Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

      The first time Daniel sees her, it’s while he’s about to confront Johnny about what Kyler told him. He still feels a pang of guilt about the life Johnny’s led—no matter how deplorable it became, part of him knows that forces outside his control shaped Johnny—but Kyler’s words and appearance tell a clear story, and there’s no acceptable reason to beat a bunch of high schoolers.

      When Daniel heard that Johnny was reopening Cobra Kai, a part of him wanted nothing more than to throw up. It’s like a shadow from the past, one he thought he had defeated, stretching its long, dark fingers back into his life, threatening everything he’s built. 

     He cannot, for the life of him, imagine what could have gone through Johnny’s head to think reopening the dojo was a good idea, especially when the LaRusso thinks about what happened after the tournament in 84. 

     And yet, there he is, standing in the new Cobra Kai dojo, the smell of fresh paint in the air and the floor still being cleaned. He’s bracing himself to yell, to demand answers, to make Johnny explain—when he notices her.

     She is a small girl but a teenager nevertheless, no older than Samantha, though, with blonde hair and a delicate frame. She interrupts the beginning of his pre-prepared speech and really shakes his point of view.

    "He's telling the truth," She says after Daniel talks about how unbelievable it is to hear Johnny Lawrence calling someone an asshole, and something in the way she says it just screams that she is being honest. He turns to face her. 

     The LaRusso is about to say something when the girl continues.

       "Kyler and his friends beat the crap out of Miguel after he blew their cover at the Mini Mart. They were trying to pass for college students so that they could buy alcohol. So when Miguel accidentally ruined their plans, they beat him up, dumped his grandma's medicine on him, and have been bullying him at school ever since."

      And Daniel needs to take a pause here because, truly, his Samantha, his precious sweet girl, is walking with kids who pretend to be college students to get alcohol and, worse, beat another kid when he gets in the way of their plans? This doesn’t make sense to him. 

       He definitely raised, or wants to believe he did, his kids better than this. 

      Sadly, the girl doesn't care about the parental crisis she started and continues. 

      "And another thing, your daughter and her friends were the ones who wrecked Sensei Lawrence's car. So, with all due respect, Mr. LaRusso, the least you could have done was repair it free of charge."

       That's what gets a verbal reaction from him. Samantha would never do something like that. 

    ( He ignores the fact that she is changing a lot now that she has made new friends, and how they never see Aisha anymore) 

    “ What?" Daniel says while shaking his head. "That's not possible. Sam would never do something like that." 

      He hopes so. The girl - he should have asked for her name, but the situation just made that seem unimportant - explains about how she heard them talking about it at school and suggests he ask her himself if Daniel still doesn’t believe. 

      "I will," It's all that can be said after that, with a head full of thoughts and only when he is already at home, about to talk with his daughter, Daniel realizes he didn't ask for the girl's name or even if the boy Kyler and his friends beat up is alright. 

---

       The next time he sees the girl, he doesn’t recognize her at first, mostly because her costume makes it hard to recognize her, but also because Daniel never got over his dislike for Skeleton costumes after THAT halloween. 

       He is aware that costumes like this always make him look like a fish trying to breathe out of water or someone who just saw a freshly dead ghost, but the man just can’t control that, not really. Daniel remembers how Anthony really wanted to be a skeleton for Halloween when he was 9, and Amanda bought the costume, but the older LaRusso couldn't look at his son's smiling face without a grimace.

      So, if you ask Daniel, it's totally fair that he is uncertain when the skeleton girl gets close to him, even though he is a full-grown adult. 

    "Hi, Mr. LaRusso," - The girl says, and she is a little bit familiar. 

    "...Hi," Daniel says, his voice coming better than he thought it would, then. "Have we met?"

    Skeleton girl looks at him with something akin to pity but also a little bit of annoyance. 

     "Yeah, you came into my sensei's dojo a few weeks ago, remember?" She says, "Did you ask your daughter about the car wreck?" 

      It's impossible to avoid the grimace now, even though the matter is already solved, and Samatha got grounded; he is still frustrated that she didn’t come to him with the problem in the first place.

      Daniel is wise enough to recognise that he also isn't happy about the way the conversation about her new friendships went. But Skeleton Girl seems truly interested in knowing, and she was the one who told him so; he kind of feels like he owes her one answer about it. 

     "I did. Thank you for sharing that information with me."

    "It's no problem," Skeleton girl says, and Daniel really should ask for her name; it must be rude to just address her that way. "It seems like you and my sensei have a lot of misunderstandings, and I just wanted to clear things up. Thank you for listening."

     Right, He had actually forgotten the kid was Cobra Kai, even though the truth is on his face with this costume from the past Christmas, or past Halloween, he corrects. 

     "Will you excuse us?" Daniel asks Counselor Blatt, handing off his cup of punch to her. He doesn’t wait for Blatt to answer before guiding the girl a little away from the other students and turning to face her. 

      This is important, Daniel can see that this isn’t a bad kid - A little voice in his head, that sounds like Mrs. Miyagi, says that Johnny also was a not bad kid before, and maybe it's his duty to warn her, to prevent this girl who actually reminds him of Sam to became her worst version at Cobra Kai, so he faces her and prepares to talk before remembering he doesn’t knoe her name. 

 
    "Listen―I'm sorry, you seem to have me at a disadvantage. What's your name?"

     "I'm Lorena." Skeleton Gir-Lorena says. 

     "Lorena," he began with a somber expression. "You seem like a nice kid. And my past with your…sensei aside," 

      And physically hurts to call Johnny a sensei. This word to him is to people like Mr. Miyagi, people who love and breathe Karate and respect its rules and..  

     "You shouldn't believe a word he says. You don't want to end up like him."

      Lorena frowns. It should make her look serious and mature, but it only reminds him of how much of a kid she is. He knows it's a condescending thought, but can't help but feel responsible. She is young, Cobra Kai probably feels empowering for her, Lorena doesn't understand yet how ruthless it is or how corrupt it can become. 

     "End up like him, how?" - The blonde girl asks, a little bit impatient but still willing to hear, so he continues. 

      "Strike first, 'no mercy'―it's garbage. You think it's making you stronger, but what it's really doing is, it's turning you into a bully," He tries to be as sincere as he can be. "It's not too late for you, Lorena. You can still turn back."

         It probably seems unfair to her to say she is turning into a bully when he doesn't even know the girl, but Daniel had experience firsthand with the whole 'Strike first'.  It's not a good experience. Lorena doesn’t seem to care, only shaking her head. 

      "Cobra Kai is ruthless," She starts, "but I'm not loyal to the dojo because of their creed. I'm loyal because I trust Sensei Lawrence. Sure, he's rough around the edges, but he's not cruel. You used to know my sensei when you guys were younger, but do you know him now?"

     Daniel can't say he does; he is also surprised by how much the girls trust Johnny. 

     "...No," he conceded,"But I do know Cobra Kai. And nothing good can be gained from it. At least, not in the long-term."

     "Were you in Cobra Kai?"

     He really doesn’t want to talk about this.  He also believes that when you face someone in a fight, you can get to know this person better and more truly than if you are only by the person's side. 

    "Like I said, it's garbage. You should leave while you still can."

      Lorena seems to take this as the end of the conversation; it really is. Daniel can think of something he is willing to talk about that would convince her, she sighs. 

    "I see. Thank you for sharing your thoughts with me. Bye, Mr. LaRusso."

     Daniel watches her join her friends, the other Cobra Kai boy with the same costume, and hopes Lorena awakens before Cobra Kai corrupts the good kid he thinks she is. 

---

    Daniel thinks that it is the last time he is going to see Lorena for a long time, but is surprised by her sudden appearance later, while he is arguing with Johnny again.

       At first, he doesn’t even see her; they hear her scream before she really appears, and Daniel sees how Johnny’s entire body language changes from aggressive/defensive to worried while he drops all of the stupid posters to run to Lorena when she screams for him.

       It’s something he never thought he would see. The way Johnny runs to Lorena is almost like Daniel imagines himself running to Samantha in a similar situation, and Daniel struggles to reconcile the image he had of Johnny Lawrence with this Paternal, worried version of him. 

     The universe isn't going to give him enough time to correct his life view before Lorena continues, too fast and too panicked. 

    "Sensei," She gasps, visibly catching her breath. It's the kind of out of breath when you are so worried about another person that your need for air looks irrelevant.  "It's Kyler and his friends again. They caught Miguel in the locker room. I think they're going to hurt him real bad this time."

     Daniel breaths through the panic he feels, remembering another Halloween night while He hears Johnny reassuring Lorena and prepares to run after him before telling the blonde girl to grab a teacher.

     He takes the sight of the group beating the skeleton Boy - Miguel - with more ease than he thought he would, and Daniel even fights together with Johnny Lawrence against the kid, not with full strength, but enough to teach a lesson and remember that these are the kids the other man had beaten before. 

     A part of Daniel just can’t disagree with that act now.  He doesn’t like the fact that he is going to have to explain everything to Blatt. 

    At least Johnny takes the kids - his kids, a part of Daniel’s mind supplies - back home. And this night doesn’t end how it was supposed to - a normal party, with no stress and a chance to observe Samantha and her new friends - but it also doesn’t end in the worst possible way. 

       Daniel LaRusso supposes he also has to thank Lorena for this. 

Chapter Text

His mom’s drinking always set the tone for the day. If it were just a couple of beers, she’d be loose, talkative, almost fun. If it was vodka, then it was either loud and messy or silent and hungover. Robby had learned to read the bottles in the trash like weather forecasts.

That morning, or maybe it was afternoon—time didn’t really matter when Shannon was curled up on the couch with a blanket and a headache—she’d told him something that made his stomach twist. 

“Your dad called,” she’d muttered, eyes half-shut, the smell of stale liquor clinging to her words. “Said you’ve been skipping school. Asked if you wanted to… stay with him or something.” Then she gave a dry laugh, sharp and bitter. “It’s so typical of Johnny to care now, after all this time. Figures.”

Robby wanted to dismiss it. Wanted to roll his eyes, say something cutting, let it slide into the pile of useless, disappointing things his dad had always been. But he couldn’t.

Because under all the anger, all the resentment, there was still that pathetic spark inside him—the one that wanted Johnny Lawrence to give a damn. The one who wanted to be enough for his dad to stick around.

And that, more than anything Shannon said, made him feel sick. 

----

The day after, Robby decided to check on his dad in person. Johnny Lawrence was practically allergic to technology, still clinging to some beat-up landline he never bothered to answer. Robby remembered all the times he’d called, years ago, when he still thought Johnny cared, waiting for his dad to pick up so Robby could ask something stupid, just to hear his voice, talk about his day, maybe even get a “good job, kid.” The phone rang and rang until it didn’t.

Now, standing halfway down the block, close to the newly opened Cobra Kai, Robby froze. Because there he was. Johnny Lawrence. His dad. The man that Robby wants to hate more than anything, but also the man he wants to love him, to see Robby, and maybe,  a small part of him thinks, try to have a close relationship with. 

The Keene boy reminds himself that he came here because his father tried to give a damn, so he is trying, and Robby should at least pretend to believe. His mother told him so. 

But now, looking at his father, the boy just wants to leave.  Because it's his Dad and he isn’t slouched on a couch with a beer or yelling at some stranger, or swearing at Daniel LaRusso’s face when some ad with the man appeared on the TV, he was talking. 

Actually talking. Animated. Friendly. Or as close to this as Johnny Lawrence can be all of these things. With a kid. A boy about Robby’s age.

The kid laughed at something, teasing Johnny in a way that was light, easy, like they’d been doing it for a long time.. Even from a distance, Robby could see it: the admiration in the boy’s eyes, the kind of look Robby used to practice in the mirror when he was little. It’s the kind of look Robby used to have when he went to see his dad, before just leaving disappointed because Johnny forgot it was his day with him, or was too tired to do anything, and...

And Johnny, Robby's father, was smiling back. Not the fake, forced grin he’d give when people expected it, but something softer, something that slipped past the tough-guy exterior.

Robby’s stomach twisted. He didn’t know this kid. Didn’t know his name, but he thinks that already hates him, because whoever he was, that boy had something Robby had been waiting his whole damn life to get. He leaves before his dad sees him and regrets even thinking that Johnny would want to be really part of his life when it’s very clear that his dad got a better substitute he can play house with. 

Robby throws his backpack onto the couch and shuts the door harder than he means to. He prays she doesn’t bring anyone back with her. He’s not in the mood to hear that tonight. Normally, he’d crash at Trey’s place, tune it all out, but they’d had a fight earlier, and he’s not exactly welcome there right now.

So it’s just him. The empty apartment. The reek of perfume lingering like a ghost.

This day had been one long kick in the teeth. Seeing Johnny, his dad, smiling, actually smiling, at some random kid like he was proud of him, like he mattered. Robby’s chest still burned from it.

He drops onto his bed without bothering to turn on the light, staring at the cracked ceiling. For a second, he thinks about calling his mom, just to check where she is, or maybe even his dad, just to scream at him. But he doesn’t. What’s the point? Johnny wouldn’t answer. He never did. 

And yet, as much as he tries to bury it, the thought won’t leave him alone. That stupid look on the kid’s face. The look of someone who had Johnny’s attention, Johnny’s approval.

Robby thinks about how he can make his dad hurt the way he is hurting right now, thinks a lot of things, really. Most thoughts are just him expressing his frustration; others are him trying to understand why that boy instead of Robby, and another stray thought thinks that's because the problem isn’t his dad, but him. 

Some random kid shows up, and suddenly he remembers how to be a dad? Guess I just wasn’t worth the effort… but also that kid probably doesn’t screw up. Probably doesn’t ditch school or get into fights. Probably makes it easy for you to be proud of him. 

That Kid is wanted, and Robby knows that he is an ops baby. His mom loves him, but he also knows she loves alcohol and partying more. He stole her youth when he was born. Shannon wasn’t ready to be a mother, and Johnny wasn’t ready to be a father. 

One of them decided to at least try, but Robby recognizes that sometimes his mom feels more like a roommate than a parent, so maybe it's his fault for being such a burden, but he still wants to get a little revenge on the other one.

----

His friends want to hang out on Halloween, but Robby just isn’t in the mood. His mother left, like she does every year, to go to some party that won’t end until the next morning, when she’ll come home, hopefully alone but completely hungover. So he decides to stay at home.

It’s not exactly productive or healthy, but Robby tries to look for his father online (fat chance, considering the man who only ever had a landline isn’t likely to have social media) or maybe one of his father’s students on Instagram. For some reason, he finds the boy easily and learns his name for the first time: Miguel.

And it hurts to see his father being a dad to someone else in a way he never was to him. Because that’s exactly what it looks like. Miguel has just posted pictures of himself and Johnny, “Sensei,” since it seems that Miguel only calls him that, in a pretty cool costume, actually.

There’s this caption, stupidly short, but it makes Robby wonder if his dad helped Miguel with the costume. Then he notices his dad has another student, a girl. The girl ,  tagged in Miguel’s story, looks small, with blond hair. 

In the story, there are pictures of her and Miguel already in costume, so it’s hard to make out her features. Robby doesn’t really want to look deeper into her or even Miguel; he already feels like he has gone too far, because it feels stupid and pathetic to be jealous of someone just for training with, spending time with, and getting attention from a man who never cared enough about his own son.

Still, curiosity wins.

Robby has seen the way his father treats Miguel. He didn’t see the girl that day, so he’s curious whether she’s just as close to his dad as Miguel is. Her name, apparently, is Lorena.

And, surprisingly, she doesn’t have a lot of pictures or followers, and also doesn’t follow a lot of people. There's a single post of a sunset that makes Robby roll his eyes - not one of those girls, please-  and this one she just posted where Miguel and she are glaring into the camera, looking a bit creepy in a muted light.

Robby recognizes what looks like his dad’s dojo in the background and reads the caption: Skeleton Crew. He’s still reading it when the next post appears, probably just posted. It’s a weird situation to be the first person to see it, because he was kind of stalking Loren, but he recognizes his dad’s hair instantly.

His dad, Mr. Alpha-Moves-and-Tough-Guy, is actually sitting there painting Lorena’s face. Yeah, that pretty much confirms it : that his father helped them with their costumes. It's a cute picture. 

Robby doesn’t even get the chance to feel hurt or angry about it, because it’s not like he ever had the chance to spend a single Halloween with his dad helping with costumes or trick-or-treating. But then the caption under that picture makes him freeze.

It’s just a hashtag. It really shouldn’t make him feel so angry, hurt, or betrayed. But it does.

#girldad.

---

He spends more time looking at this picture than he should. Robby knows it’s true. It’s just a single picture of his dad and his, apparently, sister. But it feels like so much more than that.

It’s Robby, still a small kid, alone at home after he already ate the snacks his mom left before going out, watching some colorful, childish animation, the same one he once tried to watch at his father’s house, before Johnny called it “a cartoon for sissies.”

Just little Robby, alone, watching two characters who are siblings hug each other and promise they’ll always be there for each other. 

It’s that same Robby, watching two sisters play together in the park during one of the rare times his mother was sober enough to take him there and actually play with him. It’s the twins on little Robby’s football team, always having each other’s backs.

It’s so much more because Robby remembers when he still believed his mom and dad would get back together, and he’d finally have a complete family, until the day he asked his mom if she and his dad could give him a sibling.

“Doesn’t matter if it’s a baby girl or a baby boy,” he remembers trying to explain. “But they have to play with me and—”

And Robby remembers how his mom looked at his face, then up at the ceiling, before opening the fridge to grab a beer.

“Hell no. One accident was enough,” she said without looking at him. Robby remembers the words so clearly, even though he was probably seven or eight at the time. “I definitely don’t need another one.”

And Robby was young, probably around 7, but old enough to understand that the “accident” was him. So he never asked his dad about getting a sibling.

Well. Look at this now. His dad got one for him anyway.

---

Robby processes the news very well, if he must say so. There's a bunch of stupid feelings and emotions about the whole shit show drama. His head is in the days after Halloween, even when he hangs out with his friends and thinks about his little revenge plan; these thoughts never leave his mind. 

And he doesn’t go near the dojo. He tells himself he doesn’t care enough to. But that doesn’t stop him from checking Lor’s profile every couple of days, pretending it’s just boredom when he scrolls through it or sees one of her stories on instagram or sees her in some of Miguel’s posts. 

It’s ridiculous, he knows. But it’s the only way he gets to see her, to see them. Johnny, standing behind his students like he’s proud of them. Like he ever gave a damn about his own kid.

Miguel looks like the golden boy, and Robby hates him for it, though it’s not really Miguel’s fault. And Lorena… Lorena is the worst part. 

Because she doesn’t look like him or a lot like their dad besides the blonde hair, but sometimes there’s something in her face, the way she smirks, or the no-nonsense way she talks that feels too familiar, remembering him or their dad in a way that goes beyond appearance.  

And the boy can’t help but feel like something that should have been his, if life had gone any differently.

The worst part is that Robby doesn’t know if Lorena even knows he exists. He doubts Johnny would tell her. Why would he? Who brags about a dropout son who can barely keep his head above water?

Especially now that he had a golden substitute son in Migue and the perfect bio kid in Lorena. 

And yet Robby wants her to know. Wants her to look at him and see family.
But he doesn’t get to have that. Not with her. Not with Johnny. Not with anyone.

So instead of going anywhere near Cobra Kai, Robby starts looking for something else. Somewhere else. Somewhere that isn’t poisoned with Johnny’s shadow.

---

Things get better. Better than they’ve ever been, maybe. Robby can feel it in small and in big ways, like how he gets money without having to run scams, and with how Mrs. LaRusso treats him like he matters instead of like dead weight, and Mrs. LaRusso… well, Daniel doesn’t know everything, but he sees him. Not the screw-up, not the dropout. Just… Robby. And it's enough.

Almost enough.

Because every time Daniel shows him something new in training, every time Amanda asks him to handle something at work, and thanks him after, Robby remembers the lie. 

He remembers the real reason he even walked into that dealership, and how he never corrected it. And now? He can’t. He’s too deep, he cares, and he doesn’t want to lose this. If Daniel knew the truth, if Sam knew, Robby doesn’t even want to think about losing it all.

So when Sam invites him to this party, he says yes. She is attractive and funny and totally his type, but the boy knows she has a boyfriend even though things are tense between them. 

Robby’s not stupid; he can tell it’s about the boyfriend, probably about making him jealous, because he realized how she feels jealous of her boyfriend’s friend. Who is a girl. 

  Sam doesn’t say it, but he sees the way her smile doesn’t quite reach her eyes when she asks; she knows what she is doing and feels guilty about using him that way, but isn’t changing her mind. 

And Robby’s fine with that, he can think of this as a way to help a friend.  He’s fine being the distraction if it means keeping his spot in this life that finally feels halfway solid, but then he hears who’s throwing the party. Cobra Kai. Which means Miguel will be there. And Lorena.

And that makes it complicated.

Robby tells himself it doesn’t matter. That she won’t even notice him in the crowd, and if she does, she won’t know who he is. But the truth is, the thought of being in the same room as her makes his chest feel tight. Like he’s about to step into a fight he hasn’t trained for.

Still, he’s going. Because this is what you do when you’ve spent your whole life on the outside looking in. When someone finally opens the door, even if it’s for the wrong reasons, you walk through it. That feels like something Mrs. LaRusso would say or Mrs. Miyagi, so it must make sense. 

But when they arrive, Robby wants to beat himself because He should have thought better about coming here. After all, Sam told him her boyfriend was Cobra Kai and that her dad couldn’t know about this, but she didn’t tell him he was MIGUEL, and now, Robby is meeting his dad’s substitute son and his sister in a way he didn’t prepare to. 

The two of them came together, arms linked, and part of Robby realizes that the girl Sam was insecure about was his sister. And oh. He’s here to make Miguel jealous…

"Hey," Sam says with a strained smile, her eyes fixed on their tangled arms. Robby only observes as Lorena unhooks her arm from Miguel’s, and the other boy shoots Keene a wary look.

Okay. The jealousy part worked for better or worse. He hears Miguel asking who he is, your sensei’s real son, Robby thinks about saying, while Sam is answering, but he doesn’t really listen. He’s too busy absorbing everything he can about Lorena. Still, he remembers to be polite at the right moment.

"Nice to meet you."

 "Yeah," Miguel says coolly.

And Lorena must feel how uncomfortable the atmosphere is getting, because she speaks up. "Miguel said you guys needed to talk? I'll keep your friend company for now."

Without waiting for a response, she grabs Robby by the sleeve of his jacket and pulls him along.

"You want a drink?"
"Uh, sure?"

Not how he planned their first encounter. She probably doesn’t even know who or what he is, and he’s already messing it up.

But Lorena doesn’t seem to mind his awkwardness. She directs him, surprisingly, to a cooler without alcohol, which he’s thankful for. Trey and the other guys always gave him grief about avoiding alcohol, and Robby’s never been much of a party person. Whenever he ends up at one, it usually means sipping tap water out of a cup and pretending.

So he’s surprised when she asks what he wants, and he answers that he wants a Sprite.

"You can set the blanket down on one of those chairs for now," Lorena says, nodding toward a pair of free camp chairs as she gets his drink. Robby nods back.

"Thanks," he mutters, before dropping the blanket he probably isn’t getting back. Lorena already poured the Sprite into a cup, and he’s probably being weird, staring at her more than is socially acceptable.

"It's you..." slips out before he can stop himself.

The blonde looks confused.
"You," he repeats, since he already started. "You're Dad’s other kid."

Lorena keeps looking lost until some understanding finally shines on her face. Robby wonders again if she actually knows who he is.

"...Yeah," she says slowly, like it’s a conclusion she isn’t sure about. "And you’re Robby."

The rest of her answer surprises him, and a little spark of stupid hope flares inside—maybe Dad mentioned him, even briefly.

"Dad told you about me?"
"No, Sam just introduced you, remember?"

Of course, he didn’t. The spark fizzles out. Robby doesn’t know why he expected it to be different.

"Right. But… you know who I am?" he asks hesitantly.
"Well, if you calling Sensei ‘Dad’ didn’t give it away, I’m not sure what else would. But yes, I know you’re his son."

Oh. So she knows. That they’re siblings. Robby doesn’t know what to say now, so all that comes out is:
 

"Oh."

Lorena stays silent too, and he realizes it’s on him to keep the conversation alive. He goes with the first and probably only thing he can think of.

"How is it? Being in his dojo?"

He stares into his drink. Robby knows what it’s like training with Mrs. LaRusso, but part of him wonders what it’s like training with his dad, making him proud.

"It’s tough," she answers cautiously, before a small smile appears. "But fun. I didn’t realize it would be when I first joined."

"Why did you?" he can’t help but ask. Partly because he wants to know her, and partly because, if this is what made Dad care about her, he might have got another reason to resent him.

"Truthfully? I didn’t mean to," she admits, shutting the cooler lid and picking up her own cup. "I was kind of messing with him, because he had this whole shtick about how girls weren’t allowed in Cobra Kai. So I gave him a hard time about it."

Sounds exactly like him. Robby rolls his eyes before saying it aloud.
"Yeah," Lorena agrees, looking a little done with the world. "I love him, but Sensei’s an idiot."

Robby notices how she calls their father by his title. It feels… off.

"You always call him ‘Sensei’?"
"Uh, yeah," she answers, a little defensive. "Habit’s kind of hard to break."

Oh. Yeah, he gets that. In his own way. Still, he thought they’d be closer.
"Oh. I get it, I think."

He pauses, then asks the question that’s been on his mind since Halloween.
"Has… has he been in your life long?"

For how long did he know about you and still choose to hide it from me?

"Uh, since September? But I moved out to Reseda over the summer, so we wouldn’t have crossed paths much before that."

The answer stings and also makes him sad for her. 

 When he first found out about Lorena, he wanted to hate her for getting the dad he never had. But now he realizes it’s not like that. It’s good that at least one of them gets something resembling a real father.

He was glad she had that. But knowing it’s so recent makes him frown. Around the time Dad called Mom, wasn’t it? Maybe reconnecting with Lorena made Johnny try to reconnect with him too… and Robby messed it all up because he couldn’t handle seeing his dad being a decent human being to another kid. 

"I’m Lorena, by the way."
"I know." He explains quickly. "I found you on Instagram after I saw you with Dad the first time. That’s how I found out."

She starts to respond, but the shouts around them interrupt. Lorena smirks when Robby asks what’s going on.

 "Looks like Aisha is kicking Hawk’s ass at beer pong," she laughs. "You want to go see?"
"Sure."

He can do that.

Lorena leads the way, pushing through the crowd with the confidence of someone on a mission. They make it to the front just as the scene unfolds: the girl—Aisha—has three cups left, while the guy with the ridiculous hair—Hawk—has only one. And it’s her turn.

The cheering swells, Lorena joining in before elbowing him to chant too. Not his thing. Trey always complains that Robby just broods at parties, but right now he’s actually having fun. And when he catches Lorena’s wide smile out of the corner of his eye, he feels it too.

"Aisha! Aisha! Aisha!"

He even yells when Aisha wins. She’s grinning, basking in victory, until her smile turns mischievous as the crowd starts chanting at Hawk:
"Chug! Chug! Chug! Chug!"

Another game is about to start, but Lorena hooks her arm through his again and pulls him toward a campfire.

"So," she says once they find an open spot, "you work for Mr. LaRusso?"

Robby had hoped she wouldn’t catch that detail. He blames Sam for ruining his chance to bring it up more smoothly. Because if Lorena is Johnny’s daughter, then she knows exactly how much he loathes Mrs. LaRusso. Anyone who knows Johnny’s Lawrence knows it, seriously. 

"Caught that, did you?"
"I did." She lets go of his arm, and he misses the contact. Pathetic. "Do either of them know?"

Hell no. He sips his drink, eyes on the fire. Explaining it is hard enough, but deciding what to do about it is even harder.
"...Not yet."
"When are you going to tell them?"
"I don’t know." He’s honest because he wants her trust and maybe she had good advice. "I only started the whole thing to piss Dad off. But… I like working for Mr. LaRusso. He’s been teaching me karate."

"Then you should tell Mr. LaRusso the truth," she says gently. "Either way, he’s gonna lose it. But at least if it comes from you, you’ll have a better shot at fixing the damage than if he finds out on his own."

Robby grimaces. She’s right, but saying it is easier than doing it.

"Yeah, probably."
"Are you participating in the All Valley tomorrow?"
"I’ve been thinking about it," he admits. "I know Mr. Miyagi didn’t approve of tournaments, but… I think I could do well."

 "Cobra Kai is competing," Lorena reminds him, though it’s obvious. "If you do come, I think you should talk to Sensei too."
He scoffs. "What for?"
"I think he’d want to support you."

Robby can’t explain to her that Johnny Lawrence has never supported him in anything. Not in school, not in sports, not in life. His Mom tried, she really did, but his dad? Never.

It’s good that Lorena gets the supportive version of Johnny Lawrence, but Robby can’t say he has experience with that, and he isn’t ready to let his dad get close enough to fail with him again.  He spends too long lost in those thoughts, in the disappointment, in the chance that maybe Johnny cares now, but he can’t risk believing it. Still, he can fight for the one adult who did support him, even if it means being honest about his lies.

The fire burns low until Lorena tosses in a few more logs, the flames flickering high again. Robby meets her gaze, determined. The firelight turns her hair golden, almost like a halo.

"I think," he says, voice steady, "I’ll talk to Mr. LaRusso tonight. I don’t want to keep lying to him."

Her smile fills his chest with pride and gratitude.

Then another guy stumbles up, babbling at Lorena, apparently too drunk and energetic to notice Robby standing there. The only thing Robby catches is his name.
 

"Hi, I’m Demetri."
"Robby." He shakes his hand anyway, amused.

"Sorry, I wasn’t interrupting anything, was I?" Ew. No.
"Demetri, you’re always interrupting something. It’s your fatal flaw."
Demetri scoffs before restarting to babble, "That’s inaccurate. And I don’t appreciate you presuming to know my fatal flaw. You see—"
"Hold that thought," Lorena cuts him off. She scans the party and the dark, then looks back at Robby.

"Hey, Robby, you might be talking to Mr. LaRusso sooner than you expected."
"What?"
"Look."

She nods toward the lot, and Robby sees Sam heading to her car. He curses.

Just when he’d finally gotten comfortable with his sister.  And Robby really wants to get to know more about Lorena, but also - Sam-. 

"We’ll talk again?"
"...Yes, I’d like that."

She blinks in surprise. Robby smiles, handing her his nearly empty Sprite.
"I’ll see you soon."

It’s both a promise and a hope.

And yeah, he forgot the blancket, didn't he?!

Chapter Text

       Carmen Diaz doesn’t quite know what to think about the girl her son brings home at first. She’s grateful that Miguel is making friends because, as his mother, she knows how hard it was for him to accept the move, but at the same time, she can’t help feeling like her son is slowly drifting away from her. And maybe that’s her fault, since she keeps coming home late, but Carmen can’t help but feel he is hiding something from her.  

       So when her Miggy finally brings the famous Lorena over, Carmen is genuinely happy. At first, she (and her mother) wondered if maybe there was something romantic going on between them, but once they met the small blond girl, it became clear they were best friends, nothing more.

      Lorena is sweet, truly a pleasure to be around, and so supportive. She answers Carmen’s questions about the debate team without hesitation, sounding sincere. She compliments Rosa’s cooking and even speaks Spanish, which makes Carmen smile at the bond forming between the two teenagers and delights her own mother to no end. 

       She truly hopes Lorena is the good influence she seems to be.

--

      Soon, Lorena becomes a regular at their dinners. While it worries Carmen, because the girl never mentions her parents and spends almost every weekday evening with them, she can’t deny that she adores the blond girl. 

     Her Miggy is more than enough, and Carmen adores him, but as Lorena slowly enters their lives and compliments her mother’s cooking with sincere and grateful smiles, the older woman can’t help but wonder if this is how it would be having a daughter too, in a world where Hector chose her and Miguel grew up with a good father.

      But then Halloween happens. And Carmen can’t help but feel a sting of betrayal and disappointment in Lorena. Don’t get her wrong, she’s just as upset with Miguel, but she’d believed Lorena was the voice of reason in their friendship.

     Counselor Blatt calls and explains the situation and how the other boys were punished, and Carmen is grateful for the girl’s intervention after everything with Miguel, just as much as she is furious with her son and with that stupid teacher who couldn’t even face her like a Hombre after what he allowed to happen to her precious boy.

         Carmen knows, in ways she hopes Miguel never does, what it means to be young and naive, thinking you’ve figured out the world, only to realize you haven’t. 

       All she’s ever wanted is to protect Miguel. She’s been doing it since before he was born, back when she was pregnant and married to Hector, already realizing her husband would never give up his position for her, forcing her to run before he even discovered she was carrying a child.

      She blames Johnny and his karate for Miguel’s assault and forbids her son from training with him ever again. But she can’t bring herself to forbid his friendship with Lorena. And when that girl shows up at her door, looking like a kicked puppy with eyes still burning with fierce determination, if such a combination is even possible, Carmen realizes she was right to allow it.

     "I got these a while back. The movie is tonight. But Miguel doesn't know about it, so he won't be disappointed if you say no."

      Carmen can appreciate the fact that Lorena cares about her relationship with her son enough to avoid even just a slight tension with something like this, but she doesn’t get why Lorena thinks that she totally grounded Miguel like a Rapunzel at home. 

      "Lorena, Miguel isn't grounded. He's just not allowed to practice karate anymore."

       "...So, we can still be friends?" Carmen must have messed up somehow if this is what this precious girl was worrying about. 

    "Yes," She says before explaining, "You can be friends and you can still come over for dinner whenever you'd like. But please don't try sneaking him off to that karate place again. I don't trust that man."

     She adds the last part because she saw that he was the one who brought Lorena there, and while she can’t exactly keep the girl away from him, she can make it clear that she disapproves.  

      "You know, it's not Sensei Lawrence's fault that those kids hurt Miguel, right?" Lorena says, tucking her phone back into her pocket. "That was already happening before he properly met him. Miguel just wanted to learn how to defend himself."

    "I don't want him fighting at all," the older woman says seriously. "Now, how are you planning on getting to the movie theater?"

   "Um, well," Lorena probably thought she wasn’t getting the permission, so she didn’t plan that far. Carmen smiles. 

   "I can drive you," She gestured for Lorena to enter while saying it. "I think it's a little too far for a bike ride."

    "Oh. That would be great, thank you." 

    Carmen even thinks that she can spare the money for popcorn. 

--

      When Johnny comes to her home with a determined yet insecure expression, Carmen feels a wave of déjà vu. He looks exactly like Lorena looked when she came to ask for forgiveness and permission. 

     She studies him carefully, torn between the memory of all the mistakes and the sincerity in his eyes now. He tells her that Miguel is the first person who never gave up on him, that Miguel and Lorena motivate him and make him want to be a better man and a better sensei. 

     When he promises that he won’t fail Miguel again, that he has no plans of failing Lorena either, because they are his responsibility, Carmen feels the words land heavier than she expected. She remembers what Lorena said when she came, and what Miguel had already confided in her. 

      Against her instinct to protect, she finds herself agreeing, because while she doesn’t know exactly what Miguel sees in their neighbor, she can clearly see how much her son cares for Johnny as a father figure and how deeply that care is reciprocated.

--

      Carmen was truly used to worrying about her son, so worrying about Lorena just happened naturally, as the girl grew closer to Miguel and to their family.
     She knows Lorena is good, she’s a fighter,  but oh, the mother inside her just aches. The blonde girl is amazing, but sometimes it’s hard to remember that, because Lorena is always so independent. And girls her age shouldn’t have to be so put together; they should be teenagers, making silly mistakes and calling their parents for help when things go wrong.

     But Lorena, at her core, is a problem fixer. Now, Carmen thinks she's also someone who faces problems head-on,  the older woman realizes as she listens to Lorena and Miguel talk about their day.
    It’s hard for the woman to look away from the bruise on Lorena’s face, a mark that tells a story she wishes the girl never had to live. Lorena said she fought back, of course, she did; that fierce little fighter spirit of hers never seems to fade. But still, the bruise stands out against her fair skin, and something in Carmen’s chest aches at the sight.

     She listens as Lorena and Miguel talk about her match with another boy,  a friend, they say, but the ease in their voices only deepens her unease. They’re too young to speak so casually about getting hurt. When one of them makes a teasing remark about the boy, Carmen gives them both a warning look, the kind only a mother can give, before getting up to answer the door.

     That day, Carmen feels silly for having worried so much about not hearing anything from Lorena’s parents. She almost feels embarrassed for taking so long to realize what becomes clear some moments later, so she doesn’t even mention it to Miguel or Rosa — after all, those two are even closer to Lorena, so they must already know.

    Because when Carmen goes to open the door,  there’s Johnny. And the woman, who is trying to see the man through Miguel’s and Lorena’s eyes, remembering the speech he gave about her son still echoing in her heart and mind, asks if he’d like to stay for dinner, even though everyone else is already finishing.

     "Oh. No, but thank you," Johnny answers awkwardly. "I'm here to pick up Lorena. I need to drive her back to her mom's."

      The way he says it is so casual. It reminds her of how one of her coworkers talks about the days he spends with his son or when he has to “return” the boy to his ex-wife. For a moment, Carmen just freezes. Could it be?
     Before she can say anything, Lorena speaks up:

   "I'll be right out. Just let me go grab my things."

      "Did you finish your dinner?" Johnny checks, and again, the tone is so paternal. It’s similar to how he talks to Miguel, really, but it’s also how Carmen herself would check on her son.
       And together with what he came to do, to ride Lorena back to her mom’s, even though that definitely isn’t a job for someone who is just a sensei, it paints a whole new picture in her mind.

     "Yes," Lorena says, and it doesn’t take long before she comes back with her things.
     "Thank you so much for dinner! ¡Estuvo delicioso, Rosa!" ( It was delicious, Rosa!)

      "No hay por qué," her mother answers with a warm grin. Carmen smiles at both of them, still not quite sure what to say.

     "See you tomorrow, Miguel. Goodnight, Carmen," Lorena says, joining Johnny as they leave.
     Oh, Carmen had noticed they were close, but now she feels almost blind for not realizing sooner that they were father and daughter.

--

       The dinner where Lorena and Johnny come over is the first time Carmen allows herself to really try and get to know the man her kids hold in such high regard. He brings Lorena and Miguel straight from training, clearly on his best behavior, praising Miguel in a way that doesn’t feel fake but definitely seems meant to win her over.

      Lorena looks like she’s fighting the urge to laugh at her sensei — or rather, at her father. Carmen knows that the girl only moved here a few months ago, so she figures maybe Johnny’s trying to make up for lost time. There’s something hopeful in that, something she can respect. Still, the mother can’t help the little tug of worry that comes with seeing a man try so hard, like he’s afraid to say the wrong thing, with Lorena but also with Miguel. 

     The way they stand close, the easy rhythm between them, the small, knowing glances, it feels familiar, even sweet. Carmen sends the teens off to wash up, smiling a little to herself.

     "Yaya's making seco de carne," she announces, and the two say goodbye to Johnny before heading in with Miguel. Then, she actually asks Johnny if he wants to stay for dinner. And, like her mother, Carmen Diaz does not take no for an answer.

    "Miggy! Can you bring out the extra chair from your room?" The woman asks, helping her mother adjust the table to fit one more setting.
    After all, the chair that used to sit empty now belongs to the small, sharp-witted blonde girl.

     Miguel and Johnny sit while Carmen and Rosa set down five full plates. Out of the corner of her eye, Carmen sees Johnny lift his fork to start eating, but Lorena stops him before either woman can explain their usual routine, smacking his hand.

   "Sensei, we have to bless the food first." Lorena only calls Johnny sensei, which is strange to Carmen, but, for her, actions speak louder than titles, so she just accepts. 
   "Oh. Right."

      It’s almost funny to see his bafflement. The girl corrects him easily, like it’s something she’s done before, that effortless comfort only close people have with each other or that daughters have with their fathers. Carmen’s lips curve softly. It must be good for Lorena, having him around now.

       Except for the night he poured his heart out about Miguel fighting, and the night he brought her son home all bruised and broken, Johnny Lawrence lives and breathes the art of looking confident, even when he shouldn’t. But here, at her table, he looks almost human — softened, maybe by the presence of the kids, or by Lorena’s unspoken authority over him.

    Once Carmen sits beside her son, they all automatically reach for each other’s hands, bowing their heads as Rosa leads them in prayer.

    "―y también damos gracias por poder compartir con nuestro nuevo amigo Johnny," her mother concludes, voice carrying that smiling warmth Carmen knows so well. She doesn’t even need to look to know Rosa is probably beaming at Johnny.

    Carmen realizes she may have to worry about her mother genuinely liking the man and then trying to play matchmaker,  though, seeing him across from Lorena, she’s already certain he has his hands full. But that also doesn't help Carmen because her mother might think that this means he is somewhat a family man, or think of him as a chance to get Lorena as a granddaughter legally
(And we also give thanks for being able to share this meal with our new friend Johnny.)

    "En el nombre del Padre, del Hijo, y del Espíritu Santo. Amén."
   (In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.)

    "Amém," Johnny echoes, a second too late. It’s awkward, but it makes Carmen laugh.

  "That one I know."
  "Okay, let's eat," she says, rescuing him from his misery.

    Still uncertain about all this, she seizes the moment to ask the kids’ sensei, and Lorena’s father, she reminds herself, about the upcoming tournament. 

    "So, Miguel and Lorena told me all about the tournament. I hope they don't get hurt."
   "Mom," Miguel hisses, mortified.

   They’ve had this conversation before, but he should know she needs confirmation from an authority, and like it or not, Johnny Lawrence is that authority.

   "I told you there are referees. You can't get hurt."
"At least not permanently."

     The answer Johnny gives doesn’t calm her at all, and Carmen shoots him a look. The man visibly backpedals. She remembers herself that the kids being safe is also important to him; there aren't going to be a lot of girls in the tournament, his daughter is going to fight against the same boys Miguel is going to fight.

    "They’ll be fine."

     "Causing intentional injuries is grounds for disqualification, so it's unlikely we'll be walking away with more than a bruise or two," Lorena adds, ever the one to explain things clearly. "Under the ref's supervision, we really should be fine."

     Carmen can’t help smiling. The way Lorena says we — it sounds so natural, the kind of easy team bond that probably took time to rebuild. She is a good friend. 

    "I see. Thank you, Lorena," she says, genuinely grateful once again for the girl.

    "Yeah, Sensei has been going over the tournament rules at the dojo this week, to make sure we're ready for Sunday," Lorena finishes.

    "That's good to hear." The weight lifts from Carmen’s shoulders, though she still feels inadequate for not knowing all the rules herself. Maybe she’ll look them up later. Google is there for a reason.

     For now, her mind returns to the real reason for this dinner, and she turns back to Johnny.
     "So, have you always lived in Reseda?"
     "No, I grew up in Encino."

     "Really?" Not what she expected — not out of prejudice, but because it’s hard to picture someone raised in Encino ending up in Reseda. "Really nice houses there."

   "Yeah. Well, just 'cause you live in a nice house, doesn't mean nice things are going on inside."

   Carmen has lived in a nice house with a nice husband, without realizing how many ugly things were happening inside. She can agree.
Maybe Johnny’s story isn’t so different. Maybe that’s why he’s trying so hard now, for Lorena.

    Then the mood lightens, by confusing bananas with their cousins, getting corrected, and then misnaming them once more, forcing Lorena to step in to correct him again. Everyone laughs, and Johnny tries to defend himself uselessly:
    "If it walks like a duck and talks like a duck…"

     It’s endearing, really. Carmen finds herself smiling, watching the small exchange, the teasing and the laughter, the way Lorena’s laughter sounds freer than it did when they first met. There’s something gentle in how Johnny looks at her, confused and proud all at once.

     Then Miguel’s phone buzzes, and Carmen watches her son reach for it, even though the rule is no phones at the table.

     "Answer it, mijo. It's fine," she allows. "Don't take too long. Your food's gonna get cold. Okay?"
    "Okay," Miguel says with a grin, sliding out of his chair and hurrying away.

     When Carmen catches Rosa’s disapproving look, she feels the need to defend her son. Young love and all that — she’s happy if it makes Miguel smile.
     "He has a girlfriend."
     "Hm."

      Of course, that excuse isn’t enough for Rosa, who refuses to approve of the girl until the entire family meets her. Carmen, on the other hand, is willing to welcome anyone who makes her Miggy beam like that.

      "I'm so glad Miguel's finally making some nice friends," she says to Johnny, especially since karate gave him that — gave him Lorena. "It's been difficult for him. We've had to move around a lot."

     "Where are you guys from originally?" Johnny asks.
     "Ecuador."
     "Oh. Why'd you leave?"

      Carmen hesitates. It isn’t something she wants Lorena, still younger than Miguel, to hear. But of course, her Mamá has no filter.
      "Porque se enamoró de un comemierda."
(Because she fell in love with a shit-eater.)

    "Mamá," Carmen scolds, honestly. Lorena stays quiet, with her too-old eyes that seem to know too much and sometimes worry Carmen.

    "Um," she feels the need to provide context, in vague terms.
     "I got married at eighteen. After I became pregnant with Miguel, I learned the truth about my husband's job. Let's just say he was a very bad man. I had to get far away from him."

     "Sorry to hear that," Johnny offers kindly. He acts like this sometimes, kind, but like he doesn’t think he should be. That barrier seems to drop only when he’s with Miguel or Lorena.

    "Don't be sorry." She smiles. "I moved on long ago. You can't let the mistakes of the past determine your future."

     She notices how contemplative he becomes and feels glad he takes her words seriously. They marked her, too, when she first learned them.
    Maybe that’s another reason he’s so intent on being better, on being the kind of father who shows up this time. The sensei he thinks Miguel and Lorena deserve. 

   "Hey," Miguel returns to the table and slides back into his seat. "What'd I miss?"
    "Not much," Lorena answers. "That was quick. Is everything okay with Sam?"
    "Oh, uh, yeah."

     Carmen watches him reply, noticing he doesn’t look nearly as happy as when he first saw the call. Maybe her mother’s right to wait before passing judgment on Samantha.

    "But her grandma is over at her place for the weekend, so she can't go to the movies with me tomorrow night."

    The others let the teens chatter in softer tones, a flimsy attempt at privacy when everyone at the table can still hear.
    "¿Y cuándo vamos a conocer a esa novia tuya?" Rosa asks, eyebrow arched.
     (And when are we going to meet this girlfriend of yours?)

    Carmen’s mom-sense kicks in immediately, seeing that Miguel isn’t ready for that. She rescues him.

    "Mamá, leave him alone. They've only just started going out, right Miguel?"
     "Uh, right," Miguel mumbles.

    The rest of dinner passes without incident, and Carmen is glad to see more of the man who’s taken up the father-figure role in her son’s life, and, she thinks, is doing his best to rebuild something similar with his own daughter.

    Maybe, just maybe, she can start to trust him. And be there for his kid like he is trying for her son, too.