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Miguel stood in front of the door to the LaRusso home. He had just gotten back from Mexico a few hours ago. As he expected his mom and Yaya were all over him when he got back. There was a combination of yelling at him, hugging him, hitting him, and crying upon his return.
He only paid minimal attention to them however. His mind was instead preoccupied by the lack of a certain brunette. Miguel knew that Sam was aware that he was coming home today, Robby had told him that he texted her to inform her of the news. And according to Robby she responded to said text saying that was great news. Despite that though, she was nowhere to be seen when he got home.
When Miguel left the All Valley Tournament almost 4 weeks ago he was acutely aware of the fact that it may be the last time he ever saw Sam, on good terms at least. He had no idea how she would react to his mission to find his dad. Optimistically he hoped that she was supportive and understanding, but he also knew that leaving without telling her where he was going was a move that he may never be able to make up to her. He was well aware of the fact that she might resent him forever. But he had to find his father, and he couldn’t let the worry of what Sam thought hold him back.
He took a shaky breath and he hesitantly pressed the doorbell. After a few moments he heard shuffling behind the door. He heard locks clicking as they were undone. Finally the door opened and he was greeted by both Mr. and Mrs. LaRusso.
The couple gave him weary and sad smiles. They knew why he was there.
“Hi, Miguel.” Amanda said quietly.
“Hi, Mrs. LaRusso. Umm is Sam here..? I really need to talk to her.” Miguel responded.
Daniel and Amanda shared a sad look before Amanda responded. “She’s up in her room. Why don’t you head on up,” she said with a hint of sadness in her voice that Miguel picked up on.
Miguel nodded his head and walked to the steps and began ascending them towards where he knew Sam’s room was. Daniel, who had remained silent so far, turned towards Amanda.
“Are you sure that was a good idea?” he asked Amanda skeptically.
Amanda sighed. “They’ll have to talk eventually. Might as well not drag it on any longer for either of them.”
Meanwhile upstairs Miguel had reached the door to Sam’s room. It was closed so he tapped on it lightly.
“Sam… it’s me.”
A small voice responded back to him. “It’s unlocked, you can come in.”
With a shaky hand Miguel reached for the doorknob. As he stepped into the room he immediately noticed the differences from the last time he was in her room. Her sais that she normally displayed proudly on her dresser were nowhere to be seen. Her gym bag with her karate stuff, that was normally at the foot of her bed at all times, wasn't there.
The pain and sadness in his heart began to grow as he took account of the other things missing in her room. Sr. Octopus, who had found a permanent home on her bed the last few months, was now removed. The pictures of them from over the last five months that she had taped to her mirror had all been taken down. Only one picture of him remained in her room. It was a blown up version of the picture they took in the photobooth on their first date almost a year and a half ago. It was displayed in a picture frame on her night stand. Other than that though, there was no trace of him in her room anymore.
Sam had turned in her desk chair to face him as he entered her room. He had stopped at the door right when he entered, not really sure what to do. He wanted to hug her. He wanted to lift her off her feet and kiss her and never let her go. But he knew he really didn’t have that right anymore after what he did to her.
Thankfully he didn’t have to stand there for too long. After an awkward moment Sam got up out of her chair and tackled him in a crushing hug. Miguel wasted no time in wrapping his arms around her. He buried his head into her neck, taking in the familiar scent of her lavender shampoo. Her skin was as soft as he remembered it. For the first time in weeks he felt like he was truly safe. Like he was at home.
After a lengthy hug the two slowly unwrapped themselves from each other, but they still kept their hands on each other. Sam’s hands were holding his upper arms gently, and Miguel had his hands hanging carefully above her waist.
The two stood there in silence and stared at each other. Like always, Miguel found himself lost in her sapphire blue eyes. Eyes that were shining as she clearly tried to hold back waves of tears. He then found himself unconsciously glancing down at her lips. They were glistening slightly. He wondered if she still wore the same cherry lip gloss. God, he wished so much that he could kiss her. But once again, he knew he lost that right weeks ago.
Finally, unable to take the awkwardness anymore, Sam moved to sit on her bed.
“You should probably sit down,” she said. His heart twisted as he made note of the sadness in her voice.
Miguel sat down on her bed with her, making sure to keep a good distance between them. Sam played with her hands in her lap as she sat there.
“I’m really glad you’re back,” she said with a weary smile. “I’m glad you’re safe.”
Miguel only nodded at her in response.
“Did you find what you were looking for?” Sam asked.
Miguel sighed. “Yes, I did. I found out that my real dad is just about the worst person imaginable. I found out that there is no one for me to get to know really. I don’t want to know him. I know who I am without him. I know who my family is. It’s my mom, Yaya, and Johnny…” he trailed off.
“I see… but not me.” Sam said as she noted how he mentioned nothing of her.
Miguel looked down at his lap. “I — I’m not really sure. I’m pretty sure I lost that right to consider you family when I left without telling you anything.”
“Yeah…” Sam replied sadly. “I do understand why you had to do it though. I’m really glad you found what you needed to find.”
Miguel nodded at her. “So… what about us then? Where do we go from here?” he asked, trying to keep his voice calm and even.
Sam reached over and took one of his hands. She then turned her head to face him. Miguel noticed the tears pooled in her eyes as she looked at him.
“I don’t think I can do this anymore,” Sam said, her voice cracking. She sniffled and forced herself to continue on. “Do you know what it was like to sit around for two weeks while you were in a coma? Having no idea if the next call I received would be from your mom telling me you woke up, or that you didn’t…”
The truth was, Miguel didn’t know what that was like. For him, when he was in his coma it was like no time had passed. He remembered falling over the railing at school, and then the next thing he knew it was two weeks later and he was waking up at the hospital. He had no understanding of what it was like for Sam to sit in her room day after day not knowing what would happen to him. He didn’t understand the agony that she would have gone through, that all his family went through. He couldn’t understand, he’d never be able to understand what it was like for them during those two weeks.
“No…” he responded quietly.
Sam nodded and continued on.
“Did you think about what it would be like for me when you went away to Mexico? On your own with no one to help you. You knew how dangerous it was. How do you think I felt sitting here for weeks not knowing if you were okay? You were in another country and even though you said you’d be back, there was no way to guarantee that.”
This one Miguel could understand somewhat. The reason he didn’t tell Sam he was leaving was because he knew exactly how dangerous it would be. He wanted to sound confident that he would be alright when he wrote his letter, but when he was in Mexico he had a number of close calls. He knew he was lucky to have made it back okay. He once again had put Sam in a situation where she could do nothing but sit around and hope he would be okay. And this time it wasn’t because of an accident or circumstance, it was because of a decision he made.
“I’m sorry Sam, I really am. I had to do this though.” Miguel replied.
At that Sam gave Miguel a genuine smile. “I know you did Miguel. And I am so so happy that you found what you were looking for. I’m beyond glad that your journey gave you the answers you needed. I’m glad it provided you clarity on what’s important in your life. I truly am so happy for you. But Miguel, I can’t keep leaving myself in situations where my heart is torn and stressed when something happens to you. What if something else comes up and you are once again in a dangerous place? What if you have to leave again?”
Miguel looked at Sam. “Sam, I promise, I’m never leaving you again.”
“Don’t make promises you can’t keep, Miguel,” Sam replied sadly.
“I can keep this promise though!” Miguel argued.
Sam shook her head sadly. “Can you though? When we started dating a year and a half ago who would have possibly imagined the whole dojo war? How could we have guessed you would have ended up in a coma for some time? Six months ago when you came back to school I never would have guessed that in a few months you would leave for another country to find your biological dad. Not to mention that we graduate high school in just under a year. What happens if we end up at different colleges? Will long distance even work for us?”
Sam was right, Miguel realized. None of what had happened to them in the last almost two years was predictable. Their relationship kept getting the strangest challenges thrown at them. The worst conflicts imaginable to overcome. He couldn’t promise her anything, not when they’re life was in such disarray. Cobra Kai had won the All Valley, who knows what would come next in regards to the karate world. College was a year away like she said, what if she was right and they ended up at different colleges.
Miguel slowly came to the realization that every time their relationship finally gets to a good place, a problem is thrown at them that they could never have seen coming. It wasn’t healthy. It wasn’t healthy for Sam to keep going through stressful situations time and time again. In less than a year she’s had to twice deal with the possibility of never seeing him again. That wasn’t fair to her.
So finally Miguel asked the question. “So what now then?”
Sam looked back up at Miguel. She had stopped trying to hide the tears in her eyes. She turned to face him completely and took his other hand in her own.
“Miguel, I will always love you. I will always be there for you. If you ever need me, I’ll come running, I don’t care how far apart we are. That much I can promise. I just can’t keep loving you in the way you deserve. I can’t keep putting my heart on the line like this. I love you, but I can’t be in love with you. I really wish I could. Maybe someday when all this is over we can make this work. When there’s no more karate. When college is finished. When life finally is done messing with us. Right now though, I just can’t do this anymore. I’m sorry…”
Miguel had been holding back tears so far but he finally let them flow. He looked at the gorgeous brunette in front of him. They had so many great times together, but they also had so many bad moments. Life kept throwing them obstacle after obstacle, and he couldn’t let Sam deal with that anymore. He loved her too much to do that to her.
The two looked at each other in silence. Both staring deeply into the other's eyes. Their eyes flitted between each other's eyes and their lips.
There was one more thing Miguel wanted before he left. When he left the tournament he had hoped it wouldn’t be goodbye, but in a way, it had been.
“Can I kiss you? One more time?” Miguel asked in a low voice.
“Yes,” Sam responded in an equally low voice.
The two closed their eyes and leaned in. Miguel’s hand reached around and grabbed the nape of Sam’s neck. His hand glided through her chocolate brown locks. Sam’s hands both nestled themselves into the jet black locks of Miguel’s hair. She played with it absentmindedly as the two sighed into each other’s mouth. Miguel taking in the familiar taste of Sam’s cherry lip gloss. Sam relishing in the taste of Miguel’s cherry soda breath.
Finally the two, now former lovers, break the kiss hesitantly. Neither really wanting to let go.
Miguel stands up, not sure how much longer he can hold it together.
“I guess I’ll see you around then.” Miguel says to Sam sadly as he walks towards her door.
“Bye, Miguel,” Sam says.
As soon as Miguel shuts her door Sam erupts into sobs. She stuffs her head into her pillows and screams. She knew it was the right choice, the healthy choice, but that didn’t make it hurt any less. Sam loved Miguel, but she had to love herself too. And staying with him wasn’t something she could keep putting herself through.
When Miguel got into his car he broke down as well. His tears became full blown sobs. Sam was the girl of his dreams, but he knew he couldn’t keep putting her through the stress their relationship caused her. Maybe the universe just hated them.
Maybe in another time, in another life, or in another world Sam and Miguel managed to make it work. Maybe in different circumstances Love Conquers All. Or maybe that’s just in folklore and fairytales. The truth is though, sometimes love isn’t enough. Sometimes true love is not meant to be. Maybe Miguel and Sam just weren’t meant to be…