─── ∙ ~εïз~ ∙ ───

despite a pretty awkward confrontation with robby keene the night before, theo accepted sam's invitation to hang out at miyagi-do's dojo. the atmosphere was peaceful, with the soft chirping of crickets outside and the walls, adorned with miyagi's teachings.

"how come you got rid of the blond?" sam questioned. the two sat on the hut's floor, stretching their legs. theo looked up at her with confusion, "the blonde?"

"your hair. you had blonde tips?" samantha reminded him.

"oh, yeah." theo nodded, unconsciously brushing his hand over his hair. "yeah, i don't know. i didn't like it anymore."

"i liked it." sam admitted.

he couldn't hold back his smile. "really?"

she just nodded. "the colour looked nice on you."

"thank, sam. hey, did i tell you i made the varsity team?" theo randomly spoke. sam looked surprised. "wait, seriously?" she asked. theo nodded with pride making her grin. "teddy, that's huge! congratulations, i knew you could do it."

"thanks." theo chuckled. "i think you and demetri had more faith in me than i did."

"always." sam told him. "how'd your mom take the news?"

"she was super stoked." theo grinned. "said we should celebrate, so she's inviting her new boyfriend and his son over for dinner."

"she has a new boyfriend?"

"yeah, i accidentally met him the other night." theo nodded, "she hasn't told tabby yet. it's not that she doesn't want to, trust me she does. they've always been close, it's just that-" he paused. "you definitely don't want to hear about this, do you?"

"why wouldn't i? because it's about tabby?" sam questioned. theo nodded and she sighed. "no, things with her aren't as bad as i feared. like she just ignores me in the hallway rather than slamming my body into the lockers."

theo chuckled. "well, that's progess."

"it is." sam nodded. "i've been thinking about what you said, her not having a friend like me in years? the thing is... i haven't had a friend like her either. and i want to make things right."

theo sat up straighter with surprise, "are you serious?"

sam nodded. "the whole tension thing is really getting to my dad. him and esther haven't spoken since, and they were best friends. i just hope she can forgive me."

"i hope she can to." theo agreed. "i'm glad you want to work on things because i feel like you can't like me and hate her at the same time, since we came from the same womb."

sam giggled, shaking her head at him, "no, that's not how it works."

"i'm pretty sure it is." he grinned. "when you do talk to her, you have to be cautious, she's been tense lately."

"i know." sam sighed. "miguel's really worried about her, apparently she doesn't want to leave cobra kai."

"yeah, my mom said it reminds her of training with our grandpa, which is probably why she's so attatched." theo explained.

"what was he like?" sam questioned. theo shrugged. "he was good to us. though, he always preferred tabby. she had the karate mindset that i didn't."

"i'm so sorry." sam frowned.

"it's okay, never really bothered me." theo told her. the two sat in peaceful silence for a moment, just stretching their bodies. "about miguel... do you still like him? you don't have to answer, i was just wondering. for the sake of tabitha."

"for the sake of tabitha, yeah." sam chuckled. "no, that's over now."

"then why did you kiss him at moon's party?" theo questioned. "i mean, you knew they were together, right?"

"honestly, i don't know." sam sighed, "i could say i was super drunk and didn't know what i was doing. but that's not entirely true. when we were outside, talking... it felt like old times. i thought we were having a moment there and all my old feelings were coming back."

"did they?"

she shook her head. "it was like the second i kissed him, everything was gone. the moment i thought we were having vanished and any feelings disappeared. he told me how much he liked tabby and i realised that i screwed up."

"you've gotta tell her that." theo said. "all of that."

"i will." sam nodded. "you know, i don't think i ever said thank you."

"for what?" theo questioned, his heart pounding with nervous anticipation.

"for still being my friend, despite everything that happened with me and tabby." sam explained.

"yeah... i had to ask for permission first." theo admitted. "it's in the twin loyalty rulebook."

"i'm sure it is." sam grinned, looking up at him. "either way, thank you for being there for me."

"always." theo said softly, his gaze unwavering. while they were left in a peaceful silence, sam leaned in closer, her gaze locking onto his lips and her breath warm against theo's skin. his heart began to race as their faces drew closer.

just as their lips were about to meet, the door to the hut creaked open, breaking the moment. daniel stood at the threshold, his eyes filled with surprise,"whoa, whoa, whoa!" he exclaimed.

the two sprang apart. their hearts pounding as they scrambled to their feet. "dad!" sam yelled out, a blush rose on her cheeks as she avoided her father's gaze.

"sorry." the man apologised. theo sighed, "i'm gonna... go stand outside for a bit." he quickly walked past him and left the room.

─── ∙ ~εïз~ ∙ ───

after conversing with his daughter, daniel exited the hut. he caught theo admiring mr miyagi's slightly covered yellow, 1947, ford super deluxe convertible. he walked over to him with a smile. "she's still a beaut, huh?"

theo nodded. "yeah. i think i remember when you first showed us this. it looks familar."

"you guys were five." daniel beamed fondly at the memory, pulling the tarp off. "when mr miyagi gave me this car, i was the envy of all reseda. ask your mom, she'd agree."

theo chuckled. "i'll take your word for it. i'm sorry you guys haven't spoken since the fight."

"huh? no, no. it's not your fault." daniel shook his head. "besides, when she came to see sam at the hospital, we talked about it. we all thought some distance would be best for our families."

"i get that." theo nodded.

"how has things been with tabitha?" daniel questioned. "she was at the meeting yesterday, advocating for cobra kai."

theo winced. "yeah, it's hard. we haven't really spoken much, which is so weird. but you know tabitha, she never lets anyone tell her what to do. so, i think she will eventually realise that cobra kai isn't good for her."

"i just wish i could help her." daniel shook his head. he pulled open the passanger door, "you wanna sit in?"

theo grinned. "i do." he drew the door open and climbed into the driver's seat. theo was absolutely fascinated by the interior, he grazed his hands against the steering wheel, which made daniel smile.

"great, right?" daniel questioned.

"it's like, perfect." theo agreed. he retracted his hand and turned to the man beside him. "you know, my mom never told me exactly how you two met. i know you guys were friends throughout school, but that's it."

"well, i met her at the beach before the first day of school." daniel explained. "she was with her best friend, ali mills, and i accidentally hit her with my soccer ball. after giving me a stern talking-to, she gave it back to me."

"that sounds like her." theo chuckled.

"yeah, well she was dating johnny at the time but they were apparently on and off." daniel told her. "so, he arrives at the beach with his cobra kai friends and they really get into it. johnny ends up breaking ali's radio, and then he comes after me."

"what? why?" theo questioned.

"well, he thought i was hitting on esther, but i was actually crushing on ali." daniel explained. "it was a huge misunderstanding if you ask me."

"sounds like you guys were in a love triangle... no, a love square."

"a love square." daniel nodded. "that's the best way to describe it, i think. i was in love with ali, ali liked me. ali and johnny were friends, johnny loved esther and esther had a thing for me—"

"so, johnny was actually right?" theo interrupted him. "see, i didn't know you were such a ladies man."

daniel laughed out loud at his words, shaking his head. "no, i always saw your mom as a best friend. she was one of the only people who didn't give me shit throughout school. and johnny hated all the time we spent together. but it actually turned out she had been confusing her platonic feelings for me into romantic ones."

"so, he didn't like you because he thought my mom had a thing for you?" theo inquired.

"looking back on it, i can't really blame him." daniel shrugged. "he was... jealous? angry. esther was his first love, and that's what started all this."

"so you, my mom and mr lawrence just need to talk to one another and work things out." theo suggested as if it were simple.

"i wish it were that easy." daniel sighed. he glanced down at his watch and jumped back with surprise. "wow, i didn't realize what time it was, i gotta— i gotta get going."

he pushed the car door open and exited, theo doing the same. they walked around the car and stood beside one another.

"well, it was good catching up with you, theodore." daniel smiled, pulling him into an embrace and patting his back. "you're a good kid, and i'm glad you joined miyagi-do."

"i'm glad too." theo smiled, pulling out of the hug.

"hey, sam." daniel called out to her. she made her way out of the hut and stepped over to them. "listen, i gotta meet up with mom, okay? do me a favor? just put the cover back on the car. and uh, keep the sparring to a minimum, understood?"

theo chuckled, nodding his head with acknowledgement. "yes, sir."

"understood. all right." he grinned, entering his car.

"how was it?" sam questioned. theo was still smiling as daniel drove away. "i think we're good, we were just catching up. he told me about my mom and mr lawrence and how the whole rivalry thing started."

sam looked up at him with interest. "yeah?"

"mhm." theo nodded. "it kind of all links back to my mom. if you ask me, they just need to talk to one another and work things out."

"you know what, teddy? you're right." sam smiled, she had an amazing idea.

⎯ ❃ jania speaks!
theo and sam💞💞
trying to get out as many chapters as i can so i can focus on virtual aerobics tomorrow!

i hoped the karate kid storyline made sense, i didn't want to cram everything in one chapter