⊱ ────── {⋆⌘⋆} ────── ⊰

"ANOTHER fresh one, comin' in hot!" daniel said, as he grabbed a pizza out of the oven and placing it on the table. "you sure you got enough meat on this pizza there, johnny?"

"there's four different animals on top." johnny said, leaning on the side of the table while drinking a beer. "that's a man's pizza."

while the daniel finished prepping for dinner, johnny looked over to find bella and amanda, talking and laughing in the living room. he couldn't help but stare at the brunette as she smiled before taking a sip of the half-empty wine glass. bella and johnny hadn't spoken since that evening when they agreed not to rush into anything. there was no doubt that there were some unspoken feelings, but for now, they were taking it easy.

daniel noticed the blonde staring over at bella, as he was finishing up. "trouble in paradise?" he said, snapping johnny out of his gaze. "i noticed you two came in separate cars."

"nah, we're fine." johnny said. "she just wants to take things slow."

"take things slow?" daniel said, with a smirk. "i didn't know that was a speed you could go."

"oh yeah, wiseass?" johnny said, as he tossed his bottle cap at daniel, until daniel caught it. "nice catch."

while the two men got everything ready, amanda and bella were sitting in the living room, chatting, until they heard the doorbell. "i got it, don't worry." bella said, placing her wine glass down and walking towards the door.

"thank you." amanda said, smiling back at the brunette. bella opened the door to find stevie and alex standing outside.

"hey ma! hey amanda!" stevie said, as she embraced her mother and then walked over to say hi to amanda.

"hey honey." bella said, as she then looked over to the blonde. "i haven't seen you in a while, stranger! how are you?"

"its been a long time. nice to see you again, ms. monroe." alex said as he embraced his girlfriend's mother.

"i know you're a gentleman and i like that about you, but call me bella." bella said.

"and who's this handsome guy?" amanda said, as she looked over to stevie.

"oh, this is my boyfriend, alex." stevie said, as alex greeted amanda. "i hope its okay that he tagged along."

"of course, it's okay." amanda smiled.

"is that stevie?" johnny called out from the kitchen.

"yeah, it's me, pops." stevie said as she walked into the kitchen and walked over to greet her father. the blonde embraced her father as he placed a small kiss on her temple. "and i also brought a special guest. dad, you remember alex, right?"

johnny turned to look at the blonde, who shyly peeked into the kitchen. "yeah, i remember." he said, as he shook alex's hand.

"nice to see you again, mr. lawrence." alex said, then he turned to greet daniel. "mr. larusso, thanks for having me."

"of course, you two are welcome anytime." daniel said, with a smile.

"how the hell did he end up here?" johnny said to daniel as he handed the plate of broccoli rabe to him.

"i told stevie to bring her plus one." daniel smiled. "what? you jealous?"

"what? nah, i'm not jealous. i just didn't expect him to be here." johnny said.

"hey kids! dinner!" amanda said, as she called the kids over to the dining table, as daniel served her more wine in her glass.

"bella? more wine?" daniel said, as the brunette took a seat next to her daughter.

"yes, please." bella said, as daniel served the wine. "y'know, i don't think i'll ever get sick of seeing the two of you together."

"oh yeah, the last time these two were in the kitchen together, lets just say i'm glad the steak knives weren't out." amanda said.

"i'll drink to that." johnny said, toasting his beer with amanda's wine glass

"so, how's business going?" bella said.

"the dealership's been the best it's been in years." daniel said, as he sat down. "it should practically be on autopilot by the time sam takes over, right?"

"dad–"

"you're taking over the dealership? that's awesome." miguel said.

"well.." sam said, with slight hesitation in her voice.

"nah, that's just an inside joke." daniel said. "when sam was little, she used to walk around the dealership like she owned the place."

"can you blame her? she was practically raised on that showroom floor, almost born on it too." amanda said, causing bella to laugh.

"whatever sam wants to do with her life, that's entirely up to her." daniel said. "if she decides to go to school nearby, get her mba, usc, ucla. i'm just saying. its all icing on the cake."

while daniel discussed sam's future, johnny looked over at bella, who let out a sigh before taking a sip of her wine glass. to bella, listening to daniel discuss sam's future plans reminded her of when her father discussed her future plans over dinner, the nostalgia of it made her a bit uncomfortable, which johnny noticed as he remembered listening to those conversations over dinner. 

"so, miguel, how's school going?" amanda said, attempting to change the subject.

"um, good." miguel said. "great, actually."

"yeah, it better be, mr. straight-a's-this-semester." stevie said, smiling.

"yeah, a total nerd." johnny said, as stevie jokingly rolled her eyes.

"see? with grades like that, you could go anywhere you want." daniel said to miguel.

"i'd like to go to stanford." miguel said.

"that's an impressive school." daniel said.

"yeah, i think it's like number six in the country and the campus is beautiful." miguel said.

"stanford? that's a great school." bella said. "you could literally go anywhere with straight a's. stanford, ucla, santa monica. anywhere you wanna go."

"hey, smc's great too. its right by the beach." daniel said. "have you checked out their campus?"

"no, actually, i haven't." miguel said, as he was getting a bit nervous. as he attempted to stretch his arm, he knocked down daniel's wine glass, spilling wine everywhere. "oh shit - i mean - i'm sorry."

"no, don't worry about it." daniel said, as he cleaned up. "please. its just a little wine, right?"

⸻

after dinner, daniel and johnny agreed to swap students for tomorrow's training. stevie joined the men in their discussion, stepping in as johnny's co-sensei. "so you still okay with me taking the eagle fangs tomorrow?" daniel said as he walked johnny, bella, stevie, and alex to the door.

"yeah, i had some ideas on how to get your kids' offense up to snuff." johnny said.

"and i'll be there, just in case things get crazy." stevie said, with a laugh.

"make sure all that defense doesn't turn you into a cream puff." johnny said to miguel.

"tomorrow is gonna be great." daniel said. "as long as sensei over here brings everyone back in one piece. stevie, i'm counting on you."

"you got it, mr. l." stevie said.

"no promises." johnny said.

"you better promise-"

"okay, down boys." bella said, stepping in.

"good night larussos." johnny said, as he along with bella, stevie, and alex walked out and said their goodbyes.

once stevie and alex left, johnny and bella stood outside as johnny offered to walk bella to her car. "so this was fun." bella said, rummaging for her keys in her purse.

"everything okay?" johnny said. "you were kinda quiet back there."

"yeah, just listening to everyone talk about college reminded me of dad." bella said, softly chuckling.

"yeah." johnny said. "kinda figured. i remember when you told your dad you were going into fashion. i swear, he was gonna throw a fit."

"oh yeah." bella laughed, as johnny held the door open for her. "he thought i was joking, then he tried convincing me to become a doctor, lawyer, but eventually, he gave it up and said that all that mattered was that i was doing something i loved." 

"yeah." johnny said. "so, i'll see you later?"

"um, yeah." bella said. "good night johnny."

"night." johnny said, as he watched bella drive away with a sigh.

⸻

flashback!
— may 1985; north hollywood, ca

bella sighed as she ran her hands through her hair while looking at herself in the mirror. she continued brushing her hair, letting out a loud sigh of frustration. after finally deciding on a program, johnny looked over to the bathroom, where he found bella brushing her hair.

"you okay?" johnny said. "you look stressed."

"i'm fine." bella said, walking out of the bathroom and laying down on the bed.

"this is about dinner, isn't it?" johnny said as he reached over and turned the lamp off.

"would that be so bad?" bella said, turning to her side and facing the blonde. "like getting into fashion. i know it's not a big career like law or medicine but what's so bad about it?"

"nothing's bad about it." johnny said.

"i mean, he always does this." bella said, as she sat up and leaned on the headboard of her bed. "ever since i was little, he's tried to convince me into going to med school, just like him, but i'm just not into that and it's like not agreeing with him or not being interested in his field is the worst thing in the world."

"babe–"

"it's like nothing's ever good enough for him." bella said, rubbing her temples. "i just wanna do something that i enjoy. something that i'm into."

"then do it." johnny said, as he sat up and wrapped an arm around the brunette. "y'know your dad's gonna be proud of you regardless."

"i just feel like he doesn't take me serious sometimes." bella said, as she laid back down. "i feel like the only people who take me serious are you and mom."

"look, whatever you wanna do, do it." johnny said. "if design makes you happy, then go for it. and if it makes you feel any better, we're all proud of you."

bella smiled as she intertwined her hand with her boyfriend's, as the blonde placed a soft kiss on her palm. "whatever you're gonna do, i'm gonna be with you every step of the way." johnny smiled.

"thank you." bella said with a smile. "you really think being a designer isn't crazy?"

"i think it's perfect. whatever you wanna do, i'll support you." johnny said. "i love you baby."

"i love you more."

⸻

"knock, knock!" lillian said, as she opened the door to bella's office, where she found bella on her laptop, responding to emails and catching up on work after the holidays. "chris called, she's out to lunch, you wanna go grab a bite to eat?"

"i'm good." bella said, not taking her eyes off of her laptop and continued typing.

"no, you're not good." lillian said, walking into the office. "you've been locked in here since you got here and you haven't eaten a thing."

"not true." bella said. "jen gave me an egg mcmuffin this morning."

"it's one and you ate that at, like, what 8am?" lillian said. "you're hungry, c'mon, lets go get lunch. you could use some food and a break."

"fine." bella said, shutting her laptop off and closing it. "what are we having?"

"chris mentioned sal's." lillian said.

"oh, sounds perfect." bella said, grabbing her purse. "i could use a burger."

the two ladies walked out of the office, as bella locked the office door. "where's jen?" bella said, as she and lillian walked out into the parking lot. "she's coming too, right?"

"yeah, she just went to go help jim with some things. she said she'll meet us there." lillian said, as she and bella got into her car. "so, what'd you decide? are you gonna do it?"

"after 3 sleepless nights, going back and forth on this, and a pep talk from chris, i think i'm gonna go for it." bella said, with a smile. "i swear, she should be a politician or a lawyer."

"she's that persuasive?" lillian laughed.

"oh, so fucking persuasive." bella laughed. "but i also convinced myself that this could be fun. it's been a while and i actually do miss it, so i'm going for it."

"good for you." lillian said, smiling. "i think this'll be good for you, you always did say that you misses modeling, take it as a second chance."

"i'm trying to look at it that way." bella said. "who knows? maybe this time, it'll be different."

"yes, it will be." lillian said, as she parked the car. "now, lets go get lunch, i'm starving and i know you must be hungry."

⸻

stevie walked around the roof of the building, taking a sip from her water bottle as the miyagi-do kids sat around, quietly. the blonde walked over to sam, who was sitting on a stool looking on her phone. "everything good?" stevie asked the teen girl.

"i'm not gonna jump." sam said, crossing her arms. "we tried coming here with an open mind but its dangerous."

"oh, forget about that, i wouldn't go for it either." stevie said, sitting next to the girl. "but something tells me this isn't about training. look, if its all the added pressure from everyone, i totally get it–"

"how?" sam said. "you're twenty-something, you've got a job, you've got everything in your life figured out–"

"not always." stevie said. "i didn't have everything figured out, i still don't. i'm still learning and i still sometimes crack under pressure. its all part of life, but don't be afraid to take that leap, you might learn something new about yourself. you don't have to have it all figured out right now. just don't be afraid to take that risk."

sam looked up at the blonde and nodded. "now i'm not telling you to jump, because your dad will kill me but, i'm metaphorically speaking about taking the leap." stevie said, smiling. "i know you'll figure things out."

"thanks stevie." sam smiled.

stevie walked back to where her dad was stacking wooden pallets. "so she's not gonna go for it?" johnny said.

"dad, be real, none of them will." stevie said, taking a sip from her water bottle. "and honestly neither would i."

"so no one wants to fly?" johnny said, to the miyagi-do kids. "you all just wanna stay in the nest?"

stevie rolled her eyes and grabbed her bag, taking one last sip of her water bottle, she placed it in her bag before reaching for her phone, smiling as she saw she got a message from alex.

"pathetic! alright fine, you win. you can bore cobra kai into submission. you all failed, grab your crap and let's go." johnny said, as all the kids got up and grabbed their stuff, he then turned to sam. "it looks like you got what you wanted."

as the rest of the kids walk towards the door, sam stopped and dropped her bag. stevie stopped as well, and stopped her dad, as she looked at the girl who walked back and got a running start before jumping over to the next building, as the other kids cheered.

"badass." stevie said, smiling. "i knew she had it in her."

"nice work larusso!" johnny said to the girl as he smiled with pride, before turning to his daughter. "whatever you told her, it worked."

"never underestimate the power of girl talk." stevie said.
⸻

when an eagle's hungry, it doesn't hesitate.

an eagle knows it has to make the first move and you can't do that unless you jump.

johnny was never one to take his own advice, but after saying this to the miyagi-do kids during training, he couldn't stop thinking about it. all he could think about was bella and how he screwed things up. he finally built up the courage to confess his feelings to her again. after training, instead of driving home to his apartment in reseda, he headed to burbank.

upon arriving to burbank, he sat in the dodge caravan as he searched for the right words to say. once he was ready, he got out of the car and walked over to her apartment. once he reached her door, he took a deep breath before knocking, hoping that she answered the door.

meanwhile, bella was in the kitchen grabbing the bottle of red wine from her counter and taking it over to the center table, where the ladies were gathered, playing a friendly game of poker.

"you better not have looked at my cards, christina." bella said, walking back to the sofa.

"chill out, nobody looked at your precious cards, isabella." chrissy laughed as she looked through her cards. "okay, i've got nothing. jen?"

"okay then i'll raise you $10." jenna said.

"okay, i see your $10 and raise you $10 more." lillian said, placing her chips in the center.

as the ladies continued to play, there was a loud knock on the door, prompting bella to get up from the sofa. "i got it, i fold anyway so." bella said, chuckling as she walked to the door.

as bella opened the door, she found johnny standing outside. she was surprised by his sudden visit as he normally calls before showing up. "hey johnny." bella said. "um, you're probably looking for stevie but she's actually not here–"

"i'm not here for stevie." johnny said. "i know you wanna take things slow–"

"can we not do this right now?" bella said.

"i'm tired of waiting." johnny said, as he walked into bella's apartment. "i wanna talk about this now, with you."

as he walked in, he found the group of ladies sitting around the table, playing poker and drinking wine. "and your friends." he said, smiling and waving to the ladies.

"hey." jenna said, placing her cards down. "don't mind us."

"ladies, can you give us a minute?"

"nah, i don't care, they can hear this." johnny said as he stood in front of bella, looking into her bright green eyes. "look, bella, when it comes to us, i can't wait any longer. it's not who i am. i'm a top down, hair blowing in the wind kind of guy, i know you know that. i'm not afraid to take the leap with you."

bella felt her eyes sting with tears as she looked at the blonde in front of her, who was confessing himself to her. she stood there, speechless as johnny continued. "i know there's a lot of shit to figure out, but we'll figure it out together. just like we always have." johnny said. "you and me."

bella smiled as she cleaned the tears from her eyes. "i don't know if they got all of that." johnny said, chuckling.

"i think they got it." bella laughed.

"we got it!" lillian called out.

"okay, so just wanted you to know." johnny said. "and now you do, so i'm gonna go back to my apartment. good night."

"hey john." bella called out to the blonde before he walked out of her apartment. johnny turned around and looked at bella who was drying her eyes. "okay."

"yeah?" johnny said, smiling.

"yeah." bella said, smiling as she pulled him in and placed her lips on his, as she held him tight. johnny wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her body closer to his, as they continued to kiss. as they pulled away, they smiled at each other.

"i love you." johnny said, holding bella close to him.

"i love you too." bella said, smiling as tears streamed down her face.

the couple remained in each other's embrace, holding each other tightly as they've waited for this moment for 23 years. after a few seconds of silence while the stared into each other's eyes, they laughed as they heard chrissy call out to them. 

"well, it's about damn time!"