving, closing the door behind him.

“Bradley’s right, you’re in separate rooms,” Javy says, making you both jump as you turn to face him.

“We know,” Mateo says with a slight scoff.

“Just, go and hang out, do whatever couples these days do,” Javy says with a dismissive wave, allowing the two of you to head upstairs and spend more time together.

By the end of the day, you were feeling slightly better about what had happened between you and your dad. Mateo had dedicated his time to cheering you up, a far cry from the boy who lived to irritate you. By the time night came, you were just about ready to crash so you headed into your room, only stopping when Javy approached you.

“Hey, Kit-Kat, you doing okay?” Javy asks softly, watching as you nod.

“I’m doing better,” you reply, smiling softly.

“I know I’m the reason your dad found out and I’m sorry. I never thought he’d react badly to it.”

“Uncle Javy, it’s not your fault. I’m not upset with you or anything,” you say, not wanting Javy to blame himself for what had happened.

“I wouldn’t blame you if you were upset with me,” Javy says with a light scoff.

“But I’m not. Dad shouldn’t have reacted the way that he did. If he had just listened to me in the first place everything would be okay,” you say with a shrug.

“I’ll try to make it right. Jake has a tendency to jump to the worst conclusions sometimes. Hopefully, I can make him see sense,” Javy promises quietly, bringing you into a hug.

“I love you, Uncle Javy,” you mumble, winding your arms around him as you hug him back.

“I love you too. Now, you should head to bed, you’ve got school in the morning,” Javy says, releasing you from the embrace and gesturing towards the bedroom door.

“Okay,” you grumble lightly, making your way towards the bedroom door.

“Oh, and y/n, if you’re going to sneak into Mateo’s room or if he’s going to sneak into yours, please be quiet. And don’t make me a grandpa at this age, I’m too young and beautiful,” Javy then says as you scoff lightly, rolling your eyes as you open the door.

“Good night, Javy,” you say with a laugh, disappearing into your room for the night.

Over the next week, you continued to stay with Javy, enjoying the freedom you had, not having to hide your relationship with Mateo, even if Javy did joke about your public displays of affection within the house. You had kept regular contact with Bradley who was still staying at Natasha’s house. He had explained what had happened after you had left the house and you couldn’t help but feel guilty that your relationship with Mateo had caused such a divide between your dad’s.

One day, while you and Mateo were at school, Bradley and Javy decided it was time to meet and talk with Jake about his behaviour to not only settle the tension between Jake and Bradley but also to help quell the tension between you and your dad.

“Jake,” Bradley greeted curtly as he and Javy sat with Jake at the bar of the Hard Deck, all three men locked in an awkward stare-off as they sat down.

“Bradley, Javy,” Jake responded, acknowledging both men.

“How have you been?” Javy asked quietly, wondering how his best friend was doing.

“Well my kid and my husband have both moved out,” Jake says gruffly, taking a swig of the beer Penny handed to him.

“Jake, it’s not like we wanted to do it. You were out of line,” Bradley starts, his voice soft as Jake rolls his eyes.

“I was out of line for protecting my daughter?” Jake asks incredulously.

“Look, I get it man. Mateo isn’t a model citizen. But he really cares for y/n. I’ve never seen him care so much about someone the way he cares about her,” Javy says, glancing over at Jake.

“I’ve seen his attitude towards everyone though. What if he treats y/n the same way?” Jake asks worriedly, glancing between Javy and Bradley.

“Maybe you should have a conversation with Mateo, get to know him better,” Bradley suggests softly, reaching out to take Jake’s hand.

“I know,” Jake mutters as Bradley squeezes his hand.

“Trust me, Jake, I know how much of a shock this all is. I never expected Mateo to get with y/n with how much they were at each other’s throats but I guess that’s kind of like you and Bradley in a way,” Javy says, chuckling lightly when both men turned to jokingly glare at him.

“He’s not wrong,” Bradley then muses, glancing over at Jake who nods slightly.

“I guess,” Jake admits with a small joking shrug as Javy and Bradley roll their eyes.

“I’m never wrong Jakey, you know that,” Javy teases, slapping Jake on the shoulder as Jake lets out a low chuckle.

“Look, Javy, I’m sorry for the shit I’ve been saying about Mateo. I’m just-”

“You just want to protect y/n. I get it. Just give my kid a chance, okay?” Javy says softly, not wanting to hold any bad blood towards his best friend.

“I will,” Jake promises quietly, shifting to sling an arm around his friend, the two briefly embracing in a side hug.

“I’m going to let you guys talk. I’ll be over on that table if you need me,” Javy says softly, releasing Jake from the embrace and moving to another table with his beer, leaving Jake and Bradley alone.

“Jake-”

“No, I should talk first. Bradley, I’m so sorry for the way I spoke to you the other day. I never wanted to make you feel like that. I was just all over the place and I know it’s no excuse but I lashed out at you and that’s not okay. I don’t expect your forgiveness, I just need you to know I’m sorry.” Jake says apologetically, turning to look at Bradley, his eyes displaying every emotion he is feeling in the moment.

“Jake, it’s okay. I really appreciate your apology. It did really hurt when you first said that. It made me feel like maybe I wasn’t worthy of love because of the way I acted when I was younger but the fact you’ve apologised has spoken volumes,” Bradley says softly.

“I never meant to make you feel like that. You know I love you so much, right?” Jake says quietly, holding Bradley’s hand and squeezing it softly to emphasise his point.

“I know you do. I love you too,” Bradley replies softly.

“How can I make things right with y/n?” Jake then asks, watching as Bradley sighs softly.

“Do what we suggested. Talk to Mateo. Get to know him and show y/n that you care,” Bradley suggests as Jake nods.

“I will. I’ll text y/n and tell her I’d like to speak to her and Mateo when they’ve finished school,” Jake says, already beginning to pull out his phone and typing out the message. The second he hit send, he shoved his phone in his pocket almost as if he was afraid of your response before turning his attention back to Bradley.

‘y/n, could you and Mateo come home after school? I’d like to speak to you both,’

“What’s that?” Mateo questions as he sits down at the desk next to you, noticing you staring at your phone.

“Dad wants us to go to mine after school. Says he wants to talk,” you mutter, showing the message to Mateo as his eyebrows furrow, studying the message closely.

“If he tries breaking us up I swear…”

“We should go and talk to him. It could be good,” you say, pulling your phone back to you, typing a response and hitting send before Mateo had a chance to object.

The rest of the school day felt like a blur. You couldn’t focus on anything other than the looming thought of what might be awaiting you at home. When your last class ended, you and Mateo made your way to your car, the tension so thick a knife would shatter if it attempted to cut it. You were both anxious for what was to come, your mind swarming with thoughts, every worst-case scenario worming its way into your brain and consuming your every thought the entire drive home.

When you made it home, you entered the house carefully, your eyes widening when Moose came bounding up to you excitedly, his tail swishing wildly.

“Hey, Moose!” you greet your dog happily, crouching down to his level as you pet him.

“You’re home. Jake’s in the living room.” You look up at the sound of Bradley’s voice as he comes down the stairs, smiling at you both. Taking Bradley’s soft smile as a good sign, you make your way into the living room with Mateo by your side, the two of you instinctively holding hands as you enter the room and greet Jake who gestures for you to sit on the sofa which you both do without complaint.

“I owe you both a mature conversation, so that’s what I want to have,” Jake starts, glancing between you and Mateo.

“What prompted this?” you ask curiously, wondering if your dad was hiding any ulterior motives.

“My best friend and my husband can be pretty persuasive when they try. I was an asshole to try and tell you who you could or couldn’t date. You’re seventeen, and I should trust you to make your own decisions,” Jake then says.

“You got one thing right,” Mateo mutters lowly, being silenced by you gently elbowing his side.

“I appreciate this, Dad,” you say quietly, smiling softly at your dad.

“y/n, I’m sorry for the way I reacted. I jumped the gun and overstepped when I shouldn’t have. I don’t expect you to forgive me but I just needed to apologise to you,” Jake says, his gaze flicking to the floor, almost as if he feared a negative reaction from you. After a split second of silence, you got up from the sofa, releasing Mateo’s hand, crossing to your dad and crouching down to envelop him in a hug.

“I forgive you, Dad,” you say quietly as Jake shifts to hug you back.

“So… can I go now or am I just going to sit here awkwardly?” Mateo’s question made you and Jake pull away, shooting him a look.

“Really?” you ask as you straighten up, folding your arms across your chest.

“I mean this conversation probably could’ve happened without me. Do I need to be here?” Mateo questions, leaning back against the cushions of the sofa.

“Yes. I need to talk to you, alone,” Jake says pointedly, getting up from the armchair and gesturing for Mateo to follow him into the kitchen, leaving you in the living room as Bradley enters with Moose.

“If you’re going to tell me not to get your daughter pregnant or something I’ve had that talk from my old man I don’t need to hear it from you too,” Mateo says the moment Jake closes the kitchen door, leaning against the counter with folded arms.

“You’re not going to make it easy for us to get along, are you?” Jake points out.

“I’ve heard that one before,” Mateo grins, clearly unbothered by Jake’s words.

“Look, I’m not trying to be your friend or anything like that. I just want to make sure I can trust you’re going to look after y/n,” Jake responds with a sigh.

“She doesn’t need me to look after her, she can do that pretty well herself,” Mateo replies, making Jake reach up to rub at his forehead.

“You know what I mean. I want to be able to trust that you won’t break her heart,” Jake reiterates, dropping his hand back to his side as he talks, glancing over at Mateo who just shrugs.

“I don’t plan on it,” Mateo says, allowing the smallest amount of vulnerability to slip into his voice as he speaks, finally getting Jake to relax.

“That’s all I needed to hear. Now you can go back to y/n. Just don’t make me a grandfather yet, I’m not old enough for that,” Jake says, letting Mateo go as he rolls his eyes, pushing away from the counter and making his way back into the living room.

The moment you see both Mateo and Jake entering the living room, you jump to your feet, anxiously awaiting someone to say something.

“Well, I’m not banned from seeing you ever again,” Mateo shrugs with a boyish grin, making you smile, quickly embracing Mateo as Jake clears his throat.

“I guess I’m going to have to get used to this, huh?” Jake mutters to Bradley who nods.

“She’s been putting up with us this long, I think this is long overdue payback,” Bradley replies, shooting Jake a glance as he nods slightly.

“Yeah, I guess so,” Jake says softly, watching you and Mateo interact and embrace.

“I should head back to my place. Are you coming?” Mateo asks quietly, watching you as you glance over your shoulder at Jake and Bradley before turning back to face him.

“I think I’m gonna stay here. I’ll come by after school tomorrow to pick up my stuff,” you reply quietly, pressing a soft kiss to Mateo’s lips, ignoring Jake’s soft tut.

“I’ll see you around, Darling,” Mateo says softly backing away with a joking salute sent towards Jake and Bradley before he makes his way out of the house.

“Thank you for giving him a chance, Dad,” you say gratefully, turning to look at your dad with a smile.

“I’m still not his biggest fan, but if he makes you happy then I can’t be the bad guy who bans you from dating him. It’s not like it would stop you either,” Jake admits with a chuckle as you rush to hug him.

“I love you, Dad,” you mumble, throwing your arms around your dad, a gesture he quickly reciprocated.

“I love you too. It’s good to have you home,” Jake replies softly, squeezing you closer before releasing you from the embrace.

“I’m going to head upstairs to do my homework,” you say as both Jake and Bradley nod, watching as you head upstairs with Moose following loyally behind you.

“You see? She’s going to be okay,” Bradley says softly, pulling Jake in his arms and smiling gently at him.

“I still think that kid has an attitude problem,” Jake jokes with a light laugh, making Bradley roll his eyes.

“I’m sure he’ll grow on you. It took you a while to grow on me,” Bradley muses softly, pulling Jake into a kiss.

“You’re lucky I love you,” Jake says with a grin as he pulls away.

“Aren’t you lucky I love you too then?” Bradley retorts with a soft chuckle, both men smiling.

You knew finding a partner that your dad would approve of wouldn’t be the easiest task in the world, especially when you started dating someone who had made an impression the way Mateo had. But you were just glad your dad was willing to give Mateo a chance. It gave you hope that in the future, your dad and your boyfriend might one day get along.

And the world would never be ready for that day.

taglist (comment or ask to be tagged):

@zbeez-outlet @kaceywithak @tsnelf7 @starkleila @cassadilasworld @shanimallina87 @madstxo @chaoticassidy @padsdarlg @lauraseresin @alohastitch0626 @angelbabyange @kmc1989 @kcloveswrestling @daggersquadphantom @yoonbutterfly @alwayshave-faith @flannelshirts-and-fingerguns

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justabigassnerd · 25 days ago

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The Fallout

Pairing - Axel Kovačević x Keene!reader

Word count - 22K

Warnings - mentions of Kwon's death, canon Cobra Kai violence, abuse from Sensei Wolf, characters are potentially ooc, blood, swearing, guilt, injuries, angst, fluff

Summary - the Sekai Taikai is agreed upon to restart in order to finally crown a victor. how will you handle the fallout after your boyfriend and brother go head to head?

Sequel to 'Not A Monster'

A/N - it took me like 10 years but I'm finally here with a new fic y'all! I genuinely have been working on this for the past couple of months and as you can probably tell from the word count, it's a fecking long one and I apologise, I just needed Axel to get the justice he deserved. as per y'all, please send in requests, feedback, and enjoy!!!

A short period of time after Axel returned to Hong Kong after visiting you in California, you were informed by your dad and Daniel that the Sekai Taikai was going to resume after a unanimous vote from all the senseis. You, of course, didn’t need to undergo any training since they were going to pick up with the captain’s fights so you were more than happy to support Robby and Sam through their training sessions, offering to spar if they wanted to work on any moves to help them prepare for their upcoming battles.

One day, Robby was invited to the Miyagi-Do dojo by Demitri and Eli to train and you offered to drive you, Robby, and Miguel over for the training session which Robby accepted happily..

“It’s the future champion of the Sekai Taikai,” Eli booms in an announcer voice as you, Robby, and Miguel approach.

“Don’t jinx it,” Robby says with a small laugh, rolling his eyes.

“You deserve to be there, Robby. You have a shot of winning, I just know it,” you say supportively, nudging your brother lightly with your elbow.

“Alright, enough chit-chat. We need to get this training going, Robby, Miguel, go and get ready,” Demitri says, leading you back to the garden where a computer and various equipment were set up on a table while Robby and Miguel get changed into their gi’s.

“What’s all this?” you question, picking up a pair of goggles and studying them carefully before Demitri extracts them from your hands.

“They’re going to help Robby train. We’ve created a program by uploading all the data from Axel’s fights to develop a predictive algorithm. Robby will wear this headset, and Miguel will wear these headphones. The algorithm will feed into Miguel’s headphones, giving him Axel’s fighting style so Robby can learn how to counter his moves,” Eli explains, pointing at the various gear as you listen carefully.

“You guys are going to become billionaires someday. This is insane,” you say, marvelling at what the two had created just to help Robby with at the Sekai Taikai.

“I know,” Demitri replies proudly, typing on the keyboard as he talks. Before you can reply, Robby and Miguel come out into the garden, both now clad in their gi’s and ready to start training.

“Okay, Robby. You need to put this stuff on,” Eli instructs, handing Robby various things to put on as he and Demtri walk Robby through what the training session will consist of. As Robby puts on the goggles, Miguel stands in front of him, confused when Robby recoils slightly.

“What is it? Is it cool?” Miguel questions, everyone studying Robby’s reaction carefully.

“This is trippy,” Robby mutters, looking Miguel up and down before pulling the headphones up to rest on the top of his head.

“What were you seeing?” you question, watching Robby curiously as he looks over at you.

“Here, you try.” Was Robby’s response as he took the goggles off his head, holding them out towards you. You take them skeptically, putting them on your head, your eyes immediately widening when Miguel is replaced with Axel.

“Holy shit,” you say quickly, pulling the goggles off as you shove them back in Robby’s hands, making him laugh.

“I thought you’d be more enthusiastic. At least you didn’t launch yourself at Miguel,” Robby quips, glancing over at you as you roll your eyes.

“Wait, what?”

“Is something happening between you and Axel?” Demitri and Eli’s outbursts were enough to remind you that you weren’t alone.

“What would your reaction be if I said yes?” you reply sheepishly, suddenly aware of what this could’ve caused.

“Why would you fraternise with the enemy?” Demitri asks incredulously, his eyes wide at the mere thought of a relationship happening between you and someone from another dojo.

“He’s not the enemy, Demitri,” you argue, turning to face the taller boy.

“You know the last time he fought someone, they died, right?” Demitri argues back, folding his arms across his chest as you grit your teeth.

“That wasn’t his fault. I can’t believe you think he’d do something like that intentionally,” you say angrily, trying your best to fight back the tears of frustration that were brewing in your eyes.

“Guys come on, Axel’s actually a really nice guy and-”

“Robby, your sister is dating the guy you’re going to be fighting and you’re okay with that? Do you even know if she’s going to be rooting for you in the semi-finals?” Eli says, cutting Robby off as both Demitri and Eli stare at you accusingly.

“What, you think I wouldn’t support Robby? You think I won’t support my own dojo?” you question, trying not to let their accusations get to you as you fold your arms across your chest.

“Well, we don’t know now,” Demitri says as you scoff and shake your head.

“You know what? I’m going to head out. Robby, text me when your training is over and I’ll swing back round to pick you and Miguel up,” you say, looking over at Robby who nods slightly at your words. With nothing else to be said, you turn on your heel and make your way back to your car, your arms winding around your middle as you hear both Robby and Miguel chastise the other boys for what they had said.

When you make it to your car, you sit in the driver's seat for a moment, allowing a few tears to roll down your cheeks at Demitri and Eli’s comments. You knew now that it was only a matter of time before the rest of the dojo knew about you and Axel, and you were preparing for the backlash you were going to get. You had completely forgotten that Demitri and Eli were even there in the first place. You had always been used to joking around with Robby and Miguel, and neither you nor Robby thought twice about joking about your relationship with Axel. After you wipe your eyes, you drive away from the Miyagi-Do dojo, making your way to one of your favourite cafes to take your mind off everything that had happened.

You settle in the corner of the cafe after buying your drink, pulling out your phone and mindlessly scrolling through various social media, occasionally texting Axel. You knew he’d be coming over to America in a few short days for the Sekai Taikai, which was now going to be finished in the Valley instead of in Barcelona. You wanted to be able to spend time with Axel, but you also knew he’d be under a lot of pressure from Sensei Wolf to train for the fight against Robby, so your chances of seeing him were slim, but you wanted to try and see him before the competition started back up.

After finishing your drink, you decide to take a walk, wandering around the familiar streets to pass the time as you wait for Robby to let you know that he’s finished training. You find yourself stumbling across a poster for the Sekai Taikai, promoting the upcoming event as you smile softly at Miyagi-Do’s name printed proudly across the poster. Miyagi-Do had always been special to you. You, Robby, and Sam were the first members of the dojo when Daniel opened Miyagi-Do’s doors for the first time. You had started learning karate mostly because of Robby. He wanted to do it to piss off your dad and you had followed his lead, especially after watching your brother compete in the All-Valley and almost win. As you learnt the teachings of Miyagi-Do, it helped you to find balance in the chaos of your life. Daniel mentored you carefully and helped you make amends with your father. You were proud to have represented your dojo at the Sekai Taikai, and while you were no longer going to be fighting in the tournament, you were going to cheer for Robby and Sam with everything you had, no matter their opponent.

As you continue your walk, your phone buzzes, and you pull it out to see a text from Robby letting you know that he’d finished training and you promised to be there as soon as you could. You make your way back to where you had left your car and drive back to Miyagi-Do. You park outside the small house as you notice Robby and Miguel sitting on the steps. They both quickly get up as you park, crossing to your car and climbing in.

“How was training?” you ask as you start to drive away from Miyagi-Do.

“It went really well! Robby stands a good chance of beating Axel. No offence,” Miguel says, leaning forward from the backseat as he talks.

“None taken. And I’m sure Axel feels the same. He wants a fair fight and you’ve put in the work, Robby,” you say, briefly glancing over at your brother who was sitting in the passenger seat alongside you.

“Whatever happens, happens. Axel’s a good guy and while I’d love to take home a win, he deserves it just as much,” Robby admits, his smile small yet hopeful as he thinks about the possibility of hoisting the Sekai Taikai trophy, finally able to claim a win for himself.

“Just give him everything you’ve got. I can’t ask him to go easy on you,” you reply, aware of Robby nodding in your peripheral vision.

“I wouldn’t ask you to do that. He’s earned his spot in the semi-finals. I wouldn’t expect him to make this fight easy on me,” Robby says, knowing full well that Axel would come at him with everything he had. He just hoped Axel was ready for what he had to throw at him.

“Hey, Demitri and Hawk were assholes earlier. I swear, once you left we told them to shut up. You’ve been Miyagi-Do through all this crap. If anyone’s going to be cheering our dojo on through this competition, it’s you,” Miguel says apologetically, bringing up the elephant in the room.

“Miguel, it’s fine. People were bound to find out sooner or later.” You shrug, keeping your focus on the road.

“The way they reacted wasn’t okay,” Robby argues, watching as you shake your head.

“It’s ironic. I was just getting the courage to tell people about me and Axel before Daniel told us about the Sekai Taikai coming back. I thought I could keep it a secret a little while longer, but Demitri and Eli had to go and make that stupid machine, and a perfect opportunity for us to joke about Axel because of it,” you say bitterly, your grip tightening on the wheel as you laugh humourlessly.

“They’ll come around when they get to know Axel,” Robby says assuringly as Miguel nods.

“If everyone hasn’t shunned me out of Miyagi-Do by tomorrow…” you mutter, trying not to let bitterness seep into your voice.

“We won’t let them do that,” Miguel promises before suddenly falling silent as his phone rings. You watch in the rearview mirror as he picks up the phone, talking in Spanish, his voice slightly panicky before hanging up.

“Dude, is everything okay?” Robby asks, noticing Miguel’s tone and turning to face Miguel.

“We need to go to the hospital,” Miguel says, making your eyes widen as you try not to panic.

“Is…?” you begin to question.

“My mom’s in labour. Sensei and Yaya are already heading over now,” Miguel explains quickly as you switch lanes, now following the signs to the hospital.

“Holy shit, this is so exciting! Our sister is about to be born,” you say, your mood now significantly lightened as you drive towards the hospital. When you make it to the hospital, you stop outside the front doors and turn to face the others.

“You guys get out while I park the car. Text me where I can find you guys, and I’ll meet you there,” you instruct as the two nod, unbuckling their seatbelts and leaping out of the car, and you go to find somewhere to park. Once you parked the car, you scramble out of the vehicle, checking your phone as a text comes through from Robby, informing you where in the ward you could find them and you’re quick to follow the signs in the hospital that guide you to the maternity ward, finding Rosa, Miguel, Robby, Daniel, Amanda, Chozen, and someone you didn’t recognise.

“We haven’t missed anything, have we?” you ask worriedly, looking from person to person.

“No, no, you have timed this perfectly. There’s just something we all need to do first,” Daniel says assuringly, making your eyebrows furrow.

“Dad wants to marry Carmen. Like right now,” Robby says, his smile wide as you gasp in shock, bringing your hand up to cover your open mouth.

“No way!” you exclaim, glancing at everyone else for confirmation.

“Yes way!” Miguel responds, hugging both you and Robby as you clamour excitedly.

“Okay guys, we need to get this going now before Carmen gives birth,” Amanda says hurriedly as you pull apart from the hug, allowing yourself to be herded towards the room as you were talked through the plan. Once you were all caught up, you entered the hospital room one by one, all of you grinning as a string quartet played music. You watched as Carmen’s face lit up upon seeing her loved ones entering the room. You all watched with large smiles as the man you learnt was called Bobby, an old friend of your dad’s, officiated the impromptu wedding.

You watched with teary eyes as your dad married Carmen, sliding his mom’s ring on her finger before sealing their marriage with a kiss while you all clapped. As you all exchanged congratulations with Johnny and Carmen, you’re all quickly reminded that Carmen was in active labour and all of you, aside from Johnny, are ushered out into the waiting room.

All of you sat in the waiting room, at first chatting excitedly about the fact new life was going to be brought into the world, but soon the conversation began to dwindle and everyone began to do their own thing. You pulled your phone out of your pocket and decided to text Axel, excited to tell him the news.

‘Carmen’s in labour. I’m going to be a big sister.’

You couldn’t stop the smile on your face as you hit send on the message. You didn’t know when he’d be able to reply, but you wanted him to know the news regardless. As you continue to wait, you scroll through your phone, doing anything to try and pass the time. As you wait, you get a text from Axel, which you open almost instantly.

‘Tell Carmen I say congratulations, ljubav. I hope to meet your sister soon.’

Axel’s response made your heart flutter, you loved how much he cared about your family and that he was involved enough to want to meet the newest edition to your family.

After a few hours more of waiting, your dad enters the waiting room, gaining all your attention as you look over at him, everyone’s eyes wide and hopeful.

“You guys ready to meet her?” Johnny asks, a proud smile on his face. Without hesitation, everyone shoots to their feet, following after Johnny as he leads you back to Carmen’s room. You, Robby, and Miguel enter first, your eyes lighting up at the sight of your baby sister cradled in Carmen’s arms. You all crept closer as Carmen gestured you all forward.

“Meet baby Laura. She’s named after Johnny’s mother, and she’s perfect,” Carmen says, smiling over at all of you as you admire the newest edition of the family. You watch as your dad crosses to the bed, bending down to speak to Laura.

“Welcome to the Valley, Laura. Your siblings and I are gonna bring you home a trophy.” Johnny promises his new daughter, leaning over to press a delicate kiss to her forehead before crossing over to you, Robby, and Miguel, enveloping you all in a hug.

“Congratulations you guys,” you say to your dad and Carmen, beaming from ear to ear.

“This is amazing. She’s amazing,” Robby says, gesturing at Laura.

“She’s so cute,” Miguel gushes, approaching his mother’s bedside as Johnny releases you all from the hug.

“Would you like to hold her, Miggy?” Carmen asks, her voice low to prevent disturbing the sleeping baby.

“Are you sure?” Miguel asks, looking back at you and Robby, worried he’d upset you somehow by being the first of the three of you to hold your new sibling.

“We can hold her later. You go first, Miguel,” you say, smiling softly as Robby wraps an arm around your shoulders, tugging you into his side. You both watch Carmen carefully hand Laura over to Miguel, gently coaching him on how to hold her correctly.

“Hi Laura, I’m Miguel. I’m one of your brothers,” Miguel whispers, adoration clear in his voice as he admires his newest sibling. You watch Miguel fawn over Laura for a few minutes before Robby’s invited over to hold Laura.

“Hey Laura, I’m Robby. I’m your other brother. Sorry, there’s two of us,” Robby jokes lightly, getting a small chuckle from everyone as they watch Robby.

“y/n, would you like to hold Laura?” Carmen asks as you nod.

“I’d be an idiot to say no,” you respond quickly, crossing to the bedside before Robby carefully transfers Laura into your arms, making you melt the moment she settles in your arms, sleeping peacefully despite the movement around her.

“Hi Laura, I’m y/n. I’m your sister,” you whisper, unable to tear your gaze away from Laura’s adorable face as she sleeps.

“Oh, Axel says congratulations by the way,” you say to Carmen, looking over at her as she smiles sweetly.

“He’s so sweet. Tell him we say thank you. And he’ll have to come and meet Laura while he’s here,” Carmen replies.

“I’m sure he’d love to,” you say with a smile, looking down at Laura with a loving smile.

“I can say one thing for sure. No one’s going to mess with Laura,” Daniel says with a laugh, making you smile as you look over at him.

“Damn straight. She’s got a whole family of badasses ready to protect her,” Johnny says proudly.

“Dad, come on, not in front of the baby,” Robby lightly scolds as everyone laughs lightly.

You all spend the rest of the day fawning over Laura before you head home for the night to let Carmen and the new baby have some rest. Johnny elected to stay with Carmen for the night while you drove Rosa, Miguel, Robby, and yourself home. Carmen was most likely going to be discharged the next day so you all wanted to make sure the house was fully prepared for the new arrival. Once you made it home, you all tidied up the things your dad had put out in a clear proposal attempt for Carmen. Rosa explained to all of you that she had somewhat harshly hinted to your dad to propose before the baby was born and when she got home, Johnny had prepared a whole proposal that had been pushed aside when Johnny got the call that Carmen was in labour. You thought it was sweet that your dad had gone through all the effort to make a nice proposal for Carmen, and you loved that Laura was going to grow up with her parents together and surrounded by a family that loved her.

When you were all satisfied that the house was prepared for the new arrival, you retreated to your room, texting Axel to let him know that you were home from the hospital and within a couple of minutes, you were receiving a Facetime call from him.

“Hey, Axel,” you say with a smile, sitting against your headboard as you greet Axel.

“Hey, ljubav. How is Carmen and the baby?” Axel asks, his smile wide as he speaks.

“They’re great. Dad and Carmen named the baby Laura after my dad’s mom. She’s the cutest baby ever I can’t wait for you to meet her,” you explain excitedly, gushing about your new sibling.

“I cannot wait to meet her too. I would like to try to visit before the tournament, but Sensei has me training a lot,” Axel says apologetically. You knew he was stateside now with the competition mere days away but you knew that with his title of male champion on the line, Silver and Wolf would be working Axel to the bone to ensure he won his fight against Robby.

“If you can’t come over before the competition, you can always visit after. I know Wolf is probably training you hard. He hasn’t hurt you or anything, has he?” Your question was quiet, but you knew Axel heard you, and the mood quickly shifted to a more serious one.

“No he hasn’t,” Axel says, plastering a small smile on his face. You wanted to believe Axel, but the forced smile made you think he was trying to convince you everything was okay to protect you. For his sake, you decided not to argue with him and instead scope things out at the Sekai Taikai.

“That’s good,” you reply quietly, smiling slightly to play along. Before Axel could reply, you heard a slamming on the door, making Axel straighten up, his smile vanishing in an instant at the yelling from the other side of his door.

“I have to go. Love you,” Axel says quickly, hanging up before you have the chance to say anything else.

“Love you too,” you mutter to your darkened phone screen, Axel no longer displayed across your screen. With Axel now gone and nothing for you to do, you decide to get ready for bed, climbing under your covers and settling down while trying to fight away the worry that was tugging at your mind.

When the day for the Sekai Taikai to restart came around, you still hadn’t been able to see Axel so you were hoping that you’d be able to see him before the competition started, just to talk to him. You enter the building with Robby, Miguel, and your dad, being directed to changing rooms where you can change into your gi’s.

“Hey Sam, ready for today?” you ask, placing your bag on a bench in the room, and pulling out your gi so you could get changed.

“As ready as I can be,” Sam admits, looking in the mirror as she tightens the captain's headband around her head.

“It’ll be a tough fight. But I’ll be rooting for you no matter what,” you say softly, changing into your gi before Sam looks over at you.

“Gotta get through Robby and Axel’s fight first,” Sam says as you sigh, tightening your black belt around your waist.

“Tell me about it. Can’t say I’m thrilled that I’m going to have to watch my brother and my boyfriend fight but I know it’ll be a fair fight,” you say, smiling over at Sam, confident that Robby and Axel will have an honourable fight and know that both are worthy of the male championship title. Once you were ready, you shoved your bag into a locker and closed it, turning to Sam.

“I’m going to head out to join the others. You coming?” you ask quietly.

“Give me a minute. I just need a bit more time to get ready,” Sam says with a small smile as you nod respecting her wishes and heading out to find the others. It took you very little time to locate Daniel and the other Miyagi-Do’s.

“y/n, where’s Sam?” Daniel asks, looking around for Sam.

“She’ll be out in a second, she just wanted a little extra time,” you say, reassuring Daniel as he nods.

“Okay, thank you,” Daniel replies. As you all wait for the last few people to come out of the changing rooms, you notice the whispers and stares you are receiving from other members of Miyagi-Do, as they observe you from a distance and you know Demitri and Eli had told them about you and Axel.

“Hey, don’t worry about them,” Robby says, sidling up alongside you with Miguel, both of them stationing themselves around you protectively as if they could shield you from the whispers and stares. Before too long, Sam emerges from the changing room and Daniel, Johnny, and Chozen escort you to the main hall, where you enter to thunderous applause as Miyagi-Do is introduced to the roaring crowd. You were familiar with the atmosphere of this hall, having competed in the All-Valley once before, but now it felt different. You knew the stakes were higher. This was more than the title of best dojo in the Valley. This was for the title of best dojo in the world.

You look at all the dojos that had returned to see the competition through to its end, locking eyes with Axel who was standing on the opposite side of the mat. You offered him a soft smile, watching as his gaze briefly met yours, the corners of his lips tugging up into a small smile as he watched you.

“Hey, stop making heart eyes at the Winter Soldier,” Demitri hisses in your ear, making you break the eye contact you had with Axel to glare up at Demitri.

“Demitri I swear to god if you don’t shut up I’ll remind you what it was like to have a broken arm,” you snarl, making Demitri’s eyes widen in fear as he takes a small step away from you. When you look back at Axel, he is no longer looking in your direction; his gaze now on Robby.

“We will now have a moment of silence for our fallen competitor, Kwon Jae-Sung,” Gunther says, making the room fall silent. Your gaze once again drifted to Axel, your heart aching when you saw the guilt-ridden look on his face. You knew he still thought himself to blame for what happened to Kwon despite you arguing the contrary. You fought every urge within your body to not cross the mat and comfort him, knowing the amount of trouble you could get him in if you did.

Before you knew it, the moment of silence was over, and Axel and Robby’s fight was announced, all of Miyagi-Do’s eyes falling on Robby.

“You got this, Robby,” you say supportively, exchanging your secret handshake with Robby before clapping him on the back as he moves to step onto the mat, his team cheering him on as he does so. Axel steps onto the mat with thunderous applause and cheers from the crowd. You watch as the judge instructs them to bow to him and then each other before the fight starts.

At first, Robby is able to block and counter all of Axel’s moves, his training with Demitri and Eli’s machine clearly paying off as he manages to land a point against Axel. You cheer happily for Robby, watching as Wolf and Silver scowl, frustrated with Robby’s fighting capabilities. You watch as Axel glances over his shoulder at his senseis before looking back at Robby, adopting a new fighting stance as Demitri and Eli stare over at you.

“He has other stances and you didn’t tell us?” Eli asks, his eyebrows raised in shock.

“We never talked about karate. I don’t know what he knows,” you retort defensively, horrified at the accusation that you were withholding information.

“Well, you could’ve asked. That way we could’ve prepared Robby for everything,” Demitri insists, making you harden your glare as you stare at the two.

“It wouldn’t have been fair if I had quizzed Axel on all his moves just to tell Robby. You guys have no faith in Robby. He’s got this,” you say, focusing on the fight as Axel manages to score some points, managing to clinch himself a lead as the judge calls an end to the first round. While Robby talks to your senseis, your gaze drifts across to Axel, your eyes narrowing when Wolf lands a harsh slap across his face.

“Oh, that asshole,” you hiss, moving to stride across the mat.

“y/n, what are you doing?” your dad says quickly, grabbing you and hauling you back onto the Miyagi-Do side of the mat.

“He just hit Axel,” you argue, pointing accusingly at Wolf.

“Now is not the time to start another brawl,” Johnny says, manoeuvring himself in front of you so he can block your view of Wolf and Axel.

“He’s hitting his student in plain view of everyone and I’m supposed to stand here and do nothing?” you question your father, fighting back the tears that threatened to build in your eyes.

“I know it’s hard, kid. But we can’t do anything right now. Let them finish their fight, and we can try to do something before the girls fight,” Johnny bargains, making you sigh before looking up at him.

“Promise?” Your voice was quiet, reminding Johnny that you were just a kid and that you were seeking reassurance from your father that he’d help your boyfriend.

“I promise, kid,” Johnny says assuringly, reaching over to squeeze your shoulder as you nod slightly, returning to your place with your team. You watch the second round of the fight worriedly, knowing that no matter how close the two were in score, Axel was still at risk of being hurt by Wolf again. You knew Silver and Wolf wanted an unbeatable machine, someone who an opponent couldn’t touch, and now it was crumbling before their eyes.

When the second round ended, Robby was still behind in points but you knew he could make them up in the final round so you stepped forward to give your brother a little pep talk.

“You can win this, Robby. You’ve been adapting to Axel’s moves this whole match so if you keep it up, you can beat him. Just stay light on your feet, try your best not to let him anticipate your next move,” you say confidently, smiling at your brother.

“Are you okay with me beating Axel?” he jokes as you roll your eyes.

“He’s already got a Sekai Taikai title under his belt. This one has Robby Keene written all over it,” you say, nodding at Robby as he returns the gesture. As Robby crosses back over to the centre of the mat, you feel a pat on the back from your dad while Daniel smiles over at you, both of them proud of how far you’ve come and how you support your dojo and your brother despite your relationship with the Iron Dragons captain.

The third round began, and you watched as the two dodged each other’s attacks, carefully studying each other in anticipation of each other’s moves. You watched as Robby attempted to land a point on Axel, who in turn grabbed Robby’s leg and pulled him over as they both tumbled to the mat.

The scream that rang out across the arena made your blood run cold. Robby was now lying on the mat as the judge rushed over to him. You were aware of your senseis rushing over to Robby’s side but all you could focus on was Axel and how he couldn’t even look at you. It hit you like a ton of bricks as you relived the moment that Axel’s move was carefully calculated in a way to injure Robby. You knew Axel was too good a fighter to injure someone accidentally. He knew how to safely take someone down without harming them. In that moment, you felt your heart shatter at the revelation. You could never believe Axel would do such a thing. He wanted a fair fight. Or so you thought.

You couldn’t bring yourself to move for a few painful seconds, torn between whether you storm over to Axel and demand answers, or check on Robby. Eventually, your need to check on your brother won and, along with your senseis, your mom, Miguel, and Tory, you followed after the medics as they carefully moved Robby to the quiet locker room to check his injuries and determine what came next.

“Unfortunately, your leg is broken. You cannot compete in the rest of this tournament. I’m so sorry,” the medic declares apologetically. You were vaguely aware of Daniel begging Chozen to do something, anything, to help Robby, but all you could focus on was the burning sensation behind your eyes, the threat of tears looming as you blamed yourself for Robby’s injury.

“Could I have some time alone, please?” You hear Robby ask quietly and most obey without hesitation, but you, Tory, and Johnny stay put.

“That asshole cheated. I could kill him for what he did to you,” Tory rages as you stand a few feet away, shame creeping into every pore of your body at her words.

“Robby. I’m so sorry,” you start, taking a small step closer to where your brother was lying.

“You should be. Robby’s hurt and it’s your asshole boyfriend who did it to him. That’s what you get for trying to have a relationship with someone on an opposing team,” Tory almost yells, rounding on you. You flinch slightly at her tone's volume and aggression but don’t attempt to move away, knowing you deserve the harsh treatment.

“Tory…” Robby attempts to cut in before you speak up.

“No, Robby. She’s right. I thought Axel was different. I thought he wasn’t like the others. Joke’s on me, huh? I know saying sorry won’t fix your leg, but I am genuinely so sorry,” you say, cutting Robby off and apologising one last time. Before Robby had the chance to speak up again, you exited the room, making your way out to where your mom and the others were waiting.

“Are you okay, Sweetie?” your mom asks the moment you reach her.

“I want to go home,” you whisper, defeated by the events of the day as a tear trickles down your cheek.

“That’s okay. Look, your mom can take you back to the apartment. We’re going to go with Robby to the hospital and we’ll see you back at home,” Carmen says softly, bringing you into a gentle hug before encouraging you to move back to your mom who also embraces you.

“Come on, y/n/n,” your mom urges you softly, wrapping her arm around your shoulders and guiding you to the changing rooms where you could grab your gear before heading home. You decided to quickly change out of your gi before heading home, shoving the clothes into your bag and leaving the room to meet your mom.

“Let’s go,” you mutter, wiping at the constant stream of tears that ran down your cheeks. As you manoeuvred your way through the people who were now leaving the arena on Gunther's instructions, you couldn’t help but feel their eyes on you. Most of the audience had come from the Valley, meaning they’d seen you compete in the All-Valley and knew who you were. You didn’t want their pitiful stares. You wanted Robby to be okay.

Wordlessly, you get into your mom’s car, just wanting to be home as quickly as possible. Sensing your dejected mood, Shannon wastes no time driving back to the apartment as quickly as possible. The moment you make it into the apartment, the dam breaks. The slow stream of tears quickly turns into a racing waterfall as the tears flow freely, the sobs racking your body as Shannon quickly moves to envelop you in a hug.

“Oh, Sweetheart. It’s okay. Let it all out,” Shannon says soothingly, rubbing a hand up and down your back as you bawl into her shoulder, winding your arms around her as you search desperately for comfort.

“It’s my fault. It’s all my fault,” you sob, clinging desperately to your mom as she gently navigates you to the couch to sit you down.

“Sweetie, look at me. It is not your fault. How could it be?” Shannon asks, pulling away slightly so she can look you in the eye.

“I let Axel in. He probably only dated me because it got him close to Robby to get his guard down. It’s the exact manipulation Silver would do,” you explain as Shannon gently wipes your tears away.

“Sweetie, you had no responsibility for what Axel did. You don’t owe Robby an apology because it wasn’t your fault and I’m sure he knows it too. Why don’t you talk to him when he’s home?” your mom suggests, watching you softly as you mull over her words.

“I wouldn’t blame him if he hates me,” you mumble quietly, your gaze flicking to your lap as you envision Robby walking through the door, turning away from you and wanting nothing more to do with you.

“Do you hate him after everything with Cobra Kai?” Shannon asks softly, watching as your gaze shifts back to her, a look of shock on your face as you shake your head.

“I couldn’t. Silver and Kreese got into his head. It wasn’t his fault,” you argue, noticing how your mom just nodded at your words.

“If Robby’s not to blame for Cobra Kai, then you’re not to blame for Axel,” Shannon says, softly yet sternly as she holds a steady gaze with you. Unable to bring yourself to respond, you tuck yourself back against your mom, craving even more comfort from her as she holds you close, pressing soft kisses to the top of your head.

You remain in your mom’s safe embrace until you hear the door open and the others file in. You couldn’t help but bite back more tears when you see Robby on crutches, still getting used to the new method of moving around.

“I think you and Robby need to have a chat, y/n/n,” Shannon says, nodding over at Robby as she gives you a gentle push to stand up.

“Yeah. Robby, can we chat in my room?” you request, watching as Robby nods, following you into your room and sitting on your bed while you close the door behind him, moving to sit on your desk chair.

“I know what you’re going to say. What happened with Axel wasn’t your fault. I don’t blame you for even a second,” Robby says quickly, speaking before you have the chance to speak yourself.

“I feel so bad,” you say quietly, looking at your hands as they rest in your lap.

“It’s not your fault. I promise you that,” Robby says, patting the space on the bed beside him, gently encouraging you to come and sit beside him which you do. The moment you sit down beside him, Robby wraps an arm around you and tugs you into his side.

“I can’t believe he did that,” you mutter, your heart breaking as you relieve the moment Axel broke Robby’s leg.

“Me too,” Robby hums in agreement.

“I really thought I could trust him, you know?” you admit quietly.

“We’ll get through this. We’ve dealt with worse, right?” Robby says, a light tone to his voice as he attempts to bring a smile to your face.

“I guess nothing can be worse than eating cereal with water,” you joke, locking eyes with Robby as you both laugh. The two of you had been through a lot, with your mom’s battle with addiction and your dad’s absence, but you’ve always had each other. You had relied on Robby for support so much in your life, and he had relied on you. You knew you could both get through what happened because you had each other.

When night fell, Shannon returned to her house, promising you and Robby that if you needed anything, she’d come running. You found it hard to sleep that night, your dreams plagued with images of Axel and how he had broken Robby’s leg without so much as a second thought.

The next morning, you were exhausted but pulled yourself out of bed, knowing you had to get to the arena to support Sam in her fight against Tory in the semi-finals. Whoever won this got to fight Zara. Part of you wished you got to face off against Zara after what she had done to Robby while you were all in Barcelona. But you knew Sam or Tory could beat Zara and teach her the lesson she deserves.

You head over to the arena with your dad, Robby, and Miguel, all of you, with the exception of Robby, dispersing to the changing rooms to change into your gi’s for the semi-finals. As you head into the arena, you notice that Tory, Miguel, and your dad are missing.

“Mr. LaRusso, what’s going on? Where’s Dad and Miguel?” you whisper quietly to Daniel, sidling up alongside him. Before Daniel could respond to your question, Gunther stepped out onto the mat with his microphone in hand to address the roaring crowd.

“The Sekai Taikai has always been unpredictable, but this year has been like no other. Samantha LaRusso has elected not to fight, officially ending Miyagi-Do Karate’s impressive underdog run. Let’s give them a round of applause!” Gunther announces, making you glance over at Sam and Daniel, the weight of what had just been said sinking in as the audience bursts into applause and cheers. You didn’t blame Sam for wanting to drop out of the competition. There was a lot of pressure on her to beat Tory and Zara if she made it to the finals. She never started karate for the fights. She just wanted to be able to defend herself.

“This now concludes our semi-final matches. Cobra Kai not naming a replacement for their fallen captain means that Axel Kovačević automatically becomes our new male champion,” Gunther continues as people applaud Axel. You notice how his head dips slightly, an unenthused look on his face. Your eyebrows furrowed as you studied his expression, trying to decode it. Perhaps he was acting ashamed for the crowd and the cameras, playing up a sad triumph to win over the hearts of those watching. The sombre winner, taking no pride in his win due to his opponent's injury, and the loss of the Cobra Kai captain.

You weren’t buying it. You were convinced that Silver and Wolf had told Axel to play up the sadness of the win to make the audience believe the Iron Dragons were humble enough to not celebrate their win loudly. But you knew their true colours.

“However, Cobra Kai has named a replacement. Joining Tory Nichols on Team Cobra Kai will be Miguel Diaz!” You turn to face the entry, seeing Tory and Miguel entering the room, proudly donning their Cobra Kai gi’s and captains headbands and you couldn’t help but let a smile creep across your face as you applaud.

“Coached by the two-time All Valley champion and their new sensei, Johnny Lawrence!” Gunther’s voice booms as your dad enters behind Tory and Miguel, now no longer in Miyagi-Do colours, but Cobra Kai. You couldn’t help but glance over at the Iron Dragons, smirking to yourself as they all exchanged looks at the sudden change to the competition. They might be winning right now, but you knew Miguel and Tory would give Axel and Zara a run for their money.

Something inside you told you that this could be it. This could be how the Iron Dragons lose. And you couldn’t wait to see the look on Terry Silver’s face when he lost.

Gunther then announced that since there was such a last-minute change to the competition, both Cobra Kai and the Iron Dragons were granted time to train before the finals would kick-off, knowing that both teams needed time to prepare. When you were all dismissed, you approached Sam.

“Hey, Sam. How are you doing?” you ask, smiling softly at your friend as she shrugs lightly.

“I feel bad, ending Miyagi-Do’s journey so close to the end but I don’t think I could bring myself to fight Tory again, not after what she’s been through. She deserves this win,” Sam says with a small smile.

“I must admit. I am excited to see Tory kick Zara’s ass,” you joke lightly, making Sam chuckle slightly as she shakes her head.

“She would deserve it,” Sam muses as you make your way to the changing room to change back into your street clothes mere minutes after changing into your gi for what you thought was going to be the semi-final match.

“Damn right she would,” you agree, slinging your bag on your shoulder after packing away your gi.

“Hey, do you want to hang out? We have nothing else to do,” Sam offers, glancing over at you as you both exit the arena.

“Might as well. Dad’s probably going to train with Miguel and Tory for the rest of the day so I’ll need something to do with myself,” you say, following Sam to her car, both of you loading your bags in the trunk before climbing into the car.

“Where to?” Sam asks as you send a message to Robby, letting him know that you’re with Sam.

“Wherever you’d like to go,” you shrug, leaning back in the seat as Sam starts the engine.

“Let’s go to a cafe or something,” Sam suggests, getting a nod in response from you as she pulls out of her parking spot and drives in search of a nice cafe for the two of you to spend time in.

Eventually, you decide to go to the cafe you and Sam had often frequented after school and on weekends when you just wanted to hang out in between training. You buy your drinks and find somewhere to sit, the two of you talking about anything that isn’t karate-related just to take your minds off the chaos that had happened in the last few days.

After finishing your drinks, you both decide to head to the arcade to pass the time further, playing some of the various games and enjoying each other’s company. Since Miyagi-Do was given the honour to compete in the Sekai Taikai and all the chaos that had happened between then and now, you and Sam hadn’t been able to spend much time together and you had missed your friend a lot.

By the time the two of you had finished hanging out, you’d noticed that the sun was on its way down, making you chuckle to yourself as you noticed it.

“Damn, we spent pretty much the whole day together,” you say, glancing over at Sam.

“I think we both needed this,” Sam admits as you nod, agreeing with her.

“Tomorrow it’s probably back to the karate stuff. I want to help Tory and Miguel be as prepared as possible for their fights,” you mutter, walking with Sam back to her car.

“Me too. They need all the help they can get,” Sam says as you both get into the car.

You continue to chat with Sam as she drives you back to your place and after bidding her goodnight, you climb out of the car and enter the apartment, greeting everyone briefly before retreating to your room, exhausted by the day and wanting to do nothing more than crash.

The next day, you accompany your dad and the others to the old strip mall where your dad’s Cobra Kai had once been housed, learning that Daniel had bought the building so that Tory and Miguel could use it to train.

You spent the day training with Troy and Miguel, making sure they were as prepared as possible for whatever Zara and Axel would throw at them. The day was long and gruelling, but as you made your way back to the apartment, you were confident that the sun would set on the Iron Dragons' time as Sekai Taikai champions, and rise on Cobra Kai’s. You spent the evening hanging out with Robby and Miguel, wanting to make sure Miguel wasn’t stressed too much about his fight. But he wasn’t stressed in the slightest. He was determined.

The next morning, the apartment was bustling as everyone scrambled to get ready to head out to the Sekai Taikai. You were helping Rosa and Carmen pack a bag for Laura while Johnny was making sure Miguel had everything, and Robby was allowed to relax and rest his leg.

“Have we got everything?” you ask, hurriedly checking the bag.

“Yes, we’re all set,” Carmen says reassuringly, zipping the bag and handing it to you. You head outside to put the bag in the car before heading back inside to join the others. It had been decided that Carmen, Johnny, Rosa, and Laura were going to head to the venue in Carmen’s car and you were going to drive Robby and Miguel over in your car.

“Are we ready to roll, guys?” you ask, looking at Miguel and Robby who nod before you grab your phone off the counter, checking it as Robby heads out to the car before Miguel pulls you aside quickly.

“Any last words of advice?” Miguel asks with a grin as you glance over at him, pocketing your phone and debating your next words.

“Just give him everything you got. Axel only knows you as the guy from Miyagi-Do. He won’t know or anticipate any of your Cobra Kai moves so you’ll have to use them at the best moments. We know Axel can adapt well to any rhythm if given the chance. So try not to give it to him,” you say with a shrug, silently hating yourself for every word that came out of your mouth. It felt like a betrayal to encourage Miguel to use his strongest moves against Axel, potentially hurting him in the process. You were still mad at him for what he did to Robby, but you didn’t want anyone else to get seriously injured in a karate competition that had already suffered one death and one broken leg.

“I can’t wait to kick that guy's ass for what he did to Robby,” Miguel says, patting you on the back slightly before rushing off after your dad to talk to him about something, probably searching for more last-minute advice for his fight against Axel. You then head out to the car, getting behind the wheel and waiting for Miguel to join you. It didn’t take him long to join you after a chat with Johnny, climbing into the back seat and buckling himself in while you started the engine, driving to the arena, and making a quick pit stop to pick up Tory on your way.

When you arrive at the arena, Miguel grabs his bag and rushes off with Tory and Johnny so they can get ready. You help Carmen and Rosa unpack the stroller for Laura and tuck her bag underneath so it is nearby if it is needed. Once you were ready, you made your way into the building, immediately being greeted by the hustle and bustle of the excited crowds.

“Hey, Robby, I’m going to grab some drinks. Do you want anything?” you ask your brother as you enter the familiar entrance hall.

“Just a soda would be great, thank you. I’ll find us some seats while you do that,” Robby says with a smile, trying to remain upbeat despite what had happened to him. You dismiss him with a nod, watching as he makes his way through the crowd of excited karate fans. With a small sigh, you turn around and head in search of a concessions stand, too busy looking around when you collide with someone else.

“Holy shit, I’m so-” you cut yourself off when you look up at the person you bumped into, shocked to see Silver grinning down at you.

“Hello, Little Miss Keene,” Silver says, his taunting grin making you shiver.

“Yeah, no,” you say quickly, moving to walk past him, stopping when he grabs your arm.

“Not so fast,” Silver growls, his fingers digging into your upper arm.

“Let go of me. Right now,” you say lowly, glaring at the man.

“Not until you listen to me,” Silver says, refusing to relinquish his grip on you.

“Why should I listen to anything you have to say?” you question, attempting to tug your arm free as people push past, unaware of Silver’s ironclad grip on your arm.

“Because it has something to do with your precious Axel,” Silver says teasingly as you cock an eyebrow.

“He’s not my ‘precious Axel’. Not after what he did to Robby,” you say angrily.

“Good. That’s good. You’ve been nothing but a distraction to him, anyway,” Silver says, a sense of triumph in his voice as you look up at him, confused.

“I’ve not done anything to distract him. I’d never distract anyone during a fight,” you protest, finally wrenching your arm free of Silver’s grip.

“That’s the thing. You didn’t know you were doing it. Because of you, he was pulling his punches in his fight against Robby,” Silver states, bending down to get in your face as you recoil, wanting to be as far away from him as possible.

“He was pulling his punches, huh? He sure had no issue breaking Robby’s leg, though,” you laugh bitterly, your eyes narrowing as you glare at the man, determined to show him that you’re not afraid of him.

“You heard the judge. They just got tangled on the mat it was purely an accident. Look, I’m being as nice as I can here. I don’t want you in the audience distracting my best fighter. I need him at his best if we’re going to win. You might not care about him but he definitely cares about you and your opinion of him. Name your price and it’s yours,” Silver offers, folding his arms across his chest as he grins.

“Accident? Yeah, that’s what they want to call it. Look, no amount of money or fancy cars could stop me from being in that audience to support Tory and Miguel today. I want to be there when your sorry ass gets taken down once and for all. If Axel can’t focus because I’m in the audience, quite frankly that is on him. I don’t have time for this any more. I hope to never see you again after today. The Valley would be much better off without you,” you say firmly, getting the courage to snap at Silver before turning and stalking away finally, the idea of drinks now forgotten as you go off in search of Robby, finding him sat down on the bleachers alongside Sam.

“Where’s the drinks?” Robby asks innocently, making you groan and dip your head in your frustration.

“I’m so sorry. I bumped into Silver and he just wouldn’t stop talking. I just wanted to get out of there,” you apologise, looking over at your brother whose expression shifts to one of concern and fear.

“Are you okay? What did he say?” Robby asks worriedly, glancing around as if Silver was lurking nearby.

“He tried paying me not to be in the audience. Apparently, I’m too much of a distraction to Axel,” you say, leaning your arms on your thighs and leaning forward slightly.

“That’s hardly your fault isn’t it?” Robby questions, his eyebrows furrowing.

“That’s what I said. Axel’s the captain of the Iron Dragons. If he can’t focus, that’s on him,” you agree, sighing slightly in your frustration at the whole situation. You couldn’t believe Silver’s audacity to try and sway you into not being there to support your dad and his team.

“He fought fine the last few times with you there, why is Silver so worried?” Robby then asks, wondering aloud to himself.

“He’s gotta be scared. If Axel’s pulling his punches like he’s claiming, and Miguel goes all out, chances are Axel might lose,” you mutter, your eyes fixed on the mat as Gunther steps centre stage, getting a cheer from the crowd.

“Who’s ready for some more karate?” Gunther asks the crowd as they roar in response, some madly waving their signs supporting the finalists.

“I haven’t been on this side of everything since your first All-Valley,” you say to Robby, remembering how different it was back then, and now you were watching the finals of the world championship of karate, staring at Tory and Zara’s names as they were displayed on the wall, ready for their fight to commence.

“Our championship bout will follow the same structure as our semi-finals. Three rounds, two minutes each, with unlimited scoring. Knockdowns are worth ten points and if a downed fighter cannot reengage within ten seconds, they will be considered knocked out and their opponent awarded twenty points.” As Gunther explains the rules, you notice movement out of the corner of your eyes, noticing Axel moving to join his team. You watched as his gaze flicked around the arena quickly and the moment his eyes met your gaze, you looked away, focusing on Gunther once again, determined to stay strong and just focus on supporting your friends.

“The individual title goes to the competitor who scores the most points over these three rounds. And now, the final match to determine our female world champion. Please come to the mat, Tory Nichols of Cobra Kai. And Zara Malik of the Iron Dragons,” Gunther announces as you clap and cheer for Tory, putting your whole support behind her as she steps onto the mat.

You watch as Zara and Tory meet in the middle of the mat. Zara begins talking with a faux smile on her face, clearly saying whatever she could to rile Tory up and unfocus her right before the fight, making you grit your teeth.

“Don’t let her push your buttons.” You hear Robby mutter to himself, rooting for his girlfriend to focus on the fight and not whatever Zara is saying to her.

As the judge stepped forward to begin the match, you could tell by the expression on Tory’s face that whatever Zara had been saying had done its job and rattled her. You knew from experience that when Tory was rattled, her hits came harder, but her movements were sloppier. At the last All-Valley, you had fought against Tory in the semi-finals, and even though you knew it was a bad idea, you tried riling Tory up, and while it worked for your first two points, you grew overconfident and Tory’s overpowering aggression got the better of you and you lost the match. All you could do was hope she’d somehow be able to break through Zara’s iron-clad defences.

“Face me, bow. Each other, bow,” the judge instructs, everyone watching as the two bow to each other before shifting into their fighting stances, before the judge calls the beginning of the match. Tory was quick to strike first, throwing attacks that Zara was able to navigate around with precision you’ve never seen before before she lands a punch to the side of Tory’s head as the judge calls a point in Zara’s favour. You watch with bated breath as the two exchange blows, blocking each other’s attacks.

“Shit.” You hear Robby mutter next to you.

“Zara got into her head,” Sam says, glancing at you and Robby as you nod nervously, turning your attention back to the fight. By the time the first round was over, Zara was up to five points while Tory was still stuck at zero. Zara soaked up the cheers, blowing kisses to the audience while Tory stormed over to your dad.

“She needs to calm down. She won’t land a hit if she doesn’t,” you mumble, silently wishing there was a way you could help Tory.

“I’m going to talk to her,” Robby says suddenly, grabbing his crutches from between you and him and getting to his feet. You watch as Robby crosses to where Tory and your dad are talking, clearly asking for a moment alone. When Johnny steps away, you watch Tory angrily ranting to Robby, her frustrations about how the match is going as clear as day on her face. Then, Robby said something that softened Tory completely, clearly calming her down from the anger that had her gripped in its claws. Tory then moved forward to kiss Robby, her hands cupping his face delicately as they embraced, making the crowd go wild while you roll your eyes jokingly, yet smiling all the same.

The horn sounded, calling for the start of the second round, and you watched as Tory made her way onto the mat, a newfound determination blazing in her eyes as she glared at Zara. As they adopt their fighting stances, you notice the familiarity of the stance, recognising it from the times you had sparred with Sam.

“That’s it, Tory,” you whisper, a smile on your face as you exchange a smile with Sam.

“She’s got this,” Sam says, both of you focusing back on the mat as the second round begins.

Tory was calm and calculated. She was letting Zara come to her, carefully calculating when the perfect opening was to attack. Zara’s defence was just as good as her offence, so it wasn’t easy for Tory to score, but the moment she did land a point, you erupted into cheers, applauding loudly for your friend. Tory had found her momentum and landed more points against Zara, even managing to get a knockdown and earn herself an extra ten points, getting her up to thirteen points. You couldn’t help but let your gaze slip across to the Iron Dragons, smirking to yourself as you see Wolf’s face souring with each point scored by Tory. You cheered loudly alongside Sam and the others as Tory scored more points and another knockdown.

Zara was rattled, and everyone could tell. She was used to being the one scoring all the points. Having people rooting for her as she beat her opponents, and now she was on the other side of it all, having to scramble to her feet while everyone cheered for Tory. You almost would’ve felt bad for her had she not taken advantage of your brother in one of his lowest moments. Instead, you were rooting for her to get her ass kicked.

In a flash, Tory was able to dodge some of Zara’s attacks and then land her final attack, kicking Zara so hard in the head that you swore you saw teeth coming out of her mouth along with the blood that dribbled out of her mouth before she crashed to the floor. You watched as the judge rushed over to Zara, checking her quickly before sitting up.

“Knockout. Winner,” he announces, pointing at Tory. You leap to your feet, cheering loudly as you and the others rush over to congratulate Tory. You let your dad, Miguel, and Robby congratulate her first before approaching and embracing her in a hug.

“I knew you could do it!” you exclaim happily, moving apart from Tory and grinning at her.

“Thank you,” Tory says with a smile before she’s tugged into another hug.

“Congratulations to our new Sekai Taikai girls’ champion, Tory Nichols!” Gunther announces to the crowd as Tory raises her fist triumphantly, as the crowd chants her name.

“With her win, Cobra Kai is closing the gap on the Iron Dragons. We’ll take a short intermission before our final event, the boys’ championship,” Gunther continues, and the audience begins to get to their feet, moving to head out in search of food and drinks.

“Hey, Robby. I’m going to actually get us some drinks now,” you say, approaching your brother as you.

“We’ll come with you,” Robby replies quickly, both he and Tory smiling at you as you shake your head.

“No, you should be celebrating your win,” you say to Tory, glancing from her to Robby.

“I need to get out of here to be honest,” Tory admits with a shrug, clearly overwhelmed by everything that had just happened. With a nod, you head out into the lobby to buy some drinks for the three of you.

“Alright, here we go,” you say, handing Robby and Tory’s drinks to Tory before taking your drink from the employee handing you your drinks.

“Let’s just hang out here for a little,” Robby says, getting a nod from you and Tory as you tuck yourselves away in a quiet corner of the lobby to relax.

“Hey, y/n, I’m really sorry about the other day. I shouldn’t have spoken to you like that,” Tory apologises, looking over at you.

“Tory, you don’t need to apologise-”

“But I do. I took my anger out on you, and that wasn’t fair. I’m honestly shocked you took the time out of your day to help me train yesterday,” Tory says, studying your expression carefully.

“Seriously, Tory, it’s okay. I don’t blame you for how you reacted. Of course I’d help you with your training. You’re my friend,” you say with a smile, embracing Tory.

“Thank you,” Tory whispers gratefully, squeezing you closer. The three of you continue to hang out in the lobby until an announcement is made that the boys’ championship is about to begin, so everyone needs to make their way back into the arena. You and Robby find your seats once again while Tory returns to stand with your dad and Miguel. As you watch Miguel and Sam talking, you feel a pang of jealousy tug at your heart as you allow your gaze to drift over to Axel, who looks as focused as ever. You wished Axel hadn’t done what he did. Your heart still missed him, no matter what your brain told it. There was an Axel-shaped hole in your heart, and no matter how much you told yourself that you were better off without him after what he did to Robby, your heart missed the boy you spent time with in Barcelona. The boy who had a softness to him that only you got to see. The boy who had protected you fiercely during the brawl in Barcelona.

“Hey, you okay?” Robby’s voice shakes you from your thoughts, making you glance over at him.

“Fine,” you reply, plastering a smile on your face.

“Is it Axel?” Robby asks, clearly not missing how you’d been staring at him.

“That obvious, huh?” you ask.

“A little. It’s hard to miss the heartbroken puppy eyes you’re giving him,” Robby says, attempting to joke lightly to cheer you up.

“I know I shouldn’t miss him. He hurt you,” you try weakly, looking away in shame.

“You’re allowed to miss him. You were really happy with him,” Robby says reassuringly, tugging you into a side hug as you lean against him and fight back tears.

Unbeknownst to you, Axel had watched as Robby pulled you into his side, hugging you close. He felt his heart sink at your upset, knowing he was more than likely the cause of your anguish. He knew he only had a matter of minutes before the competition would start up again, but he longed to cross over to you, to beg for the opportunity to explain everything and hope you’d hear him out. As if he sensed Axel’s internal conflict, Wolf shifted to stand alongside him.

“Stop looking at her. She is nothing but a pathetic girl who couldn’t even make captain of her dojo. Your opponent is opposite you right now. Focus on him. That girl is not a concern of yours anymore,” Wolf hisses, making Axel flinch at the venom in his tone. In fear of what Wolf might do if he continues to look your way, Axel shifts his gaze to Miguel, trying to focus on his upcoming fight. But he couldn’t. No matter how hard he tried, all his thoughts fell back to you and the way you had looked at him after he hurt Robby. Like he was some kind of monster. However, this time, Axel felt like he was worthy of such a title for what he did. As Axel gets dragged into his thoughts, Gunther steps onto the mat, microphone in hand.

“And now, our final match of this year’s Sekai Taikai!” Gunther announces as the audience roars and claps.

“Representing the Iron Dragons, Axel Kovačević!” Gunther then says as the audience cheers for Axel. Glancing over at him, you couldn’t help but cringe as Wolf and Silver hovered near him, making him look uncomfortable as they didn’t allow him space.

“And representing Cobra Kai, Miguel Diaz!” You clap as Miguel exhales sharply, clearly preparing for the fight.

“You got this, Miguel!” you cheer alongside Robby and Sam.

“Would the fighters please come to the mat?” Gunter requests, the audience cheering as Axel and Miguel make their way onto the mat, meeting in the middle.

As Miguel and Axel bow to the judge and each other before adopting their fighting stances, you can’t help but feel your stomach twist in its anxiety as you shift in your seat. You knew Miguel was not going to hold back in this fight after what happened to Robby. And you knew Axel would be the same. It was going to be a rough fight, and quite truthfully, you were terrified of what might unfold.

As the fight commences, Miguel doesn’t hesitate to show Axel what he had learnt from Cobra Kai, and you can tell that none of the Iron Dragons had anticipated such a strong front from Miguel. It was almost overwhelming to watch, seeing Axel dodging Miguel’s onslaught of attacks. You knew Miguel only had a small window of time to get points in before Axel adapted to his rhythm and it was clear he was trying to take advantage of the little time he had.

It didn’t take Miguel long to rack up five points, as you and the others cheered loudly as the horn blew to signal the end of the first round. You clap proudly as Miguel crosses to your dad and Tory. Turning your attention to the projection at the back of the room, you notice that with the number of points Tory and Miguel have racked up, there was now only a five-point gap between the Iron Dragons and Cobra Kai, meaning that if Miguel won his match without Axel getting too many hits on him, Cobra Kai could win this whole thing.

Your attention is drawn away from the display as Axel crosses to his sensei, anxiously watching as Wolf turns to address Axel. No matter what had happened between you and Axel, you promised yourself that you weren’t going to stand by and watch as he got hurt anymore. You tensed up, your grip tightening on the edge of your seat as you watched their interaction from afar like an animal poised to pounce. Wolf circled Axel like a vulture, and you could see his lips moving but you had no idea what it was he was saying to him. When Axel moved away, unharmed, you relaxed, releasing your grip on the bench and focusing on the mat as Axel and Miguel met in the middle once more.

Axel was focused in a way you hadn’t seen before; he carefully blocked Miguel’s attacks, managing to land some points of his own and even the score. You knew Axel was a calculated fighter and could adapt to any rhythm, but this was different. He was fierce and wasn’t holding back his attacks. When Miguel was knocked down, earning Axel ten points, you couldn’t help the gasp that escaped your mouth as Miguel crashed to the floor. As Miguel struggled to get to his feet, the horn blew, signalling the end of the second round and protecting Miguel from another one of Axel’s attacks. As both Miguel and Axel return to their senseis, your attention is drawn to the projection, where you see that there’s now a twenty-point gap between Cobra Kai and the Iron Dragons.

“Come on, Miguel. You’ve got this,” you mutter, looking at the scoreboard where it displays Miguel’s five points next to Axel’s fifteen. Two minutes was a tight window to beat Axel’s score, but you had faith that Miguel could do it.

“The points gap isn’t bad. He can definitely make it up,” Robby says, both you and Sam nodding in agreement as you watch your dad tie his beloved headband on Miguel, replacing the captain's headband. At Rosa’s cheer, the whole audience leaps up to cheer as Miguel makes his way back onto the mat while Axel is still talking to Wolf and Silver. It doesn’t take Axel long to step back onto the mat, meeting Miguel in the middle as they both prepare themselves for the final round of the match.

The moment the judge starts the final round, Axel leaps into action, knowing this is his last chance to score points to maintain his lead in the match. But Miguel was prepared; he was using everything he’d learnt during his time learning karate. Cobra Kai, Eagle Fang, and Miyagi-Do were all showcased in his fighting style, and Axel couldn’t keep up. Eventually, Miguel lands a blow to Axel’s face, giving him a bloody nose almost instantly upon impact. Axel struggled to defend himself against Miguel’s onslaught of attacks, allowing Miguel to score himself some more points. As Miguel readied himself for a roundhouse, you realised how open he left himself if Axel chose to attack, and you found yourself tensing up once more, watching nervously as you waited for Axel’s next brutal attack.

But it never came.

Instead, Axel turned to look at you, a look you couldn’t decipher on his face as you anxiously awaited his next move. Instead of attacking Miguel in the way you had anticipated, Axel chose to attempt to sweep Miguel’s leg, a move Miguel very easily avoided, which gave Miguel a clean hit to Axel. Now out of his rhythm, Axel was at the mercy of Miguel’s relenting attacks and despite his best efforts, he was unable to defend himself from the onslaught and when the horn blew for the final time, it was clear Miguel had been victorious.

You immediately jump to your feet, rushing onto the mat to congratulate Miguel for his victory. When you reach Miguel, you grab him in an excited hug, both of you jumping up and down in your glee.

“You did it, Miguel! World champion!” you exclaim happily as Robby joins in the embrace.

“We knew you could do it!” Robby says happily, the three of you embracing before Carmen and Rosa approach, wishing to congratulate Miguel. You were truly overjoyed that both Miguel and Tory had become world champions; they deserved it so much in your eyes.

“What an absolutely thrilling conclusion. Please join me in congratulating our girls’ and boys’ champions, Tory Nichols and Miguel Diaz of Cobra Kai!” Gunther announces as you all cheer, as Tory and Miguel are handed their trophies and raise them proudly.

As Tory and Miguel celebrated, you looked over in the direction of Silver and Wolf, hoping to rub the victory in a little more, but instead, you noticed Axel sitting alone, and you hesitated, torn between wanting to celebrate the win and concern for Axel, when Wolf approached him. You watched as Axel leapt to his feet, his face set as he talked to Wolf. As he turns away, your breath hitches as Wolf reaches out to grab Axel by the shoulder, but Axel whirls around quickly, shoving Wolf’s hand from his shoulder before leaving the room.

You’re dragged away from your concern over Axel by Gunther speaking up once more.

“This leaves us only to declare our overall dojo champion. But we cannot do that. Because, for the first time in our long and storied history, the Sekai Taikai has ended in a tie!” Gunter announces, making you glance at your friends, all of you confused.

“A tie?” you question, your gaze flicking to the board and seeing that even with Tory and Miguel winning their fights, Zara and Axel had scored enough points to even the Iron Dragons overall score with Cobra Kai’s.

“Fortunately, we have a protocol in place for just such an occasion. A winner must be proclaimed. Per tradition, our overall champion will be determined by one final match between the dojos. To be fought by their senseis!” Gunther reveals, making you and the others all exchange glances. This twist made your stomach churn. Sensei Wolf was a hundred times more brutal than Axel and Zara combined and you were terrified of what might happen to your dad in this fight.

“Is it just me or does anyone else have a really bad feeling about this?” you mutter, glancing around as Robby looks at you nervously.

“Nope, I’m freaked out about this too,” Robby admits quietly.

“Wolf is brutal. I’ve seen what he’s done to Axel. He won’t be afraid to hurt Dad,” you reply nervously, thinking of all the injuries and scars you’d seen on Axel from his training sessions with Wolf.

“Sensei’s got this,” Miguel says confidently, reminding you that your dad was as stubborn as an ox and wouldn’t back down against Sensei Wolf. As Robby and Miguel turn away to talk about the twist with Tory and Sam, you notice Silver talking to your dad and when he hunched over to look at Laura, his hand reaching out, you stormed across the room to stop him.

“Don’t you dare touch her,” you spit venomously as you manoeuvre in front of Silver’s outstretched arm, blocking his hand from nearing Laura any further.

“Damn, kid, where’d you come from?” Johnny asks, clearly surprised by your sudden appearance whereas Silver just grins.

“My, my, you’re a feisty one. You would’ve done well on my Cobra Kai,” Silver says with a grin as you cringe under his stare.

“You’d never catch me dead in any dojo you’re in charge of,” you growl in response.

“Ooh, such fire. You’re certainly your father’s daughter, that’s for sure,” Silver says, glancing over at Johnny before focusing on you again.

“You say that like it’s a bad thing,” you retort, folding your arms across your chest as you raise an eyebrow.

“I can see why Axel likes you so much. You’re certainly full of character,” Silver says, finally conceding and walking away while you glare at the man until he’s out of sight.

“I could kick his ass right now,” you mutter to yourself, your teeth clenched.

“Don’t worry about him, kid. He’s just trying to get in our heads,” your dad says, wrapping an arm around your shoulder and tugging you into his side. The embrace helps alleviate the tension in your body. Before anyone else could say something, Miguel came rushing over with Sam in tow.

“Sensei, Mr LaRusso has offered to have a small party tonight as his place to celebrate mine and Tory’s win. Are you guys going to come too?” Miguel asks, glancing at everyone.

“A party at the LaRusso’s? I’m down,” you say, smiling at Miguel before looking at Johnny and Carmen.

“I don’t see why we can’t go, it’s a good way to celebrate Miggy’s win and tomorrow you can focus on your fight, Johnny,” Carmen says, resting a hand on your dad’s shoulder as he nods slightly.

“Alright,” Johnny concedes, chuckling lightly when you, Miguel, and Sam exchange high-fives. You and your friends all then make your way to the LaRusso’s house to celebrate Tory and Miguel’s wins, revelling in the victory before the fight between your dad and Wolf.

Despite the fact the celebration was planned last minute, Daniel and Amanda managed to pull things together to celebrate the day. They ordered pizzas and had a large selection of drinks available for you all. As you’re sitting on a sofa, talking with Sam and Tory, your phone buzzes and you pull it out of your pocket, your smile falling from your face when you see Axel’s name displayed across your screen.

“What is it?” Tory asks, both her and Sam watching you worriedly.

“No, don’t worry about it. We’re here to celebrate your win,” you say to Tory, moving to tuck your phone away before Sam grabs it from your hand, showing Tory the text from Axel.

“He’s asking to talk to you? That’s bold,” Sam says as you snatch your phone back.

“You’re telling him to leave you alone, right?” Tory asks, both girls watching you expectantly as you shrug, tucking your phone into your pocket.

“Look, it’s not for you guys to worry about. Let’s just focus on celebrating,” you say deflectively, getting to your feet and going to get drinks for your friends. As you grab some cans of soda, Daniel comes up alongside you, catching your attention.

“y/n, can I ask you something?” Daniel asks.

“You just did,” you quip, smirking slightly as you look over at Daniel who scoffs lightly.

“Okay, you got me there,” he admits, holding his hands up in mock surrender as you laugh quietly.

“What’s up?” you ask, placing the drinks down on the table so you could focus on the conversation.

“I was just wondering if you’d be willing to come and help your dad with some training tomorrow?” Daniel requests, making you raise an eyebrow, confused.

“Why do you want me to help? Miguel and Tory are the world champions not me,” you say, shifting your gaze to avoid looking at Daniel.

“Maybe. But you’re the one who was close to Axel. You’ve got to know something we don’t,” Daniel explains.

“Axel never really told me much about Wolf. He only told me what he was comfortable with. It was a sensitive topic for him,” you reply.

“We’ll take whatever we can get,” Daniel says, making you nod slightly.

“Okay,” you reply, picking up the drinks and retreating back to your friends.

You spend the evening hanging out with your friends and family, everyone still buzzing with excitement over the victories of Tory and Miguel. As it began to grow dark, Carmen decided that she needed to head home to get Laura to bed, and you all agreed to call it a night.

“Hey, do you think I could spend the night with you guys? My brother is at his friend’s house, and I don’t really feel like going home to an empty house,” Tory asks, approaching you and your family when you reach the door.

“Of course,” Johnny says, patting Tory on the back as you all head out to your respective vehicles to head home.

It didn’t take you long to drive from the LaRusso household to Tory’s house so she could quickly pack a bag to stay the night before you head back to your apartment, all of you getting out of the car and heading inside once you all get out of the car. Not feeling up to hanging out with Miguel, Robby, and Tory, you retreat to your room, changing into your pyjamas and curling up in your bed, staring at the text you had received from Axel.

‘Do you think we could talk?’

Your eyes kept scanning over the six words, your thumbs hovering over the keyboard as you debated typing out a response. As various words flicker through your head to use in your response, unable to form a single sentence you deem appropriate for your clashing feelings over the matter, you turn your phone off, placing it face down on your bedside table so you wouldn’t see any more potential notifications.

With Axel now consuming your every thought, you flopped onto your back, staring up at your ceiling as you thought of whether it was worth hearing Axel out. You were curious as to whether he’d tell the truth or if he’d spin you a tall tale in an attempt to win you back.

Slowly, your eyes slip shut, falling asleep with endless thoughts swirling around in your head. Your sleep was tormented by thoughts and outcomes of what could possibly happen if you decided to see Axel again.

The next morning, you’re awoken by your dad who knocked on the door and warned you that you had fifteen minutes to get ready before he wanted to head over to the old Cobra Kai dojo to be able to train. You got up, showered, and changed in record time before heading into the main room, grabbing an apple off the kitchen island and joining your dad.

“You ready to head out, kid?” Johnny asks as you tug on your shoes with a nod.

“I guess. I still don’t quite see why you need me though,” you admit, following your dad out to his van and climbing in the passenger seat.

“LaRusso told you why we need you. I need all the help I can get,” your dad replies, pulling out of the parking lot and driving in the direction of the old strip mall.

“Okay,” you murmur, turning your attention to the passing scenery. You still struggled to understand what information you could possibly provide your dad to help with his upcoming fight against Wolf. You spend the whole journey trying to conjure up anything that might help your dad with his training. Before you knew it, your dad was parking the van, signalling your arrival at the strip mall. As you get out of the van, you see Daniel and Chozen, both you and your dad approaching them.

“Good morning,” Chozen says with a smile, glancing at you and Johnny.

“Morning, Chozen,” you greet him in response, able to conjure a smile for your senseis.

“Alright, let’s get this show on the road,” Johnny says, clapping Daniel and Chozen on the shoulders and heading into the building.

“y/n, did you think of anything that we could use to help train your dad?” Daniel asks.

“It’s kinda hard to think of anything but the main one is Wolf is vicious. If he’s not afraid to hit a student both in front of an audience and in private, he won’t be afraid to hurt Dad. He’ll be just as good as Axel, probably better. If he tries to hurt Dad he’ll be able to cover it up with no issues. You need to identify when Dad’s the most vulnerable in his attacks, those will be the moments he’ll look for,” you explain, trying your best to recall any information that could help your dad.

“We will do our best to help your father, y/n,” Chozen says with a gentle smile.

After speaking with Daniel and Chozen, you head into the building after them and watch quietly as they train. You were laser-focused on your dad’s sparring session with both Daniel and Chozen, searching for any moment of vulnerability in your dad’s movements.

After an hour of training, the door to the building opens and you look over from where you were standing, your eyes widening when you notice Axel entering the room. He was conscious that all four pairs of eyes were on him, making him stop in place, fidgeting with his hands as you approached him.

“What the hell are you doing here?” you whisper, a harshness to your tone that makes Axel flinch slightly.

“Carmen told me you were here,” Axel explains.

“You went to my apartment?” you question, shocked that Axel had done that.

“I just wanted to talk to you. You weren’t there and Carmen told me where you’d be,” Axel tries, guilt written across his face as you observe, folding your arms across your chest.

“You break my brother’s leg in the biggest fight of his life and you think you can just show up and make it all okay? That’s not how it works Axel,” you say, fighting to keep your voice steady, refusing to show signs of weakness.

“Please, let me-”

“No. Axel, you shouldn’t even be here. It’s your sensei my dad is preparing to fight right now and I need to focus on helping him. You should leave,” you say, turning away from Axel and waiting for the sound of the door opening and closing before allowing a single tear to fall, wiping it away hurriedly, aware of the fact that everyone was probably now watching you.

“Hey, kid, come over here.” You are waved over by Johnny, making you furrow your eyebrows as you cross to him, curious about what he wants.

“Dad, I didn’t know he was going to show up. I’m sorry, it won’t happen again,” you say apologetically, your gaze slipping to the floor out of shame and embarrassment.

“You should go after him.” Your dad's words made you look up at him quickly, confusion written all over your face as you studied his expression carefully, trying to figure out if he was trying to trick you.

“What?” you question.

“You heard me,” Johnny says, folding his arms across his chest.

“Dad, you saw what he did to Robby. He-”

“Quiet!” Your dad’s sudden yell made you blink in surprise, startled by the volume of his shout.

“You like this guy, don’t you? So you shouldn’t give up on him that easily,” Johnny says sternly, shocking you with his sudden attitude switch. He’d been vocal about his feelings about you dating Axel, and now he wanted you to go after him.

“Let me get this straight. You hated him when he did nothing wrong, and now that he’s broken Robby’s leg, he’s alright?” you ask incredulously.

“I never hated the kid. I was just being a dad, okay? Look, I know better than most that a bad sensei can really screw you up. I could’ve seriously hurt LaRusso in our All-Valley fight when we were kids, and I nearly did it because Kreese wanted me to. Hell, most people from Miyagi-Do were Cobra Kai at some point.” Johnny starts.

“I wasn’t,” you mutter, cutting in.

“Not my point. My point is, most of us have done pretty screwed up shit because of our senseis, and that steak stealer isn’t exactly a good example of a sensei.” Johnny continues, watching as you quietly contemplate his words.

“Your dad’s right, y/n. You don’t know the full story of why Axel did what he did. Mr. Miyagi always told me that there was no such thing as a bad student, only a bad teacher. You’ll never know unless you talk to him,” Daniel pipes up, moving to stand alongside Johnny.

“Hey, you guys can’t suddenly team up on me over a boy,” you half joke, glancing between the two men as they exchange a small smile with each other.

“We can tell you still care about him,” Johnny says, earning a nod from Daniel.

“Just hear him out. If you don’t like his explanation, then you will never have to see him again,” Daniel says, gesturing towards the door, both he and your dad silently encouraging you to go and find Axel again.

Hesitantly, you head for the door, having no idea where Axel would go after leaving. He wasn’t anywhere as familiar with the area as you were yet you knew he was able to guage surroundings and figure out how to get somewhere easier than most.

When you stepped out of the building, it took you less than a second to locate Axel sitting on a curb, scuffing his shoes on the gravel of the parking lot as he clearly impatiently waited. It was almost comical to see someone of Axel’s size and stature forcing himself to sit on a curb and adopt the smallest possible form to sit somewhat comfortably.

“That doesn’t look comfortable. You know there’s a bench over there, right?” you muse, keeping your voice soft as you approach, not missing how Axel flinched at hearing your voice.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” you apologise quietly, easing yourself down on the curb next to Axel, keeping a bit of space between the two of you.

“I thought you didn’t want to talk to me?” Axel asks, glancing at you out of the corner of his eye, too afraid to hold any eye contact with you.

“My dad can be pretty persuasive when he wants to be,” you joke slightly, a small smile tugging at the corners of your lips.

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to,” Axel says, his gaze shifting to the ground.

“No, I should let you explain yourself,” you say apologetically, angling yourself towards Axel slightly so he knows he has your full attention. As Axel remained quiet, trying to formulate his thoughts to explain himself, you spoke up.

“You know I wouldn’t have cared if you beat Robby fairly. Why did you have to break his leg?” You couldn’t help the question from exiting your mouth as you studied Axel carefully, seeing how his eyes slipped shut in shame as he bowed his head.

“My senseis. They told me to,” Axel admits quietly, unable to bring his gaze to meet yours.

“But they had no control over what you did on the mat. You could’ve kept fighting normally. If Wolf had tried hurting you again, I swear I would’ve stepped in,” you insist, trying to get to the bottom of why Axel did what he did.

“They threatened you,” Axel blurts out, lifting his head and looking at you, his eyes growing watery as your lips part in shock.

“They… what?” you question quietly, hoping you heard him wrong.

“Silver said he knew where your family lived. He said he and my sensei would…” Axel trails off, looking away as a tear dribbles down his cheek.

“They would’ve hurt me. That’s why you hurt Robby,” you conclude, finally realising why Axel did what he did. You were still heartbroken that Robby’s Sekai Taikai journey had ended prematurely due to Silver and Wolf’s inability to accept defeat. But on the other hand, a broken leg would heal much better than whatever Silver and Wolf would’ve done to you had Axel not complied with their demands.

“I knew it was wrong. I just didn’t want you to get hurt. I’m sorry,” Axel apologises, his voice meek. Without thinking, you reached out and grabbed his hand that was resting on his lap, squeezing it softly as your fingers intertwined with his.

“Axel, they shouldn’t have put you in that position. They can’t accept a loss and that’s on them. The fact you made it to the semi-finals without taking a hit is a testament to how good you are. They should’ve trusted you and accepted that Robby might’ve won. But that’s a big ask of Silver,” you say, a slightly bitter edge to your tone as you think of all the things Silver has done just to win a karate tournament.

“My sensei tried to get me to hurt Miguel too. But I couldn’t do it,” Axel admits quietly as you gently rub your thumb across his knuckles, the unconscious movement coming naturally.

“I had a feeling something happened on the mat. Miguel’s pretty open when he’s preparing his roundhouse. You had a good opening, but you didn’t take it,” you say, remembering how Axel handled the moment.

“I couldn’t hurt someone you care about again,” Axel says softly, finally gaining the courage to look over at you.

“I’m so sorry. I should’ve heard you out,” you apologise quietly.

“No, I deserved it,” Axel says, his gaze slipping to your intertwined hands.

“You know, every time Wolf went near you I was so worried he was going to hurt you,” you admit, gaining the courage to shuffle a little closer to Axel.

“I’m ashamed to have been his student. I won’t be part of the Iron Dragons anymore,” Axel mutters, his teeth gritted as his mind swirls with endless regrets from being associated with the Iron Dragons.

“You left the Iron Dragons?” you ask, studying Axel’s stone-cold expression as he nods.

“I don’t want to be part of any team if they want to cheat to win,” Axel confirms, glancing at you as you observe him quietly.

“I’m proud of you, Axel,” you say, noticing how his eyes widened slightly, clearly unused to hearing such words being spoken to him.

“Seriously, it takes a lot of courage to stand up to someone like Wolf and leave it all behind,” you continue, squeezing Axel’s hand softly as your other hand comes up to rub soothing circles on his shoulder.

“I should’ve done it sooner,” Axel says regrettably.

“You still did it. That’s something,” you say softly. You weren’t quite sure where your relationship stood with Axel right now, but you weren’t going to villainise him after hearing what he said. You could tell that he was being truthful in his explanation and you didn’t have it in your heart to try and hate him any longer.

“Is there any way I can make this all up to you?” Axel asks, letting you think for a moment before you speak up.

“I can think of a couple of things,” you say as Axel nods fervently, eager to hear what he can do.

“Dad has to fight Wolf. I’m trying to help but there’s only so much I can do,” you explain, returning your hands to your lap as Axel watches you.

“I can help. I know how he fights,” Axel says with a nod, already getting to his feet, prepared to help.

“We’ll take any help we can get,” you say gratefully, scrambling to your feet and following Axel back into the Cobra Kai dojo. When you both enter the building, all eyes fall on you as you clear your throat anxiously before speaking.

“Axel’s going to help. If anyone knows what Wolf knows, it’s him,” you say, gesturing loosely towards Axel who waves nervously. Noticing how you were both being watched by the three adults you knew you had to explain yourself.

“He’s actually going to help. He’s not part of the Iron Dragons any more. No tricks,” you assure your dad.

“I want to help,” Axel adds, both of you waiting for a nod of approval before approaching.

“Okay, kid. What can we do to help Johnny?” Daniel asks, inviting Axel closer, everyone ready to continue your dad’s training.

You observe from the sidelines as Axel coaches your dad. At first, he watched as your dad sparred with Daniel and Chozen but eventually, he spoke up, pointing out where Johnny was most vulnerable and how he could adapt his movements better. Since he had trained under Wolf, Axel had practically no choice but to stand in as Wolf to help your dad learn how to counter his attacks. But you could tell that Axel was holding back, and after a few minutes of sparring passed, you called for a break and crossed to Axel, pulling him aside.

“Are you okay? You’re holding back,” you note.

“We’re just sparring,” Axel says, watching you with a confused expression.

“Axel, I get that, but Wolf is going to come at him with some strength,” you say.

“I don’t want to hurt him,” Axel admits, making your heart sink. You knew that Axel had been used for most of his life, trained to be practically indestructible and could hit hard when needed. He didn’t want to be that person before and you knew it, but you didn’t want him to be afraid.

“Dad can take a few hits, trust me. You don’t have to go one hundred percent at him, just give him a bit more power so he knows what to expect from Wolf. You won’t hurt him. I know you won’t,” you say reassuringly, your smile soft as you watch Axel. After a brief pause, Axel glances over at the mat where your dad, Daniel, and Chozen are waiting patiently. With a small smile in your direction, Axel crosses to the mat, ready to help your dad once more.

After a couple of hours of training, Daniel called for a break, glancing over at you and Axel, who had taken a step back after coaching your dad as best he could.

“You two kids have been so helpful. I think we’ve got it from here. You can enjoy the rest of your day,” Daniel says with a smile.

“Are you sure?” you ask, glancing over Daniel’s shoulder to where your dad was.

“We’re sure. You deserve to enjoy the rest of the day,” Johnny says with a smile, encouraging you to trust him.

“I’ll call you an Uber to take you home,” Daniel says, instantly moving to grab his phone.

“Mr LaRusso, I can do that-”

“No, you’ve taken time out of your day to help, the least I can do is help you get home,” Daniel insists, his gaze not shifting from his phone as he talks. Between the two of you, you decide to head to Axel’s hotel first so he could shower and change and once the Uber arrived you both climbed in, ready to head away from the strip mall. The journey was relatively silent, you and Axel didn’t really talk to each other, only speaking up when the driver asked you the typical nosey driver questions.

When you arrived at the hotel, you were somewhat unsurprised to discover that Silver had splashed out on one of the nicest hotels in the area for the Iron Dragons. You follow Axel into the hotel, allowing him to lead you to his hotel room.

Upon entering the room, you take a seat at the dressing table while Axel grabs a change of clothes before retreating into the bathroom to shower. In Axel’s absence, your eyes drift around the spacey hotel room. You couldn’t help but notice how meticulously tidy Axel had kept his belongings, anything he had on the dressing table was neatly placed in a purposeful place. His clothes were kept tucked away and folded neatly in his suitcase, which lay open on his bed. As you wait, Axel’s phone, which was lying on the dressing table, flashed with a notification, illuminating the screen. You couldn’t help but allow your gaze to drift over to the phone, noticing how the lock screen was a picture of the two of you from when you’d taken him to the beach. You couldn’t help but smile softly at the picture, remembering how you’d carefully documented the day, wanting to remember every second of your time with Axel. And clearly, the day had meant just as much to Axel as it did to you.

The sound of the door opening shook you from your focus on the phone, turning to smile at Axel as he entered the room, his hair slightly damp from the shower.

“You okay?” you ask quietly, smiling up at Axel as he crosses to the bed, tucking his dirty clothes into a washbag.

“I’m okay,” Axel says, busying himself by gathering up his belongings and packing them away in his bags, not noticing your narrowed eyes.

“Are you going somewhere?” you then question, confused and concerned at him packing his bag.

“The reservation for the room ends today, I was going to find a different hotel for a day or two before going…” Axel trailed off, his gaze not shifting from the suitcase.

“Hey, you don’t need to look for a hotel. You can come and stay at ours,” you say softly, standing up but not moving any closer, observing Axel from a distance.

“You don’t have to-”

“Axel, you’re not wasting money on a hotel. Besides, you kinda owe Robby an apology,” you say, shrugging slightly as Axel’s head dips.

“I do,” Axel admits, glancing over at you briefly before focusing back on his suitcase.

“Look, I’ll call both Carmen and my dad and see how they feel about it. But given that Carmen told you where I was, and that Dad is the one who told me to talk to you about everything, they’ll probably be okay with it. Robby and Miguel though… I don’t know,” you say admittedly, grabbing your phone and finding Carmen’s number. Leaving Axel to pack, you head out onto the balcony of the hotel room, surveying the sights of Los Angeles as you dial Carmen’s number.

“y/n? Is everything okay? Is Johnny okay?” Carmen asks the moment she picks up the phone.

“Everyone’s fine Carmen, promise. Dad’s still training with Mr LaRusso and Chozen. I actually had a question I needed to ask you,” you say, pacing the balcony anxiously, beginning to second-guess your choice to ask such a thing of your family.

“Of course you can. What is it?” Carmen’s voice was as soft and motherly as usual, bringing about a slight air of reassurance.

“This is completely random but do you think Axel could come and stay at ours for a couple of days? His hotel room is only booked until today so he needs to find somewhere else to stay tonight and I offered-”

“You’re talking to him?” Carmen asks, and while you know she was trying to keep her voice calm, you could hear the slight excitement in her voice.

“He showed up at the strip mall. At first, I didn’t want to talk to him but Dad convinced me to at least hear him out,” you explain, pacing the balcony as you talk, occasionally sneaking glances in the window to see how Axel was doing.

“Good. We were worried about you. He made you happy,” Carmen says.

“He’s going to apologise to Robby. I’m making sure he does,” you say, averting your gaze from the window the second Axel looked up, seemingly sensing your stare.

“I expected as much. Look, he’s more than welcome to stay at ours for a while, just check with your dad as well,” Carmen says softly, making you nod despite knowing that she couldn’t see you. With a thank you and goodbye, you hang up the phone and immediately search for Johnny’s number, hitting call and lifting the phone to your ear once more.

“Kid? Are you okay?” Johnny asks, clearly out of breath from training.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I just had a quick question.”

“What is it?”

“Well, Axel’s hotel reservation ends today so he needs to find someplace else to stay and I offered him a place at ours. Carmen said it was okay but I wanted to check with you,” you explain.

“I guess so. I don’t know how Miguel and Robby will take it,” Johnny says with a sigh.

“He’s going to apologise to Robby and I can speak to Miguel. If there’s a serious issue I’ll pay for Axel to get a hotel room or something,” you say quickly, hoping Robby and Miguel will hear you out and be able to be civil with Axel.

“Okay. If those three don’t kill each other within an hour, he can stay. But this time he’s sleeping on the couch,” your dad says, making you sigh in relief.

“Thank you, Dad,” you say gratefully before bidding your dad goodbye and hanging up the call before heading back into the hotel room where Axel was watching you expectantly.

“They said you could stay, assuming Robby and Miguel also come around to it,” you explain, watching Axel nod stoically.

“Of course,” he agrees.

“Oh, and Dad said you have to sleep on the couch this time. Sorry,” you say apologetically, watching as Axel zips up his suitcase and slings his backpack over his shoulder.

“It’s okay, I deserve worse,” Axel says, allowing you to take his suitcase when you shoot him a look.

“No, you don’t. Look, Miguel and Robby will come around. I’ll talk to them myself if I have to. I promise,” you say assuringly, both you and Axel heading down to the hotel lobby. You wait patiently as Axel checks out before you head outside and call another Uber to take you to your apartment.

When you arrive at the apartment, you help Axel unload his suitcase and cross to the door anxiously, using your key to unlock the door, hoping that there won’t be a fight straight out of the gate.

“What the hell is he doing here?” Miguel demands, storming over to Axel and shoving him back. Despite Miguel putting everything he had into the shove, Axel only took one step back, absorbing the brunt of the shove with practised ease.

“Miguel, stop!” You quickly step in between the two.

“He broke Robby’s leg and you’re just letting him back into our place?” Miguel demands, pointing past you at Axel accusingly as you stand firm, refusing to move. Glancing over Miguel’s shoulder, you catch a glimpse of Robby who’s sitting on the sofa, watching the interaction quietly.

“Robby, Axel wants to talk to you. He knows he owes you an apology.”

“He owes him more than that.”

“Miguel.”

“I’ll talk to him.” Robby’s words quietened you and Miguel’s bickering, all of you looking to Robby who nodded slightly.

“We’ll give you some privacy,” you say, grabbing Miguel by the arm and hauling him to your room with you, closing the door the second you’re able to.

“I can’t believe you brought him here,” Miguel scolds as you stand in between him and the door, making sure he can’t get past you.

“Look, he’s sorry and he’s talking to Robby right now. There’s a lot more to his story than you think,” you say, your glare cold.

“Oh, so that makes it all okay then?” Miguel asks, exasperated.

“Miguel, you cannot put yourself on a pedestal like this. Do you remember the kind of guy you turned into when you were in Cobra Kai? You quite happily cheated in the All-Valley and targeted Robby’s bad arm to win. Or we can talk about Eli and how he broke his best friend's arm over a Yelp review? Or how Eli also trashed Miyagi-Do and stole Mr. Miyagi’s medal of honour?” You list off various things you could think of as you pace in front of the door.

“Hey, we’ve made up for it, okay?” Miguel argues.

“But you don’t want to give Axel a chance to explain himself? You don’t think he deserves that?” you question, ceasing your pacing and folding your arms across your chest.

“You hated him yesterday. What changed?” Miguel asks, trying to make sense of your sudden switch-up.

“I didn’t hate him. I couldn’t hate him. I was mad at him, sure, but I didn’t hate him. Dad encouraged me to hear Axel out and I’m glad I did,” you retort, watching as Miguel runs an annoyed hand through his hair.

“What could possibly justify what he did to Robby?” Miguel asks, glaring at you.

“It’s not my place to say,” you say as Miguel scoffs, rolling his eyes.

“Of course, it isn’t,” Miguel scoffs, shaking his head.

“Miguel seriously? You used to hate Robby, right? But now the two of you are as close as anything,” you continue to argue, frustrated that Miguel was refusing to even consider being civil towards Axel.

“That’s different.” Was Miguel’s argument.

“How is it different, Miguel? I’d love to know,” you spit, baffled by Miguel’s nitpicking.

Before Miguel could respond, there was a knock on the door, making you shoot a warning glare in Miguel’s direction to keep him quiet before you moved to open the door, revealing Robby on the other side, wearing a small smile.

“Is everything okay?” you ask, wondering where Axel was.

“Axel’s in the living room. I just wanted to chat with you guys in private,” Robby answers as you step aside, letting him into the room and closing the door as he sits on your bed.

“So, what happened?” Miguel immediately begins interrogating Robby, his arms folding across his chest as he awaits Robby’s verdict.

“I’ve heard what Axel has to say and I forgave him,” Robby says simply, making a small smile break out across your face as Miguel furrows his eyebrows.

“Okay, why? He broke your leg,” Miguel says, picking the argument back up as you roll your eyes.

“He did. You’re right. But he apologised and there’s no point staying angry at him for something he was forced to do. I kicked the crap out of Kenny in the All-Valley. I tried to hurt you on so many occasions just because I could. Axel even said he’d been helping Dad train for his fight tomorrow. It might take us some time to be good friends but he’s not that bad,” Robby explains, smiling over at you softly.

“He helped Sensei?” Miguel questions, looking at you for answers.

“He came by the dojo this morning. At first, I tried sending him away, I was still pissed about everything but Dad encouraged me to talk to him and once we did, I figured he could lend us a hand and help with Dad’s training and he did quite happily,” you say, glancing from Miguel to Robby.

“Fine, if he helped Sensei, and Robby’s okay with him. I guess I can’t be the asshole who makes him feel unwelcome. I’ll be civil with him but I’m with Robby, we’re not exactly friends at the moment but I’ll be nice,” Miguel concedes, throwing his hands up in defeat.

“Thank you, Miguel,” you say gratefully, quickly embracing both he and Robby before you head out of your room, beelining for the living room where Axel was sitting on the sofa.

You spent the remainder of the day talking with Axel. Ocassionaly, Robby and Miguel would come into the living room, having a brief conversation before disappearing again.

By the time night fell, you bid Axel goodnight, feeling guilty that he was forced to spend the night on the sofa but you also knew that it was for the best. You knew that you and Axel weren’t quite at the right point to recontinue your relationship after everything that happened. You needed time and Axel was more than willing to give you the time you needed to figure out where you stood.

As you climbed into bed, you couldn’t help but feel waves of anxiety crash over you. You knew your dad had been training all day to prepare for the fight, but you were worried about how Wolf would treat the fight. If he had been so willing to encourage Axel to cheat in his fight in order to win, there was a chance he’d attempt the same thing. But you tried to force those thoughts away, knowing your dad had done as much training as he possibly could to prepare for his fight and you needed to have faith that he’d win.

The next morning, you awoke and immediately got changed, meeting up with Axel and the others in the living room, everyone anxiously waiting to make their way to the arena to watch the tie-breaker match.

“Are you coming, Axel?” you ask, looking up at him as he nods, shoving his hands in his hoodie pockets.

“Yes. But I’m going to watch in the crowd. Somewhere Wolf cannot see me,” Axel says, already attempting to shrink into the hoodie he wore as if he were already trying to hide from Sensei Wolf.

“That sounds good,” you say with a small smile.

“Okay guys, we need to make a move,” Johnny says, coming into the room, his duffle bag slung over his shoulder. You all oblige with your dad’s instructions, heading out to the cars. Carmen and Rosa get in one car with Laura, Johnny takes his van with Miguel and Robby while you drive yourself and Axel over to the arena.

Once you arrive at the all-familiar building, you head inside with Axel, being greeted by Daniel who held out a duffle bag with a smile.

“What’s this?” you question with a small smile.

“Just a way we can support your dad in his match. Just get changed into that before we head into the main arena, okay?” Daniel says as you take the bag, slinging it onto your shoulder.

“Got it,” you say with a wink and joking salute before moving away to find a quieter corner with Axel.

“What is that?” Axel questions curiously as you unzip the bag, poking around to see what you can find, pulling out a black gi and staring at it quietly.

“Looks like I’m Cobra Kai for the day,” you mutter, your eyes focused on the logo staring up at you from the depths of your bag.

“Your dad will appreciate the support,” Axel says softly, making you nod.

“I used to hate Cobra Kai. They caused so many problems for people I cared about. Now I’m going to wear their colours,” you mumble, zipping the bag back up and looking up at Axel.

“It will have a different meaning this time. Your father will need your support,” Axel says, watching you carefully as you nod.

“I know. You’re right,” you admit with a small smile.

“You should go and get ready. I need to find somewhere to sit,” Axel says softly, bringing you into a quick hug before making his way into the arena, leaving you to make your way to the changing rooms.

You couldn’t help but feel weird as you donned the Cobra Kai gi. The black and yellow colour combination was not one you had worn in your short karate career. In fact, you had sworn to yourself that you’d never wear anything to do with Cobra Kai, yet here you were. You turned around so your back was facing the mirror, straining to look over your shoulder to see the cobra emblazoned on the back of the gi, rearing up with its fangs exposed in a fierce hiss as it prepared to strike.

“You okay?” Sam’s voice snapped you out of your thoughts as you locked eyes with her through the mirror.

“Yeah, fine. Just, feels a little weird wearing this gi,” you admit, turning to face her properly as she smiles knowingly.

“I get it. Ever since the Cobra Kai thing started I said I’d never join Cobra Kai. Now look at me,” Sam says, opening her bag and holding up her own Cobra Kai gi.

“It’s for Dad so I don’t really mind. This an important fight for him. Plus, when he wins I’ll technically be part of the world’s best dojo,” you say with a laugh. Slowly, others enter the changing room and you all talk with each other, smiling and laughing as you prepare to head out to support your dad.

Stepping out in front of the crowd with the rest of the newly formed Cobra Kai felt strange yet right. You knew that you weren’t representing the dojo that allowed its students to bully and intimidate others. You were representing something more important. Cobra Kai had been everything to your dad both in his youth and his adult life and now he had the opportunity to prove that under his leadership, Cobra Kai can be the best dojo in the world.

You watch as the judge encourages both your dad and Sensei Wolf onto the mat, both men taking their places, bowing before assuming their fighting stances. You watch anxiously as the fight begins. Wolf was as cold and calculated as you expected him to be on the mat, blocking your dad’s attacks with ease and clearly goading him with every given opportunity. You wince as Wolf lands a kick on your dad’s side, earning him his first point. As you watch your dad ready himself to start fighting again, it finally clicks in your head why your dad was fighting the way that he was.

“He’s scared,” you mutter to yourself as the match begins again. You’d seen your dad fight before. He fought Daniel with no fear, unafraid to hold back in the match. He’d always prided himself on striking first, but now his attacks were hesitant. They were easy for Wolf to deflect and dodge before Wolf landed an illegal kick to the back of your dad’s head, making you all exclaim angrily.

“No point. Illegal contact to the back of the head,” the judge declares, bringing the two back to their positions and restarting the match. Again, you were forced to watch as your dad tried his hardest to land a single point on Wolf. Suddenly, Wolf lands an elbow on your dad’s face, making you all exchange glances.

“No point. Direct elbow to the mouth. Next time, it’s going to be a one-point deduction,” the judge warns, looking pointedly at Wolf who apologises half-heartedly. As the judge looks over to your dad, he stops, quickly instructing your dad to go to his corner and calling for a quick time out. As Johnny approached Daniel, you noticed the blood on his mouth from Wolf’s attack. You watched as Daniel and Chozen attempted to encourage your dad but their words clearly didn’t have the impact they expected because Johnny dismissed them after wiping the blood off his face, ready to restart the match.

It didn’t take long for Wolf to score himself a second point, everyone wincing as the judge announced the point, the hope beginning to dwindle.

“One more point, and the Iron Dragons will be crowned Sekai Taikai champions.” You hear being announced as you bite your lip anxiously. You all watch as Wolf and Johnny take their positions, waiting for the judge to begin the match again.

“Time!” Daniel suddenly calls out, making everything come to a halt as the judge allows Johnny to cross back over to Daniel. You listen as Daniel gives your dad a motivational speech, similar to the ones your dad would give his students. Now fuelled with determination, your dad steps back onto the mat and assumes his fighting position, ready to take on Wolf. While Wolf was able to block your dad’s first few attacks, Johnny was able to get the upper hand and score his first point as you all cheered happily. You notice Wolf’s expression, one filled with fear and shock at how Johnny had been able to land a point.

When the match restarts, you watch as your dad and Wolf exchange blows, each one being carefully blocked and dodged. Both men knowing the importance of this match and what it means for them and their dojos. After some grappling, Wolf lands a kick to Johnny’s side, making you all wince and angrily complain while the judge rules that there’ll be no point, allowing the match to continue. You watch as your dad carefully anticipates Wolf’s next move, scoring himself a second point as you cheer excitedly. Just before Johnny and Wolf take their positions, Daniel calls for his final time out, giving your dad some last-minute advice before he takes on Wolf for the last time.

“Come on, Dad. You’ve got this,” you mutter excitedly, almost leaning forward in your anticipation as Johnny and Wolf take their positions. You watch as Wolf prepares his attack, charging forward suddenly but this time, Johnny is prepared, he sweeps Wolf’s leg, sending him tumbling to the floor and after a brief exchange of blows, your dad lands the final point on Wolf, making the arena erupt into cheers. You all rush onto the mat to congratulate your dad, hugging him along with Miguel and Robby.

“I knew you could do it!” you say proudly, smiling up at your dad.

“Thanks, kid,” Johnny says gratefully, ruffling your hair with a grin before being bombarded by congratulations from everyone. Eli and Miguel pick Johnny up, sitting him on their shoulders as you all cheer before he’s placed back down and handed the trophy by Daniel. As you move away to allow your dad to have his moment, you find Axel amongst the crowd, finding yourself rushing to him.

“Dad did it! He won!” you exclaim happily as Axel sweeps you up into a hug, twirling you around before setting you back on the floor.

“Now you are part of the best dojo in the world,” Axel says proudly smiling down at you. As you look into each other’s eyes, you find yourself shifting closer, barely aware of the celebrations and chaos happening around you. Before you knew it, you and Axel’s lips were mere inches apart. Axel stops, his eyes flicking down to your lips, quietly asking for permission and you take the leap, closing the gap between you. Kissing Axel felt so right. He was gentle as he pulled you closer, his hands settling on your waist as your arms wound around his neck, desperate for as much contact as you could muster as you ran a hand through the hair at the nape of his neck. When you eventually pull away for air, you rest your forehead against Axel’s, both of you smiling shyly.

“I��ve missed you,” you admit quietly, the moment feeling like there was nothing but you and Axel in the world.

“I’ve missed you too,” Axel replies, his voice matching yours in softness. Just as you open your mouth to speak, you’re jostled by some of your fellow Cobra Kai’s who were all celebrating wildly as your dad gestures you over. You move to join your dad, hesitantly moving away from Axel.

“You too, big guy,” Johnny says, smiling as he winds an arm around Carmen’s middle. You turn back to Axel, gesturing for him to come with you, taking his hand once he got close enough and leading him over to your dad.

“Congratulations Sensei Lawrence,” Axel says, dipping his head in a slight bow of respect towards your dad.

“I should be thanking you. You helped me so much,” Johnny says, extending a hand to Axel for him to shake while you move to fuss over your baby sister who was sitting happily in Carmen’s arms.

“Axel, would you like to meet baby Laura?” Carmen asks softly, making Axel hesitate slightly, his eyes flicking from you to Carmen.

“You won’t hurt her, just come and say hi,” you encourage gently, allowing Axel to come closer to admire your little sister.

“She’s so small,” Axel murmurs, holding a hand out to Laura, unable to stop the small smile from crossing his lips when Laura reached out and grabbed his pinky in one tiny fist.

“She likes you already,” you say smiling at the two as they interacted.

“She’s as strong as the rest of her family,” Axel comments, smiling at everyone in turn as Johnny nods.

“You got that right,” Johnny boasts, taking Laura from Carmen’s arms and hugging her close. After you had finished talking with your dad and Carmen, you turned around to come face-to-face with Robby and Miguel.

“Jeez, where did you two come from?” you joke lightly, aware of Axel behind you.

“We just wanted to talk to you and Axel, in a bit more privacy if we could?” Robby asks, gesturing towards the door loosely with his head as you nod, all four of you exiting the room and finding a quieter place to talk.

“Okay, what’s this about?” you ask, glancing between the two as they stand before you and Axel.

“We just wanted to talk about everything that’s happened. Robby told me about what happened and why Axel did what he did. I was wrong to assume the things that I did. You were right to point out that all of us had done bad things with the wrong sensei teaching us. I guess what I’m trying to say is, I’m sorry,” Miguel says, running a hand through his hair as you and Axel listen carefully.

“And if Axel’s going to be sticking around, we can’t be the assholes that don’t get on with him,” Robby adds with a chuckle.

“I’m sorry for your leg,” Axel apologises.

“Honestly, man, it’s water under the bridge. I’ve actually been offered a job once my leg heals so I guess life’s not all bad,” Robby shrugs as your eyes widen.

“You what?” you question, your focus suddenly on Robby.

“Before the match started, some woman came up to me and Tory and offered us jobs sponsoring a brand and travelling around the world to various karate tournaments,” Robby explains as you quickly move to hug him.

“Robby, that’s amazing!” you say excitedly, hugging him close as he reciprocates the embrace.

“Congratulations,” Axel says with a nod, smiling at Robby.

“Thank you guys,” Robby says as you release him from the hug.

“So, are you guys all cool now? I don’t have to pick between my brothers and my boyfriend?” you ask, glancing between the three boys.

“We’re cool,” Robby and Miguel say in tandem, holding out a hand each for Axel to fist bump which he does before returning his attention to you.

“You called me your boyfriend. Are we still-?” Instead of giving a verbal answer, you press your lips to Axel’s, a gesture he quickly reciprocates, both of you ignoring the spluttered protests of Robby and Miguel as you solidify your stance on your relationship with Axel.

A couple of months later, you were packing your suitcase ready to begin your gap year. Robby had healed pretty quickly and was able to start his new job travelling the world with Tory. Miguel was prepping to go to Stanford after he got back from Okinawa while you were about to travel the world for a year. When you had first decided you wanted to travel the world, you had planned to do it alone, but now, you were going to do it with Axel by your side.

“Are you ready?” Axel asks from his place in the doorframe, his suitcase by his side as he smiles softly at you.

“Yup!” you say with a smile, zipping up your suitcase and joining Axel, both of you heading to the living room, avoiding the boxes of packing that your family was doing in preparation for the move into the house your dad had bought.

“You two lovebirds ready then?” Carmen says as you approach.

“We are,” you confirm, carefully taking Laura from Carmen’s arms and holding her close as Axel watches with a smile.

“You two better take care of each other, okay?” Carmen says as she gets up from the sofa, moving to embrace both you and Axel.

“We will,” Axel affims, hugging Carmen back gently.

“We ready to roll, guys?” Johnny asks, grabbing the keys to his van and glancing between you and Axel.

“One second,” you say, handing Laura back to Carmen after saying goodbye to her before crossing to bid Rosa goodbye. Once all your goodbyes have been said, you and Axel head out to the van with your dad.

“Hey, maybe we could visit Sam in Okinawa at some point?” you ask, looking over at Axel who nods with a smile.

“That sounds nice, ljubav,” Axel says softly. He knew how close you were with Sam and was more than happy to take the time out of your travels to go and visit her.

Before you knew it, you were outside the airport, saying goodbye to your dad.

“You take care, kid,” Johnny says with a smile, bringing you into an embrace that you’re quick to reciprocate.

“You too, Dad,” you mumble, hugging your dad tight as you feel him press a soft kiss to the top of your head before he releases you from the hug.

“Axel, I trust you’ll look after her,” Johnny then says, shaking hands with Axel who nods stoically.

“Of course,” Axel says.

“We should head in, it’s not long until our flight,” you say, quickly giving your dad one last hug and goodbye before heading into the airport with Axel’s hand in yours.

As you both headed in the direction of your flight’s gate, you found yourself thinking back on the events that had happened. Finding the Cobra Kai poster with Robby in the parking lot sent you on a journey you never could’ve anticipated. You found balance. You rebuilt your family. You found love. And now you were about to start a life of your own with the person you loved most in the world.

You couldn’t wait to kick the world's ass.

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