Dedicated to AbbyWatson4

He couldn't believe what was happening. He was hugging his father. The stern, seemingly careless man he'd only just met today was here, smiling back at him.

He actually loves me.

"I can't believe this is happening," smiled Miguel, his eyes sparkling with tears as his dad pulled away from their hug.

"Me neither. I mean, I didn't even know I had a son until a minute ago," said Mike, breathlessly.

This wasn't all for nothing. Maybe I'm doing something right.

And as Miguel turned back to ask his dad more about himself, he saw Johnny standing in the doorway, a look of disappointment covering his Sensei's face.

"Sensei, what are you doing here?" asked Miguel in disbelief.

Had he come all the way from LA just to find him?

Is that how mad he is about the tournament?

"You didn't think I'd just let you ditch us like that, did you?" asked Johnny, rhetorically.

All the excitement seemed to flood out of Miguel's mind in a matter of seconds, leaving only thoughts of anxiety in their wake.

I knew he'd be angry and that, of course, he'd come looking for me, even if just for my mom's sake, but I would never have expected he'd drive all the way to Mexico.

The very thought of what Johnny would say, how much he would hate him for leaving before the end of the tournament shook him.

"Of, of course not, I just wasn't expecting you to come here," answered Miguel, trying to hold his voice calm.

"So, this is your Sensei," smiled Snake as he stumbled off the couch, drunkenly.

Why did he have to wake up now?!

Johnny side-eyed Snake as he found his footing by holding onto the couch's arm.

"You do karate?" confirmed Mike, perking his head up.

Before Miguel could answer, Johnny cut him off.

"Of course, he does karate. Does he look like a pussy?" scoffed Johnny, sarcastically as he gestured towards Miguel.

Miguel smiled feebly back at Mike who was staring at him, an offended expression on his face.

"If you have something to say then, just come out and say it," taunted Johnny, throwing his hands down.

"Maybe I will," Mike snapped back, walking right up to Johnny, staring him directly in the eyes.

I have to find a way to separate them before they rip each other apart.

If he was going to convince one to leave, it would need to be Johnny. Firstly, he knew Johnny a lot better so, it would be easier to convince him to go. Secondly, he'd come all this way to see his dad and this was finally his chance to have a real conversation with him.

Only problem is, I know Johnny.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?" Miguel asked Johnny, stepping in between their stare-off.

He was trying his best to not let his pain show, though, he really wished they could have this conversation sitting down.

"Fine," said Johnny, taking a few seconds to give Mike one last glare before following Miguel into the kitchen.

The kitchen looked worse than the entrance had. Empty bags of various chips were laid on the counter, tiny crumbs pouring out of their open mouths. The hanging cabinets' outer wood was rotting and the refrigerator door was left ajar.

Maybe he just hasn't gotten around to cleaning yet?

Miguel took a deep breath, trying to flush out at least some of his anxiety. It wasn't that he was an anxious person, in fact, he was usually a very calm and collected person, but he felt so guilty about what he did to Eagle Fang at the tournament. Johnny had always done so much for him and when he needed Miguel most, he wasn't there.

But he doesn't need you, remember?

"Look Sensei, I'm really sorry about leaving the tournament without telling you," apologized Miguel.

"No, forget about that, that's not why I came here," started Johnny but his sentence seemed to trail off.

Wait, if he's not mad at me then, why did he come?

His face looked distant, hesitant. It was kinda scary to see him so nervous.

"Are you okay, Sensei?" asked Miguel, worriedly.

"Yeah, I'm fine," scoffed Johnny, unconvincingly.

He didn't seem okay, but Miguel didn't have much time to ask before he needed to talk to his dad so, he had to ignore it for the moment.

"Listen, I appreciate you coming here, I really do, but I'm okay, honestly," smiled Miguel.

"I didn't come here to yell at you or check on you or some other dumb idea you're about to say, I came here to apologize," stated Johnny, sighing.

I thought he was too drunk to remember what happened?

Even the thought of the memory sent pain shooting through his chest.

"It's, it's okay."

Johnny didn't respond, rather just smiled back at Miguel.

"I was hurt by what happened, but that's not why I came to Mexico. I thought we were more than just a Sensei and his student and I figured you felt the same way but, you didn't, you don't."

There was a long pause between each sentence, stale air floating between them. Every word he spoke seemed to cut deeper into his heart.

You have to tell him this.

"I was wrong to assume that you did. But I finally found my dad and I think I actually have a decent chance at getting to know him ,but if you leave now, I'll never find out," finished Miguel.

Johnny's smile had left his face and in place of it lay a blank expression.

"What are you talking about?" questioned Johnny, incredulously.

Miguel suddenly felt a familiar rush of sadness course through him.

"You really don't remember?" confirmed Miguel.

"Remember what?" repeated Johnny, confused.

He stared at Miguel, waiting expectantly for an explanation.

I'm going to have to tell him sometime, better to get it over with now.

"The night of the prom, I came back to your apartment and you were drunk and lying on the floor so I helped you in bed, but before I left, you called me back to apologize for failing as a father and (it took all his might to get through this part) I told you I loved you. And you said you loved Robby," explained Miguel.

He looked at Johnny hopefully. Maybe he didn't mean to say it. Maybe there was still a chance he loved him. But Johnny didn't say anythig, rather just stood there, speechless. His lack of words seemed to solidify Miguel's thoughts.

So he did mean it.

And without saying another word, Miguel walked out of the room.

Author's Note:
Sorry if there are some spelling errors in this chapter. I'm currently sick, but I still want to post some more parts for you all. I'll try and edit this later on, though.
Thank you all so much for helping me achieve over a thousand views!
Love you all so much!